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Category: Gardening

General gardening tips and hints

Growing Aubretia in Blue and Purple

Growing Aubretia in Blue and Purple

Aubretia

Aubretia is available in many colours of blue through to the deepest purples. Reddish tinges help create the pinker varieties but it is the blues and mauves which really catch the eye.

  • Aubretia will tumble happily from cracks in walls, creep across rockeries, and crawl through the front of mixed borders.
  • Aubretia forms dense mats of evergreen foliage with a profusion of spring blooms, these little plants thrive in reasonably poor soils with a toughness that belies their beauty.
  • The leaves are a grey green and are not unsightly but cut back hard after flowering to promote a fresh flush of growth and maintain its compact form.
  • Aubretia is perennial and will spread for upto 24 inches at a low height of 2-3 inches.
  • Plant in any reasonably drained fertile soil and will spread naturally by seed. Aubretia is quite hardy.
  • Aubretia is also know and sold as Purple Rock Cress and Aubretia deltoides.

Aubretia plants and seeds are available from Thompson Morgan.  Once established you will get many years of happy spring  flowering.

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Tips for Growing Million Bells Petunia – Calibrachoa

Tips for Growing Million Bells Petunia – Calibrachoa

A very popular plants for hanging baskets, pouches and containers, due to their fantastic flower power and colour range!

Characteristics of Million Bells
Upright plant with a mound forming habit, height 12″-15″ spread up to 20″
Blooms all season long, June to October
Easy to grow and maintain, deadheading unnecessary.
Heavy bloomer, well-branching that withstands hot summers.
Versatile in baskets, containers and borders.

Some of the named varieties also hint at the colour range now available :- Million Bells® Flamingo, Crackling Fire, Terracotta, Tangerine, Peaches and Cream, Lime, Neon Yellow and Apricot. Calibrachoa is the more accepted name and the series have been developed and registered by Suntory.

Growing Tips
Buy as plug plants and pot up plugs into 4″ pots to grow on for transplanting into final containers or baskets late May. …

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Growing Strelitzia – Bird of Paradise Flower

Growing Strelitzia – Bird of Paradise Flower

Strelitzia

Strelitzia is a genus of five species of perennial plants, native to South Africa. The common name is the bird of paradise or crane flower, because of a supposed resemblance of its flowers to the bird of paradise.

Strelitzia

The leaves are similar to a banana leaf in appearance and can be upto 5 feet long.

To show the wonders of nature ‘The flowers are produced in a horizontal inflorescence emerging from a stout spathe. They are pollinated by Sunbirds, which use the spathe as a perch when visiting the flowers; the weight of the bird on the spathe opens it to release the pollen onto the bird’s feet, which is then deposited on the next flower it visits.’

Strelitzia

Resources

Growing Conservatory Flowers

Seeds available from Thompson & Morgan
Moonbells Allotment blog contains a diary of Strelitzia growing and provided these further links

http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantqrs/strelitregmandelagold.htmThe Mandela´s Gold form, yellow petals not orange. Previously known as Kirstenbosch Gold. Also tells you how to hand-pollinate.
http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantqrs/strelitziareginae.htm The main page for Strelitzia on PlantzAfrica
http://finebushpeople.co.za/farmstore/catalog/accessorystore.htmSmoke primer disks – which I´ve got two of, but have yet to try out! See next entry for seeds.
http://finebushpeople.co.za/cgi-bin/farmshop.pl?TP=Mandelas_Gold.html&ID=!ID!SEEDS!!!! Cheapest I´ve found so far… and legal to export to the EU.

 

Wikipedia
* Strelitzia alba (syn. S. augusta) – White bird of paradise;
* Strelitzia caudata – Mountain Strelitzia;
* Strelitzia nicolai – White or Giant bird of paradise; Wild banana; Blue-and-white Strelitzia[2]
* Strelitzia reginae (syn. S. parvifolia) – Strelitzia, Bird of paradise, or Crane lily;
* Strelitzia juncea (Ker Gawl.) – African desert banana. Cite.
* S. × kewensis (hybrid between S. reginae and S. augusta)

Ten Summer Bulbs to Try

Ten Summer Bulbs to Try

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  1. Eucomis – The pineapple flower last for months and are very decorative.
  2. Dahlia – A perennial favourite that is returning to fashionable gardens in need of late summer colour.
  3. Allium – Globemaster looks like it says in the name.
  4. Arum or Calla Lilies have distinctive spadix spikes of yellow through white petals.
  5. Canna – I like the dark leaved varieties with vibrant red flowers
  6. Stargazer Lilies – are very showy and fragrant.
  7. Galtionia – The summer Hyacinth worked very well in my garden last year and produced plenty of bloom.
  8. Gladioli – Always make a fine show plant, cut flower and vertical statement in your garden
  9. Agapanthus – The bulb of the last decade for my taste but still very popular in clumps or pots.
  10. Regal Lily – saved to the last on this list but one of my first choices. Can be planted through till June for flowering in 3 months.

Let us know in the comments which varieties and colours catch your attention. If you have another summer bulb you prefer let us know that as well and we will publish your views.

Read Growing Habranthus

Collecting Californian Poppy Seeds

Collecting Californian Poppy Seeds

I love the vibrant colours of Californian Poppies. I am sowing these annuals from seed I collected in my own garden last autumn. However Garden News this week was giving away a packet of ‘Fruit Crush’ a blend of citrus and berry shades so I have extra to sow and still have some left for a September sowing.

Seedpods

I picked some long thin pods from my Californian Poppy ‘Eschscholzia’ plants and left them in a dish on a sunny windowsill.
Within 24 hours the mature pods had dried and started to open.
The dried pods had curled and expelled the seeds naturally.
After 48 hours I had plenty of seed to collect for subsequent sowing.

