Gardeners Tips – Page 196 – Tips and advice for gardeners about gardening

Growing Indoor Climbing Plants

January 28, 2011 hortoris

Most conservatories have large glass areas and side walls that can be ideal for climbers. Clothing the sides with climbers helps raise the humidity levels and provide shade.

Frost Free Conservatory Plants

Passion flowers like Passiflora Amethyist or Passiflora Constance Elliott are nearly hardy even outside.
Lapegeria rosea has pink-red bell-shaped blooms from autumn through winter. Use ericaceus compost and train it up a trellis.
Annual colour can be provided by morning glories Ipomea lobata.
Also an annual Thunbergia Black-eyed Susan are worth considering
Evergreen climbers including Ficus and ivies, Rhoicissus rhomboidea Grape ivy, Philodendron scandens Sweetheart vine and Scindapsus aureus Devil’s ivy.

Warmer areas 7Âº C Plus

Bougainvilliea with thrive if given enough space. They grow up to 10′ in a season so beware.
Mandevilla Brazilian Jasmine like the one above and Lophopermum are other choices.
In smaller conservatories Jamine, Plumbago and Rhodochiton can be kept under control with a bit of trimming.
Hoya is a tropical climbing plant with thick leaves and fragrant, waxy flowers.

Supporting Climbers

Fix a series of horizontal wires to walls to give the climbers support.
On the glass sides fix wires to wooden supports.
Alternatively push long canes or trellis into containers for support.
Tie twinning stems and tendrils to the supports.
Non-clinging plants need more regular tying.

Glasshouse and Greenhouse Preparation

January 27, 2011 hortoris

Get the best gardening results from your glass in a cold frame, greenhouse or glasshouse. (The difference I am told is that a glasshouse has controlled conditions).

PreparationÂ for 2011

Make some glasshouse resolutions and stick to them. What will be grown and when. What experiments may be worth trying etc.
Plants need light so clean the glass thoroughly inside and out.
Take down any bubble wrap insulation and clean with Jeyes fluid. Replace damaged sections before reinstalling.
Clean outÂ guttering and algae from cracks between the glass. A plastic plant label may help you get into tight spaces.
Clean and disinfect all surfaces, benches, gravel and capillary matting.
Wash any pots taking care to get rid of bugs lurking under rims and on bottoms.
Treat wood frames with a wood preservative.
Check windows for damage or loose panes.
Ventilate well and allow the area to dry
Replace any soil or compost according to your resolutions above

Do not forget to clean other equipment like temporary plastic structures, cold frames and cloches.

Flowers as a Business

January 25, 2011 hortoris

Professional Floristry Techniques from Malcolm Ashwell & Sally Pearson

Opening a florists shop or just selling your excess produce at the garden gate? What ever you chose to do these two books will give you some good ideas and more importantly the confidence to give it a go!

Start Your Own Florist Shop and Other Floral Businesses from Cheryl Kimball

If you are artistic you could start a botanical art company producing and selling your own work. Turn out botanical works of art that display your talents- here are some examples to consider.
This new venture could be for pin money selling at local shows and shops or you could develop a following on the internet.

Growing for Selling needs a good plan and better environmental conditions. Take lots of advice and take it to heart! Read Florists for Gardeners

Top Plant Protection

January 25, 2011 hortoris

Plants die from too much water more often than any other cause.
Frost and cold damage is the worst winter killer so take precautions.
As a careless gardener I dig up the wrong thing at times and I should protect my plants by taking more care and marking the location of plants that die back.

Keep dormant plants dry

Potted plants that become dormant need to be kept dry to avoid root rot.
Put a cover of glass or slate over pots of Eucomis and Rhodohypoxis
Dahlias and Cannas can be listed or left in pots under the shelter of a house roof

Mulch

Cover alpines with a mulch of fine grit. The leaves of Lewisia and other small plants can suffer in the wet.
Perennial bulbs of dubious hardiness can be left in the ground if covered with a thick mulch. Hold it down with chicken wire if the area is windy.
A thick covering of garden compost protects my hardy Fuchsias, Delphiniums and Peonies through winter.

Wrap and Cosset

Tree ferns need to be wrapped in hessian or have a straw blanket wrapped around the crown.
Keep the wrapping open for good air circulation or the plant may rot.
A wind break can have a surprisingly good effect in protecting some plants.
Banana plants should have the trunk well wrapped. The roots will withstand some cold.
Fleece is a good blanket for use during inclement conditions.

Shelter

It may seem obvious that a greenhouse can offer winter shelter to tender plants.
Agave and Agapanthus will benefit from being under cover during winter.
Indoor plants should stay indoors, that is why they are called houseplants. Keep them off cold window sills in winter.
Fuchsias and Pelargoniums should be lifted and brought in to a frost free area.

Carnivorous Plant Growing Kit

January 25, 2011 hortoris

Reduced from over Â£12 to under Â£6 this kit will help you try to grow Carnivorous plants.

Caveat emptor – watch out all that is packaged is not good!

The reviews of this product are dire.
Minimal number of seeds that do not germinate.
Parts are missing from the kit
For these reasons we have not provided a link to Amazon to buy this product

Contents of the Kit

Starter growing pots
Compost discs
Venus fly trap seeds
Pitcher plant seeds
Markers
How too Guide

You should do far better with the professional ‘Carnivorous Plant Society’ try this link

High Fibre Composting

January 24, 2011 hortoris

A cold composting process with the addition of crumpled paper and torn cardboard has been named High Fibre Composting. Promoted by the Centre for Alternative Technology the compost making process is simple as could be.

