Gardeners Tips

Clematis is one of the worlds favourite flowers for climbing over fences and trellis.

The Family of Clematis

• The Clematis genus is from the family Ranunculaceae which is the same as the buttercup and many other plants. Winter Aconites – Eranthis hyemalis and Adonis amurensis start the flowering year along with other family members the Hellebores.
• In spring Anemone, Marsh Marigolds and buttercups take over.
• For summer consider Globe flowers or Trollius, Rue Thalictrum, Acquilegia, Delphinium, Aconitum, Larkspur and Love-in-a-mist or Nigella.
• Baneberries, Bugbane and Japanese Anemones round off the Ranunculaceae display in autumn.
• What a versatile and wide spread family.
• As with other members of the Ranunculaceae family there is a Clematis species or variety to flower in most seasons.

Why do Botanists make Choice So Complex?

• As a youngster I knew there was a plant called Clematis
• After a while I heard about three groups of clematis with different pruning rules. Group 1 are early flowering  species Group 2 are early flowering large flowered hybrids and Group 3 late flowering large flowering hybrids and species.
• Then in my latest gardening book there are a dozen groups and I particularly go for the C.Viticella
• Clematis cirrhosa flowers in December and if covered to protect from winter snow will survive our climate.
• The Clematis Montana rubens like Nelly Moser and Ville de Lyons are firm May favourites. C. jackmanii are large late flowerers
• C. Tetrosa has larger flowers. Small flowers Clematis tangutica and flammula are interesting varieties to seek out from your suppliers or friends.
• Clematis vitalba flowers in late autumn and produces interesting seed heads
• C. armandis are evergreen

Read Tips for Growing Clematis and Clematis Pruning

Daffodil Blindness occurs when daffodils fail to flower, i.e the green leaves appear, but no flowers. I am updating this post formerly released in 2014 as I have just experienced  annoying blind daffodils. I bought a pot of narcissus supposedly to produce a  ‘generous number of richly scented bicoloured blooms’ . From 5 bulbs I only got one stem with a sparse flower. I should have read this reminder first! I was blind sided when I bought them.

Causes of Daffodil Blindness

• Poor quality bulbs. If it is the first year of planting and your daffodils are blind, it is probably poor quality or new bulbs. If you buy bulbs from a reputable supplier, they really should be flowering in the first year, however you treat them.
• Planting Depth too Shallowly. Many people fail to plant daffodils sufficiently deep. If bulbs are too close to the surface they tend to suffer from a lack of water and food, therefore they fail to flower.
• Crowded Bulbs. If bulbs are planted too closely together, then they will be competing with each other for food and water and more likely to have insufficient food for themselves.
• Drought / Lack of Nutrient. If there is a lack of water in previous year they may come up next year as blind.
• Disease. It is possible disease reduces strength of daffodils.
• Leaves cut off after flowering. Unfortunately, people like to tidy their garden and cut off unsightly leaves. But, this prevents them from gaining enough strength. You can deadhead (so they don’t waste energy producing seed) but you should only cut back leaves when they start turning yellow.
• Aging. Older bulbs can become ‘tired’ and less likely to flower as the years go by.

How To Solve Daffodil Blindness

• Unfortunately, once daffodils come up blind, you may have to be very patient and wait one or two years for them to regain strength to flower. In some cases, you might prefer to dig up and replant new bulbs in the autumn.
• However, if you want you can try to make them reflower. If they were planted too shallow, you can dig up and replant at proper depth (3 times bulb length). E.g. 5 cm big bulb should be planted 15cm below soil surface.
• If blindness is caused by overcrowding, it is definitely worth digging up and trying to split. Planting at proper spacings (2-3 distance of width of bulb)
• Water and Feed. One of the best ways to prevent daffodil blindness is to water with liquid feed when the leaves are green. This helps strengthen bulb for next year.
• Keep weeds at bay. Weeding with hoe prevents weeds competing for water. It also helps to keep daffodil fly ‘narcissus fly’ at bay.
• Keep splitting bulb stock and giving new ‘child’ bulbs chance to grow.

Positives for Clematis

• As climbers these plants occupy little space at ground level
• Clematis are available in a variety of colours from white, rose, purples and blue. Many varieties produce abundant flowers and some have a second flush.
• Clematis can flower from early spring through to autumn and some varieties are good from midsummer onward.
• Look for different varieties of Clematis such as  alpina, macropetala, montana, chrysocoma or  X jackmanii.
• Flowers can be as large as dinner plates or as dainty as small stars.
• Seed heads can also look nice.

Negatives of Growing Clematis

• They can be hard to get going and roots should be planted deep and kept moist. I place a slate over the planting site as a temporary mulch until a new plant gets going.
• Some varieties including the montanas can grow rampantly and high into the branches of trees. This can leave bare stems.
• Pruning is complicated by garden advice and it is easy to prune out the next flowering season if you get t badly wrong.

Clematis seedhead

The Shopping Experience

• I had some birthday money from a brother-in-law and opted to but a clematis. One of the few spaces in the garden to accommodate a new plant was just alongside a conical climbing frame – that spot is now taken.
• Initially I looked at a garden center chain which had a comprehensive stock but was well priced for the profit they would want. The information about each plant was quite comprehensive.
• Then I visited and supported a local family garden center come nursery. They had bought in a fair selection of clematis at about half the cost of their bigger rival and that is where I made my purchase. I also bought some other plants that they had grown themselves ( there is a lesson there somewhere).
• The label was 18″ long (or 46cm for the Dutch supplier’s benefit) but the gardening information was sparse, needed decoding and was not worth all the plastic used.
• The label did not say from what group the clematis came. Clematis jackmanii group 2 as I found out.
• There were no planting or growing aids just lame graphics with ticks and crosses, oh and a bar code but no price (I guess that changes to suit circumstances not buyers) .
• There were 5 support canes that needed 2 plastic ties and a plastic label stake.
• You could have guessed the pot was black plastic with an unusual and unreusable oval base designed to support growth and retail presentation.

