Gardeners Tips – Page 111 – Tips and advice for gardeners about gardening

How Old Are Your Plants in Geological Epochs

May 3, 2015 hortoris

A Yew tree in Somerset is said to be dying after 4000 years. The rumour may be overstated for tourism reasons as Taxus Yews can regenerate like Doctor Who.

Geological Epochs and a view of Plant Age.

Some would argue that 3,100 million years have elapsed since the first bacteria (and cynobacteria) inhabited our planet but plants are not quite that old.
Algae started in the sea in the Pre-cambrian era when the first animal fossils can be dated. (1,500 million years)
Through the Cambrian period, more than 500 million years ago, marine life including sponges and algae were developing until the invasion of land plants in the Silurian times 440 million years ago.
Herbaceous ferns, horsetails and the first vascular plants developed on through the Devonian period.
Around 300 million years ago ferns were dominant but tall swamp forests, conifers and Cycads were joined by the other gymnosperms.
The Triassic and Jurasic periods (130-250 my ago) were still flower free as most angiosperms developed during the Cretaceous and Tertiary period only 65 million years ago! This was at the time when birds, bees, moths and early mammals were developing.

Focus on Angiosperms Old Flowering Plants

Fossil evidence is available for some ferns and the dinosaurs of the plant kingdom.
The study of ancient pollen has shown that 49 present day families of plants were represented in rocks 100-200 million years old.
Angiosperms represented 85% of the Earths vegetation as they supplanted the then dominance of the slower to adapt gymnosperms.
As humans and mammals have a range of life expectancy so do flowering plants. For simplicity gardeners classify these life cycles into perennials, annuals, biennials and ephemerals (several generations from seed in one year like groundsel).

Some Old Plants

Russians have grown plants from fruit stored away in permafrost by squirrels over 30,000 years ago. This is the oldest plant material by far to have been brought to life read more on BBC 20.2.12
European Yews or Taxus baccata in Tisbury and Llangernyw Wales are believed to be over 4000 years old.
Great Basin Bristlecone pine Pinus longaeva in USA is circa 4800 years old and several Sequoia in California are over 3000 years old.
I wouldn’t want to count the rings on these trees but even with their great age they are just specs in the geological time frames we have been considering.

Photo and Other Credits

Lepidodendron fossil by Museum Girl ROM, CC BY 2.0 (Lepidodendron is an extinct genus of primitive tree-like plant. They were the first large land plants, and a major part of the coal forest tropical flora.)
Fossilised part of a giant clubmoss or lycopod tree, Stigmaria ficiodes, GL1239 by Black Country Museums …Part of a fossil lycopod tree called Stigmaria ficoides which is approximatley 310 million years old.CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Fossil forest Lulworth Cove Dorset by lovestruck … The Fossil Forest at Lulworth Cove Dorset . The round large fossils are fossilised rings of algae that grew around tree trunks as the forest, that covered the whole area, was flooded nearly 150 million years ago by the rising sea levels. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Growing Iris Confusa

May 2, 2015 hortoris

Iris confusa is a delicate iris from south-central or Western China. The photograph above shows Iris confusa in the temperate house at Kew where the flowers pay closer inspection.

Description of Iris Confusa

Iris confusa is an evergreen, upright perennial with fans of mid-green, sword-like leaves.
The plant’s broad, shiny leaves are attached to the ends of bamboo-like stems up to 2 feet long.
The bamboo-like stems will eventually lie flat and root, thus forming good clumps.

Iris confusa Flowers

The Iris confusa flower in spring and early summer April – June.
Each flower is lavender to pale blue or near white with yellow or purple spots.
Iris confusa ‘Martyn Rix’ is a popular variety of Crested Iris with white flowers, yellow crests and purple dots on the falls.

Photo Credits

Bamboo iris (Iris confusa) by Kew on Flickr CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Iris Confusa by Just chaos CC BY 2.0
Google images for Iris confusa (and odd Iris)

Get Butterflies in Your Garden

April 30, 2015 hortoris

16 million gardens adds up to two million acres of garden in the UK. A fantastic resource for food, pastimes, study and wild life.