Step by Step Cold Composting

Add waste to the compost heap or plastic bin as and when it is available.
Mix kitchen and garden waste with crumpled paper and torn cardboard.
The ratio of waste doesn’t matter but avoid thick layers of any one material.
There is no need to turn the heap.
The compost should be ready to use in 3 months during summer. In cold weather it will take a little longer.

Pros and Cons of High Fibre Composting

As the compost will not heat up weed seeds and plant diseases will not be killed. Do not try compost seed heads and infected plants.
Leave the heap open to rain as the heap needs moisture. Water the paper and card if the heap seems dry.
Worms are a great help in composting. You can buy extra worms from a fishing tackle shop, go for red worms called ‘Dendrobaena‘.
This composting adds carbon back into the soil and will condition your garden.
Compost will not have high levels of nutrient so you may need to manure some parts of the garden as well.
Given time anything that has grown will rot down using a cold process. However avoid large twigs and lumps of wood and aim for variety of composted material

Enjoy making compost it can be therapeutic for you and the environment.

Sexing Hollies for More Berries

January 23, 2011 hortoris

Holly or Ilex are a dioecious plants with male and female sexual organs on separate shrubs. Female shrubs bear fruit when pollinated by a separate male plant. If there is no nearby male pollen the female will not berry.

Most plants have bisexual floral structures that contain both male and female reproductive parts. Some times there are separate male and female flowers on the same plant. In both these instances they can self-fertilize but will benefit from cross-fertilization with another plant to improve genetic diversity.

Tips forÂ Holly Pollination

For succesful pollination check your male and female varieties will flower at the same time.
Plant a male plant nearby to your female plants.
If possible chose a male plant with one parent from the same species as the female.
Do not rely on the Holly’s name for determining the sex. (Milk Boy, Golden King and Indian chief are female whilst Victoria and Golden Queen for example are male).
Ask your supplier for the right sex plant.
Inspect flowers, male plants have stamens but rudimentary carpels. Female flowers have nonfunctional rudimentary stamen.

Pruning Hollies

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Gardeners Charities

January 22, 2011 hortoris

Charity begins not at home but in the garden!

Greenfingers is a small charity which is dedicated to creating magical gardens for childrenâ€™s hospices around the UK.

Thrive’s aim is to enable positive change in the lives of disabled and disadvantaged people through the use of gardening.

Trellis is the national Scottish charity that supports, promotes, and develops the use of horticulture to improve health

Perennial is a UK charity dedicated to helping current and retired horticulturists in need.

Horticap is a Yorkshire based handicapped organisation where Alan Titchmarsh is a wonderful ambassador and is incredibly generous with his time and fundraising capabilities.

RHS, Chelsea Physic Garden and the AGS are also charities based on the educational work they do and doubtless for tax reasons.

If you want a garden charity mentioning on these pages send us a comment below.

Sudden Oak Death & Bleeding Canker

January 22, 2011 hortoris

Beware of Phytophthora ramorum and Phytophthora kernoviaea couple of fungus-like pathogens which affect a range of trees, shrubs and other plants.

Ramorum blight or ‘sudden oak death’ is one of the Phytophthora pathogens causing concern in UK woods and forests.
Bark canker on oak trees and heavy leaf infestation on the understorey of rhododendrons has led to the death or removal of 4 million trees.
Viburnums and Japanese larch are also susceptible to the disease which is in danger of spreading still further.
Bleeding canker is a problem for 500,000 Horse Chestnut trees.The inner bark under bleeding patches is usually mottled brown-orange and dead.

These diseases, relatively new to the UK, have been brought in on stock from Asia, Europe and Western USA. The problems could be even worse than Dutch Elm disease so take care.

Action for Gardeners

Gardeners should not compost diseased leaves particularly ofÂ viburnum, rhododendron or oaks.
BurningÂ or deep burial are the only safe disposal method.
Report any diseased plants to Defra, the Forestry Commission or RHS
Disinfect footwear after a walk in the forest.
Do not replant of susceptible hosts within 12 feet for at least 3 years.

Download a fact sheet with photographs fera pdf

Cure for Blind Bulbs

January 21, 2011 hortoris

Plants that grow leaves but fail to flower are called ‘Blind’. Often in bulbs such as daffodils, this blindness happens after several successful seasons of flowering.
A crop of strappy green leaves is not what most gardeners aspire too.

Prevention is Better than Cure for Blindness

Overcrowding as bulbs multiply congests the plants. Split large clumps and replant when the foliage has just died down.
Plant bulbs deep enough. Shallow planting can cause bulbs to be blind. Soil depth 2-3 times the height of the bulb should be above the tip of the bulb.
Feed the bulbs with Growmore in spring or a high potash feed if growing in containers.
Dry conditions can cause blindness. Water thoroughly and regularly after flowering until foliage dies down naturally.
Help bulbs regenerate their strength by leaving leaves on plants and taking seedheads off.
Do not knot or tie up the leaves let photosynthesis maximise the bulb size for next year.
Do not plant too late in the season and expect a good flower crop.
Not true blindness but pests can eat the buds or damage the bulbs so cover with mesh if you are troubled.
Young offsets need time to build up to flowering

Some plants are blind for more serious reasons related to their biology. Life can be too short to work on a plant that heredity has decreed it will not flower.
Chose floriferous varieties.
Allow enough time to see if young or recalcitrant plants will flower better in later years.

Other Causes Other Plants

Conditions during seed production, as well as during post-harvest processing of the seed can increase blind plants.
Germination and growing conditions can have an effect on the occurrence of blind plants.
Genetic conditions can have an impact.
Blindness in tomato and chillie plants is a disorder concerning the growing point.