Gardening Consequences of a long Holiday

Gardening Consequences of a long Holiday


botanics

Will I learn from my 4 week holiday traveling Europe by train? Probably not but I can list some of the gardening events that need to be considered next time I take off.

Short Flowering Season

  • Dahlias were just coming into full bloom as I left for my holiday. I had carefully prepared the ground this year with extra helpings of horse manure as I know Dahlias are heavy feeders, a bit like the horses themselves.
  • Without the deadheading, that I would have done, they now look well past there best and are running to seed. Never the less I have cut them back quite hard in some cases and if we get a frost free autumn I may get a subsequent flush of flowers.
  • Most flowers are genetically programmed to produce seed to continue the species and when this is done the energy for flower production goes into seed production and winter survival.

Friends and Neighbors

  • My greenhouse had been well tended in return for a supply of tomatoes. The Gardeners Delight cropped well and were sweet and juicy but the cool weather in early September  has slowed the ripening of the larger varieties.
  • I ordered some plug plants, long enough ago to have forgotten, for delivery late September.  As you would expect they arrived in August just after I had left. Fortunately they were noticed on my doorstep and taken in by a sensible friend who has saved my 150 or so plants.
  • The kids came and looked at the house and watered the houseplants once each, two days apart! So no water for 3+ weeks than a double dose.
  • I was willing to sacrifice my pot plants but unrequested watering by another friend has prolonged the begonia flowering and they look a treat.

Internet Gardeners Tips

  • Before leaving I preplanned a series of web page postings – you can predate your pages. Sorry I didn’t manage to cover the whole period but only a week has gone by with nothing.
  • I now need to get some autumn photographs to help illustrate the next batch of Gardeners tips pages.
Five Soil Types

Five Soil Types

Soil Color and Quality

There are potentially as many soils as there are gardens but they can be classified into five types.

Heavy Clay Soil
Minute particles of clay stick together in a gluey mess when wet and go rock hard when dry.
Often clay soil is very fertile. Clay soils can be improved with drainage, coarse grit, or the addition of coarse organic matter as humus.

Sandy Soil
Sand particles are much larger than clay making sandy soil free draining, light and quick to warm up in spring. Nutrients wash through quickly and watering and feeding of plants is needed. Sandy soil can be improved with the addition of humus.

Lime free Soil
Peaty or dark lime free soils are generally rich in organic matter. Acid in nature, below ph7.0, they tend to be moisture retentive and suit acid loving plants. In extremes they may be hard to re-wet if they dry out too much. Perennial plant selection

Alkaline Soil
Limey soils are often pale, shallow and stoney. They are free draining and quick to warm up in the sunshine. Moderately fertile they benefit from the addition of organic matter.

Average Soil

The dream of every gardener and found when soil has been well cultivated and enhanced for many seasons. Local conditions make a fixed definition hard but reasonable drainage and neutral to slightly acid soil makes for an average soil that is suitable for the majority of plants.

Soil Tips

Consider your own soil by looking at the colour, feeling the texture and observing the plants that grow best in yours or local soils.
Avoid boggy soil that will not drain as plants need air at their roots or they rot or drown. Airless soil also attracts moss.
Impoverished soils have the nutrients leached out with water or taken by earlier crops. Add back humus as well as general NPK fertilisers.

 

One spadeful of soil will be teaming with 1000’s of life forms

Credits
Soil Color and Quality by elvisripley CC BY-NC 2.0

Plant Labels, Minefield or Mine of Information

Plant Labels, Minefield or Mine of Information

This garden centre label is colourful and was surprisingly close in colour to the plant it was selling.

Beware of faded and cracked labels as this is a sign of UV deterioration and the plant will have been with the label for far too long.