Butterflies can benefit from the way we garden and provide extra colour and visual enjoyment. Here are some tips to help provide food and shelter whilst creating a good garden.

Caterpillar Food Plants

Nettles are a good food for one of our largest butterflies the Red Admiral.
Grow nasturtiums near your veg patch to lure white butterfly and their caterpillars away.
Grass is a key food and safe haven for many species. Leave a long uncut patch where they can overwinter.
Wildflowers used to be available in hedgerows and meadows but so much habitat has been destroyed. You can plant wild flower seeds of local species in your own wildflower patch.
The small Holly Blue butterfly and some moths eat Holly and Ivy.
White flowers are popular with some species for the camouflage effect.
Bird’s-foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) is good food for larvae of the Common Blue and also provides nectar.
Sunflowers and thistles support Painted Ladies

Butterfly Nectar Plants

Lavender
Origano
Red Valerian
Sedum Ice Plants
Buddleia white or mauve
Michaelmas Daisy
Aubretia
French Marigold
Candytuft
Hebe
Verbena bonariensis
Perennial Wallflower Bowles mauve

Even a window box or container plants can provide energy giving nectar to hungry butterflies. Butterflies like sunshine and will feed more happily if the plants are in a warm sunny spot.

Resources

Alain Picard photographs from Canada under creative commons license on flickr

Butterfly Conservation.org Said ‘Butterfly numbers in the UK have been declining for decades and in recent years this trend has been accelerating. Numbers of Small Tortoiseshell have declined by 68 per cent and the Peacock by 30 per cent during the 2000s.
Five species of butterfly have already become extinct in the UK and more than half of the 56 remaining species are threatened with extinction. Planting for Butterflies is a chance to reverse this decline. Just put some Lavender in a pot or a bit of Buddleia in your flower bed and you can help make a difference.’

A-Z of British Butterflies

Butterfly seed mixture from Thompson & Morgan
How to attract butterflies in your garden
Create a butterfly Garden

The Butterfly Isles: A Summer in Search of Our Emperors and Admirals by Patrick Barkham from Amazon

Other Photo credits
Butterfly by Alain Picard
Comet moth (Argema mittrei) emerging from cocoon by Kew CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Feeding Time by Kew CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Heuchera for Interesting Foliage

April 29, 2015 hortoris

Heuchera offer foliage interest in your garden. The colour range is continually extended by specialist growers but the plant is best known for maroon, brown and coppery coloured leaves with some interesting veining. Bi-colour, yellow and interesting foliage tints are now on show in our local nursery so have a look around.

Flowers tend to be held on spiky fronds and can be used for cutting. As the main reason for the plants is the leaf colouring I have not grown them for flowers but the varieties of Heuchera miracanths produce some prolific plants.

Heuchera Foliage Tips

Heuchera are generally low growing foliage plants up to one foot tall.
Heuchera need well drained but fertile soil
Mulch the plants in spring
Propagate by division and divide large clumps to stop them becoming woody.
Specimen plants can be grow in pots but keep them well watered
Colour of the leaves can be enhance by planting in full sun but the purple bronzes prefer to grow in the shade
Plant several interesting varieties together for an impact.

Plants and monograph books are available from Amazon Heuchera are outstanding plants that are becoming fully appreciated especially with new cultivars and hybrids with wavy and coloured leaves.
You can acquire or just admire plants as part of a collection

Credits
Heuchera by bill barber CC BY-NC 2.0
Heuchera ‘Dolce Creme Brulee’ by Satrina0 CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Heuchera by Howard Dickins CC BY 2.0 ‘These things have such great foliage. This might be “Palace Purple” (or it might not.)’
Heuchera Facts Uses and Interesting Varieties

Grow Canna – Ginger Relatives

April 27, 2015 hortoris

Canna ‘lilies’ are part of the ginger family and not true lilies. This orange flower with distinctive red leaves that are like small banana leaves is very striking in the Autumn bed.