The Plant Experience

• This jackmanii hybrid is a real show stopper! It can also be trained to cover walls, trellises or arches.
• The large white flowers with golden stamens are produced all summer from June to September or Vl -Vlll as the label has it.
•  Clematis ‘Madame le Coultre’ grows to  Height: 3m (10′). Spread: 1m (3′) Pruning group: 2 ie. in late winter or early spring and after its first flush of flowers in summer to encourage flowers again later in summer.
• Also known as ‘Marie Boisselot’ Clematis.
• I will update progress quicker than my post from November 2011 w

Iris Flowers

The Iris family contains over 200 species and all Iris flowers have 3 outer and 3 inner petals with 3 stamens. The outer petals protect the inner petals as sepals do on other flowers. An inner petal is called the ‘Standard’ and the outer is called the ‘Fall’ which bends backward and hangs down. The fall is normally patterned with distinctive markings and a bearded iris has central line of pollen bearing hairs. The Standard is often a different colour to the Fall, in the example a mauve with a deep purple fall. Buds are protected by insignificant papery bracts.

Iris Classifications

Reticulata Iris grow from a bulb or corm like the Dutch Iris.
Bearded Iris grow from a rhizome with roots on the underside.
Iris Japonica is a stoleniferous variety sending out roots to make new plants.
Juno Iris have a bulb like structure with a tuberous root.
Siberian or Pacific Coast Iris root from the flower stem in a cross between the other methods of rooting.

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The bright neon like colours of these daisies make every garden brighter. The ground hugging plants will spread about 4 inches then be covered in masses of flowers that close up slightly in the late afternoon.

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”3 Hearty Cheers for Gardener’s Drinks”

Update to post 7 Feb 2011

More Garden Drinks That Cheer

• How could I miss my favourite home grown alcoholic beverage Cider. I am in too much hurry to wait for home brewed cider and buy copious quantities made from UK grown apples.
• Following that theme there is numerous fermented fruit and garden produce to make home made wine and tisanes.
• Plum brandy, Potato potcheen and other distilled liqueurs owe there existence to garden produce
• Lastly but not least, hops and malted barley make a fine drink when combined with yeast.

”1. Tea – Camellia sinensis

A native of China, tea leaves  were delivered around the world in Clipper ships, created the furore at the Boston Tea Party during the American war of independence and still provides badly paid work for workers in India, Sri Lanka, Kenya and China.

The small trees have been grown in China for over 4000 years. They are  generally pruned to a low bush to encourage more bud and leaf thus making picking easier. It is the young leaves and buds that are used to make the tea. Black tea, Green tea, Oolong and even White tea are made from the same plant, the difference is in the oxidisation during drying.

Camellia sinesis is related to our floral camellias but it is the leaves not the flowers that they are grown for. The plants grow and produce well even up to 1500 meters in the Himalayan foothills and mountains of south east Asia.

Char ladies made tea for umpteen tea breaks and many a soldier had his Chai to drink from a metal cup. That is nothing to the reverence of the Tea ceremony of Japan and China

2. Coffee  – Coffea arabica or robusta

Of 90 different species of coffee plant arabica is the most economically important accounting for 70% of world coffee production. Originally from Yemen and Ethiopia the plant was therefore named arabica by Linneaus in 1753.

Coffee trees produce red or purple fruits called “cherries” that contain two seeds, the so-called “coffee beans”. These seeds are then roasted and ground to make our Latte, Americano or Espressos. Brazil, Columbia and Java are now large producers of coffee on trees that can continue to produce for 50 years.

The first coffee houses were recognised as such in Venice in the 17th century but had previously operated in Turkey and Arabia as meeting venues. With the advent of the Starbucks this institution and coffee consumption has gone global.

A shame the producing countries and millions of subsistence farmers do not seem to get a fair share of the financial gains.

3. Grape – Vitis vinifera

Vitis grow on vines or Liana and the fruit is known as a grape. The berries ripen dark purple to blackish from a small, pale wax bloom. In wine making the length of time the skin is left with the juice will dictate the colour.

The red skin contains the tannins and oxidising chemicals that make good red wine. There are 60 species of Vitis in cultivation and whilst the Northern hemisphere is the origin there are now good vineyards in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and South America.

Vitis vinifera has been dated to over 130 million years ago with the human relationship to the plant dating from the Neolithic period. Ancient Egyptians ate grapes, made wine and recorded vines in hieroglyphics.The Greeks brought wine to the western world and who can forget images of Roman orgies where wine and grapes took their part.

‘And Noah he often said to his wife when he sat down to dine,
‘I don’t care where the water goes if it doesn’t get into the wine’.

note
The only one of the liquid triumvirate that will grow in the UK is the grape although Cornwall may boast an occasional Camelia senesis”

The Homemade Cidermaking Bible: [3 IN 1] From Apples to Excellence | Mastering the Art of Home Cider Making with Professional Tips and Techniques link