Growing Heliotrope Plants

Growing Heliotrope Plants

purple-haze

Heliotrope usually has dark green crinkled leaves and deep purple flowers. The flowers are among the most fragrant in the garden. I grow it as an annual from bought plants (a bit extravagant). Heliotrope were prized by our grandmothers in traditional cottage-gardens. There are several varieties with flowers in white and pale lavender. But I prefer the old-fashioned kind with dark green, crinkled leaves and deep purple flowers. It is quite dependable both in ease of care and reliable fragrance. Reminiscent of vanilla, the heliotrope’s scent gave rise to its common name ‘ the cherry-pie plant’.

Growing Tips

  • If over crowded they may suffer from mildew but are generally pest free.
  • Plant in plenty of sunshine.
  • Heliotrope needs pinching out when young . Pinch back the tips all over the plant early on, which forces lots of new side growth. You wait longer for flowers but get more of them eventually.
  • Removing faded blooms promptly results in a continuous show of pretty flowers starting in July.
  • Heliotrope  turns its flowers and leaves toward the sun over the course of each day. And at night it readjusts itself to face eastward, to be ready for sunrise. That tendency is at the root of the name heliotrope. It means to move with the sun.
  • Heliotrope is a member of the Borage family

Heliotropium arborescens or peruvianum are the species to consider growing but there are many species of Heliotrope not all of which are suitable for the UK.

Winter Heliotrope Petasites fragrans is native to the Mediterranean. As its name implies it produces attractive heads of fragrant, mauve flowers early in the New Year  however, the true character of the plant is thuggish. It is a large-leaved rampant perennial spreading by means of underground stems and is very invasive.

Seeds are now available from Thompson & Morgan

Solanum Potato Flower Climber

Solanum Potato Flower Climber

sonolium-2

The plant family Solanaceae is large and diverse from the nightshades, through tomatoes, potatoes and peppers to daturas and Solanum there is a detailed explanation of these species on hvanbalken.com

Gardeners Solanum Tips

  • The Chilean potato vine Solanum Crispum is just the  vigorous climber to give your sunny wall an exotic look.
  • It has wiry stems which need tying up to wires or trellis for support. Prune and tie in to retain the required shape.
  • The small semi-evergreen leaves  remain on the plant in all but bad winters and easily reach 6 feet tall.
  • The potato-like flowers with lilac petals around a pointed yellow centre, appear continuously from mid-summer to mid-autumn. The variety ‘Glasnevin’ is the one to choose, as it flowers more prolifically and is also slightly hardier.
  • They are pest and disease free once established.
  • Plants like a moist but well-drained soil that is neutral to slightly alakaline in pH.
  • To propagate take cuttings from summer to early autumn. If buying from a garden centre buy when in bloom as some varieties have disappointing blossom
  • …

    Read More Read More

Flowering Currant – Ribes sanguineum

Flowering Currant – Ribes sanguineum

flowering-currant

In my garden the flowers of the flowering currant are over for another year so this morning I started to prune the shrubs. The lobed leaves of the Flowering Currant are seldom of special merit although they look lime green fresh at the moment. Therefore I am happy to prune very hard immediately after flowering.

Pruning Tips

  • Cut out dead, damaged or diseased wood as a first priority.
  • Cut out some of the old thick blackened stems at ground level to reduce the thicket and open up the shrub. At least one third of the branches should be removed in this way.
  • For an over grown shrub prune all branches right down to the ground immediately after flowering.
  • Shape the shrub by reducing the length of the remaining branches to create an open framework with space for new branches .
  • From the pruned branches new growth will grow and buds form this summer and provide the base for blossom next year.

If you want to grow more plants stick some of the pruned branches into the soil in an out of the way spot and chances are good that several will root. I try get a cutting 6+ inches long with a bit of the older wood as it breaks in to new wood,  I strip off the leaves for the first 4 inches or so and plant in normal soil with no special effort.

History from The Daily Mail

…

Read More Read More

Green Chrysanthemum

Green Chrysanthemum

green-chrysanth

Chrysanthemum are great plants to grow for ‘cutting flowers’.  Spray chrysanthemum have been very popular for many years as they are easy to grow and last well in the garden or vase. Now there is a green flowered variety ‘Chrysanthemum Froggy’ that flowers in August with small, tight green flowers that develop towards purple.

For larger green Chrysanthemum try Anastasia Green or Balloon Green.  For a real stunner try the florists cactus type Chrysanthemum Shamrock.  These are still available in sets of 6 from Sarah Raven

Australian Plants & Trees

Australian Plants & Trees

snow-gum

Gondwanaland

This white barked tree is an Australian Eucalyptus debeuvillei’ Snow Gum’. It is planted in the special southern hemisphere enclosure at Marks Hall in Essex as part of the Arboretum. Gondwanaland was the ancient name of a super continent that split apart to form Australia, Antartica, New Zealand and South Africa (although I don’t know who was around to call it that).