How to Grow Canna

Grow Cannas from rhizomes that are firm and hard not soft. Plant out in spring.
Cannas perform best if given some protection particularly through early summer.
Whilst they are up to 3 feet tall they can manage without staking although it may be better to be safe than sorry.
The flowers are typically fiery red, orange, or golden yellow or any combination of those colours, and grow on distinctive spikes.
Canna will grow best in full sun in well-drained rich or sandy soil.
Cannas can manage with little moisture so should be OK in summer droughts.

Selected Canna Species & Varieties

Canna ‘Bandana of the Everglades, ‘Dwarf Texas Canna’ and ‘Louisiana Canna’
Broad-leaved Canna’, ‘Iris Canna’
‘Chinese Canna’, or ‘Cinnabar Canna’
Canna ‘Golden Canna’, Scarlet Canna’, ‘Yellow Canna’

In the UK Cannas should be lifted and stored in a frost free place over winter then planted out again in spring. They may survive outside in winter provided they are mulched thickly and planted in free draining soil.

Credits
Canna x generalis by dinesh_valke CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Canna flower by Mr.Mac2009 CC BY-NC 2.0

Picture of Daffodil in the Snow

April 26, 2015 tejvan

daffodil It is still not too late to get snow says the eternal pessimistic gardener

This daffodil still manages to poke its flower above the snow cover.

Daffodils are a very hardy flower. If they are planted at the correct depths and split every 3-4 years they can give years of excellent, maintenance free, displays. But heavy wet snow can bend or break the flower stems.

This Rip Van Winkle is a special daffodil with the elongated petals but is still one of my winter favourites.

See more of our daffodil photos on Gardeners Tips

Images of Evening Primrose Species

April 24, 2015 hortoris

Evening Primrose Oenothera Biennis is a wonderfully scented flower for summer evenings.

Image of Oenothera elata ssp. hookeri/Hooker’s Evening-primrose

Pink Evening Primrose Oenothera speciosa ‘Siskiyou’ photo of a low growing perennial.

Pollination is in the evening air!

Oenothera Glazioviana is generally a biennial herb producing an erect stem approaching 3-5 feet in height.

Oenothera cespitosa var. marginata (Tufted Evening Primrose) also called Onethera caespitosa

Oenothera macrocarpa – Silver Blade Evening Primrose

Credits

Oenothera elata ssp. hookeri/Hooker’s Evening-primrose by davidhofmann08, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
bluebonnets, pink evening primrose foreground by milpool79 CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
evening primrose by marc e marc CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Evening Primrose by kh1234567890 CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Oenothera cespitosa var. marginata (Tufted Evening Primrose) by Tony Frates CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Oenothera macrocarpa – Silver Blade Evening Primrose by colorado art studio CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Scented Wild Flowers Evening Primrose Oenothera odorata

Dahlias Grown From Seeds or Plugs

April 23, 2015 hortoris

Dahlias grown from packets of seed are best treated as annuals. The seeds are available on spinners in many shops, garden centres and from seed suppliers. You can also collect the seed in autumn from your own plants.

Dahlias from Thompson Morgan

Tips for Seed grown Dahlia

Sown in March or April in an indoor seed tray Dahlias will flower in late summer and through autumn until the frost turns the leaves black.
Mixed packets will generally be single flowered like a big very colourful Daisy.
Special variety packets can aim to provide Cactus (petals arranged in a spiky style),Â Collarette (petals arranged in aÂ circle with stamen like the iris of the eye) and semi double styles.
The seed is large and the results can be stunning so Dahlia is a good plant for children to plant.
Some varieties have red or maroon leaves for added attraction.
If the soil is acidÂ a dressing with lime would help the plants when planted about
Water and feed during summer for an excellent autumn display
You will often see these plants in Parks and public gardens as they are easy to maintaining.
If you spot a good variety you can try save any tuber that has grown by keeping it frost free during winter.

See a mosaic of Pink Dahlias with top ten pointers

Cactus hybrids produce curvaceous, spiky blooms and are a huge cut flower source.

Dwarf bushy dahlias with delightful “collarette” form (quilled) flower in many shades of red, yellow, orange and white.