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Tips for Growing Buddleia Butterfly Bushes

Tips for Growing Buddleia Butterfly Bushes

It is a good time to prune your buddleia down to about 12-30 inches. This will encourage a good shape and more flowers.
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One of the most popular and easy to grow flowering shrubs is the Buddleia. The most common shades of flower are the various blues of Buddleia Davidii but you will often see the white form in hedge rows and embankments.

Growing Habits
Buddleia starts flowering from mid-June and continues through to Autumn
The long sprays of flowers are attractive to both gardeners and insects.
Buddleias are quick growing reaching 6 feet high and wide depending on the variety.

Cultivation Tips
Buddleias are happy in sunny position with well drained soil.
Avoid water logged soil but they can survive very dry conditions.
They can be propagated from semi-ripe cuttings in Mid-summer or hardwood cuttings November to March.
Grow in a large container if you wish. The restriction will make a smaller shrub but flowering will not be impeded.

Varieties to Grow
Buddleia White Profusion, Royal Red or traditional Buddleia davidii Empire Blue.
Buddleia davidii Black Knight is a deep purple colour
Buddleia davidii Pink Profusion not surprisingly has huge deep pink blooms.
Buddleia globosa is not one of the traditional Butterfly Bush types but has round ball shaped orange blossom.
Buddleia alternifolia a weeping shrub make excellent standards and needing gentler pruning.

Pruning Tips
Drastically cut down your Buddleia in spring to about 12 inches from the ground. (For the back of borders you can prune to 2 foot and get flowers starting higher up the bush)
This treatment encourages a fountain of new growth with arching branches capable of producing many larger flower spikes.
Prune off all the dead and faded flowers to encourage new blossom until late autumn.
Dead heading saves energy that would go into seed production and prevents unwanted self sowing.

Grow Bright Azaleas

Grow Bright Azaleas

A lazier shrub with exciting blossom I have yet to find.
Azalea

How do you tell an Azalea from a Rhododendron? Most Azaleas have only 5 or 6 stamen while most rhododendrons have 10 stamen. Azalea leaves tend to be thinner, softer and more pointed than rhododendron leaves.
In a subjective way I think Azaleas produce more flower cover per plant.

Tips for Growing Azaleas

  • Azaleas are relatively pest-free  and easy to grow plants but may need a fungal spray if leaves are attacked in spring.
  • Azaleas like some shade  but deciduous varieties do well in full sun. Sun can produce more compact plants with more blooms but not as long lasting.

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Growing Year Around Pansies

Growing Year Around Pansies

purple pansy

The smiling face of a pansy greets the gardener during most season of the year.
Pansy is a thoughtful flower as thoughtful is what the name Pansee means in French. In the wild form it is tricoloured and often called Heartsease and is a member of the Viola family.
There are many varieties to choose from including 46 on our T&M list below.

Growing Pansy

  • Great and quick results can be achieved from plug plants or seedlings.
  • Treat as annuals or biennials even though they may survive longer.
  • From seed, sow late winter/spring or mid-late summer 1.5mm deep in good seed compost excluding light as darkness helps them germinate.
  • Germination usually takes 14-21 days at 19-24C no warmer or germination suffers.
  • When seedlings are large enough to handle, transplant and grow cool.
  • Gradually acclimatise to outdoor conditions for 10-15 days before planting out after all risk of frost.
  • Prefers sun or part shade in borders or containers .
  • The flowers are edible and useful to colour a salad.
  • Summer sowings of winter flowering pansies should be  planted out in autumn or early spring.

Useful Links
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Growing Peony or Peonies

Growing Peony or Peonies

double peony

For centuries Peonies have been great favourites of the Chinese and are one of their national flowers. Peonies are easy to care for once established.

Peonies are shrubby herbaceous plants that will come back perennially (year after year). They can live 75 years and still produce a brilliant profusion of flowers. Herbaceous means the leaves and stems die back at the end of the season and new growth will start again in Spring.

Growing Peonies

  • Flowers are often strongly scented to attract bees and have double or single blooms.
  • The colours are deep red through pink to white.
  • Peonies do not like to be disturbed or moved once they are planted.
  • Because they will live in the same spot for many years add some bone meal and good compost at the bottom of the planting hole.
  • Peonies are best grow from plants bought at a nursery
  • Plants are hardy but may make take some time to flower.
  • Only plant Peonies at the same depth as they were grown, never deeper.
  • Peonies and special fertilizer from Thompson & Morgan

Tree Peonies are harder to grow successfully and cost more to buy but can have show stopping displays of flowers once they mature.

peonie

Useful Links
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Tips for Growing Nasturtiums

Tips for Growing Nasturtiums


photo by Photofarmer

Even young children can manage to plant the large seeds of nasturtiums and watch them grow into Triffid like flowering plants in reds, yellows and oranges.

Tips for Growing Nasturtiums

  • Plant the seeds individually in a sunny spot in poor soil straight in to the garden.
  • Climbing nasturtiums will spread for several feet or clamber up a near-by support. These are the sort to amuse the kids.
  • The dwarf nasturtiums are better behaved and will flower well without any fertilizer.
  • Handle the stems with care as they are brittle and easily snapped.
  • Nasturtiums are no use as cut flowers but you can pick and eat flowers and leaves.
  • Collect the fallen seed for next year. You get 3 big seeds per flower.
  • Plants are loved by black fly that may colonise the underside of leaves. Wash off with soapy water or use an insecticide if you are not going to eat them.

One variety you can plant in a hanging basket is Jewel Mixed which adds fragrance to the dwarf trailing habit. Alaska has variegated leaves and two tone flowers. Black velvet is very deep purple that it looks as it says on the packet, black.

Useful Links
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