In the planting there are a large number of as yet quite young Monkey Puzzle trees Araucaria araucana but that adds to the attraction of this fine garden. It is good to see new planting that will be there when the 500 year old Oaks reach their millennium. One of those plantings will be the the Wollemi Pine one of the world’s oldest and rarest plants dating back to the time of the dinosaurs. With less than 100 adult trees known to exist in the wild, the Wollemi Pine is now the focus of extensive research to safeguard its survival.It is far sighted to plant several of these trees as part of the Southern hemisphere garden which will itself develop as the trees mature and provide shelter and (globally warmed) conditions.

wolemi-pine

Marks Hall Gardens & Arboretum

…

Read More Read More

Bluebells in Flower

Bluebells in Flower

bluebells

Sun creeping through the wood to the bluebells on the ground.

bluebells

Bluebells in wood

bluebells

The Bluebells flowering season is nearly over here in UK. These shots were taken in Mid May. Sometimes, as gardeners we can’t beat the beauty of nature.

Mauve Bluebell

See how to Tidy up bluebells

Anisodontea False Mallow

Anisodontea False Mallow

anisodontea

I saw these pot plants in our local garden centre and inspired by the prolific flowers wondered what they were. They are called the African Mallow Anisodontea capensis and I can see the resemblance.
According to the BBC site ‘The name might be unfamiliar, but this prolific South African plant has been grown for over a century in this country as a tender perennial pot plant. It flowers continuously through the summer into autumn, the hibiscus-like blooms varying in colour from light pink to deep magenta. The evergreen leaves are small and bright green. It needs to be overwintered under glass, but may survive winter outside in very mild, sheltered areas. May be propagated by seed in spring or by semi-ripe cuttings in late summer.’

I came across Anisodontea scabrosa, Anisodontea hypomadarum and Anisodontea capensis as varieties and I think it is a plant we will hear a lot more about as fashion and climate change impact. At the moment they are imported and I would prefer to see them grown in the UK before buying one for my own use.

Gardeners Tips on Feeding Plants

Gardeners Tips on Feeding Plants

Plants need Air, Water, Sunlight and Nutrients to grow.
The top 3 nutrients are Nitrogen N Phosphorous P and Potassium K

npk

Various plants also need other smaller amounts of minerals or trace elements such as Sulphur, Calcium, Iron. Magnesium, Copper and Zinc.

Liquid fertiliser is available as a concentrate or powder that is diluted and applied to the roots and surrounding soil. At larger dilution levels it can act as a foliar feeder adding nutrients through the leaves.

Solid Fertiliser is usually granular, pellet or powder form. They release feed over a longer perion as in Bone Meal, blood Fish and bone or Growmore. They can be incorporated in a planting hole or scattered on the surface to be washed in to feed existing plants.

Green Manure is a crop that is dug back into the soil to improve fertility and soil condition. Clover and pea plants fix nitrogen into the soil whilst grass clippings need nitrogen to rot down.

Apply fertilizer in spring at the start of the growing season and give a boost to vegetables in summer with a granular or liquid fertilizer

General Purpose fertilsers have a combination of all 3 key nutrient NPK and this is shown on the packaging in proportions 2:2:6 would have the same proportions of nitrogen and phosphorus but twice as much pottasium so would be good for flowers and tomatoes.

…

Read More Read More

Quick Gardeners Tips

Quick Gardeners Tips

Salad

Lettuce seed only germinates below 20 ° C ( 68° F) so avoid a position that is in full sun. Drying out can cause lettuce to bolt.

Sow some Oriental vegetables to use as cut and come again. They will be ready to harvest in a few weeks and good in salads or stir frys.

If growing salad crops in a container box or grow bag make sure it is deep enough to keep the compost moist at all times. If needs be, shade or insulate the container so it doesn’t dry out too quickly

Beetroot leaves look good and can be eaten as well as the roots.  Try a few in a deep pot if you are short of space.

Onions shredded onto a salad are one of my favourites. You can pull young sets as spring onions so plant them close and eat as you start thinning out.

General Tips

…

Read More Read More

Seasonal Fuchsia Tips Pink Fantasia

Seasonal Fuchsia Tips Pink Fantasia

pink-fantasia

At the Early Spring Show

Your Fuchsias should be coming along quite nicely now.They won’t be in the condition this exhibition variety ‘Pink Fantasia’ was last month for the Spring show but soon you can be winning prizes.

Seasonal Tips for Growing Fuchsias

  • The upright bush Fuchsias still need pinching out to encourage the development of extra branches.
  • Bigger pots may be necessary for those that have roots showing out of the bottom of the pot.
  • In the North of England I find it is still too early to be hardening off the Fuchsias but during the day they get plenty of fresh air and some liquid feed at the end of the day in the drying breeze. I will increase this by moving them outside during the day so they can get used to buffeting by our climate.
  • Hardy Fuchsias have been a little slow this year but they are now beginning to show some leaf.
  • Fuchsias should be kept moist not sodden to avoid flower drop – a good mulch will help.
  • It is not too late to buy Fuchsias from your garden center. The larger the plant the more they will charge and there is still time for you to grow the plants and get a great flowering display in September without paying for big plants right now.