Pompone mixed should be sown in trays, pots, etc of good seed compost in a propagator or warm place to maintain an optimum temperature of 65-70F (18-20C).
Sowing Depth: 1/16in (1.5mm). Sowing Time: February-March. Germination usually takes 7-21 days.
Transplant seedlings into 7.5cm (3in) pots when large enough to handle taking care NOT to damage the roots.

Secrets of Geranium (Pelargonium) Cuttings

April 22, 2015 hortoris

I couldn’t resist this double pink rose bud Pelargonium ‘Something Special’ which is looking really good at the moment. I intend taking some early cuttings of this plant next month and growing them on forÂ specimen plants. August to October are good months for taking cuttings to flower the following year.

Tips on Pelargonium Cuttings

Plants flower best when they are mature, full of leaf and well grown. Geraniums need time, usually 10-12 months from cutting to flowering to be at their best.
A 3 inch cutting should have several leaf joints (nodes) for potential branching. Some gardeners recommend non-flowering stems but I find it isn’t significant.
Take the cutting with a razor blade or sharp knife just above a leaf joint from your stock plant. Trim off all bar one or two leaves and any flower buds. trim back to just below a node.
I use 3 inch pots but smaller pots may be suitable or 4-5 cuttings can be put around the edge of a larger pot. Cuttings can also be planted in a hole close to the parent bedding geranium and lifted with soil for potting on for winter.
Gritty compost or soil with added sand is a suitable medium. The sand can stimulate root growth. I do not use rooting hormone it isn’t worth the cost as Geraniums root so easily.
Pinch out the growing tip to encourage roots and branches.

Dwarf and miniature plant cuttings can be proportionately smaller but the method is the same.
Water the pots from the bottom. Bottom heat will only be needed for late October cuttings
Dwarfs, Ivy and miniature Pelargoniums root quite well. I find Regals a bit harder as cuttings.

A nodal shoot cutting above is taken by trimming by branching stem into two cuttings.
Other than Regals which need nodal cuttings, they can be taken from theÂ most suitable point of the host plant.
A leaf Axil cutting below can be taken if the plant has no other suitable cutting material.

Flower Arranging – Aspidistra elatior

April 20, 2015 hortoris

Growing Aspidistra for Flower Arrangements

Aspidistra elatior leaves were popular in Victorian parlors because they tolerate low light, draughts and neglect.
The pointed leaves are tough dark green and oval shaped. The Aspidistra elatior variegata has long stripe leaves.
Aspidistra thrive best if kept pot bound. Repot every 5-6 years in good loam or compost
Water regularly is spring and summer but avoid water logging.

Special Tips for Flower Arranging with Aspidistra elatior

Aspidistra elatior was made popular by french flower arrangers like Olga Meneur.
Leaves can be manipulated into different shapes by curling them round and securing with flower glue or a staple.
Two or more curls can be made by tearing the leaf down it’s mid-rib and curling in different directions to add different shapes and forms.
Leaves should be conditioned by standing in a bucket of cold water as soon as they are cut to receive a long drink. They should then last many weeks.
The leaves can be shined with a soft cloth and the application of a thin covering of cooking oil
Glycerining will make the leaves last many years. For method see Solomons Seal and dry well once the colour has changed to creamy-beige.
Order Aspidistra leaves from a florist if they are too slow growing on your plants.

A full array of books on Flower Arranging and related subjects is available from Amazon. You will find more advice and artistic inspiration amongst this selection.
I would also recommend the Harrogate spring flower show where I am always stunned by the floral arrangement amongst the plants on display.

Credits
IMG_5884 tent pole decoration aspidistra bow by godutchbaby CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Woman at the window, with her prized Aspidistra by whatsthatpicture CC BY-NC 2.0
Flower Arrangement by Dominic’s pics CC BY 2.0

For a cast Iron winner in the flower arranging stakes you could do a lot worse than use Aspidistra leaves aka the Cast Iron plant. Slow growing so you may wish to buy your leaves but after glycerine they will last for years.
Turn your arrangements into botanical works of art – here are some examples and clubs you could join.

To grow a generic mix of flowers for arrangements and bouquets check out Thompson & Morgan