Labels should be Informative

  • Labels should show the name of the plant in botanic terms (in this case Rhododendron)  and the variety in this case ‘Golden Eagle’. It often has the common name crucially missing in this case as it is a Knapp Hill Azalea.
  • Planting Instructions are usually fairly generic, in this case it mentions acid or ericaceous soil.
  • Cultural instructions include positioning, watering, feeding and where necessary pruning guidelines should be helpful.
  • A plant description giving height and spread in inches or cm, time of flowering, habit etc. Missing in this case as unlike most rhododendrons this is deciduous not evergreen.
  • It is a growing trend to include the growers details particularly where they want to impose some rights like Plant Beeders Rights

Keeping Labels

  • As far as I know there is no hobby of collecting plant labels like match boxes.
  • I keep my labels to remind me what I planted but do not put labels in the garden. May be I should reconsider as I forget more than I remember except where the Rosemary is planted!
  • Labels sometimes include the price and that amazes me years later when I think what I spent. The pre printed white tags are good for this.
  • Cut off the white tyvek tags and any bits of elastic without damaging the plant.

See more pictures of Golden Eagle

Read more about Labels Markers and Tags

Growing Carnivorous and Insectivorous Plants

Growing Carnivorous and Insectivorous Plants

Carnivorous plants are not as hard to grow as you might imagine. There are several ways you can grow interesting displays of these consuming plants. If you want to grow Pitcher plants similar to those above read Easy Carnivorous Pitcher Plants.

Tips for Growing and Displaying

  • The top Gardeners tip for these plants is to supply plenty of rainwater. Tap water contains too many chemicals.
  • The cold greenhouse display below incorporates a stream supplied by a small garden pump and recycling filter.
  • The water helps the insects, that the plant will consume, to breed.
  • You can grow your plants in a half barrel, large terracotta pot or an old rubber trug.
  • Buy hardy varieties from a specialist nursery. Badly treated plants seldom recover.
  • Discourage flowering for a couple of season to build up the plants strength.

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Fantastic Fruiting Fungus

Fantastic Fruiting Fungus

The mushroom we see is the fruiting part of a fungus that distributes the spores of the fungus for its own reproduction.

Fungus Facts

  • Most fungi are small microorganisms that live in soil, on dead matter, or as a symbiont of plants or animals.
  • Fungi perform an essential role in the decomposition of organic matter and have fundamental roles in recycling nutrients.
  • The study of fungi is known as mycology, which is often regarded as a branch of botany
  • Yeasts and moulds are forms of fungi but slimes are not.
  • The Kingdom Fungi has been estimated to include approximately 1.5 million species, most of which have not been classified.

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Actaea simplex autopurpurea

Actaea simplex autopurpurea

Bug bane of a gardeners life? No Bugbane is just another name for Actaea. Part of the Atropurpurea Group this variety was on show at Harlow Carr and is probably ‘Hillside Black Beauty’. The White Allium flowers set off the dark foliage.

Growing Actaea Simplex

  • Plants are accommodating but do not like thin alkaline soil.
  • Support using stakes before the flowers appear as they can reach 6 feet tall.
  • Cut spent flowers down to the ground in spring.
  • Lift and divide congested colonies in late autumn or early spring.
  • The fruit are noxious to creatures large and small.
  • Part of the Buttercup family they are generally tall, with great spikes of white flowers in autumn.


Actaea Varieties

  • Other varieties include Actaea matsumurae ‘White Pearl’ and Actaea simplex ‘Black Negligee’ both also called bugbane.
  • Actaea simplex ‘Brunette’ AGM with fabulous dark brown leaves.
  • Actaea Pink Spike is a clump-forming perennial with purple-brown foliage and arching stems of fragrant, pink, flowers.
  • Actaea simplex Pritchard’s Giant has large spikes of tiny white flowers and yellow seedheads
Green Vista From Combining Plants

Green Vista From Combining Plants

Your garden will have viewing points from which you can see a vista. This green vista has scale and impact but you can create your own combination with just a few well chosen plants.

Plants in this Display

  • The woods form a back drop to this view and include some old Rhododendrons and various deciduous trees.
  • Drawing the eye to the centre is an Acer palmatum with purple-green leaves and a strong geometric shape.
  • To the left is a lime green conifer that could be Taxus baccata an upright Yew.
  • Immediately in front of the Acer are a collection of acid loving acid yellow Ferns.
  • The strong leaf shape of the Rheums are in the fore ground.
  • At the front are flowered Primulas of the Candelabra variety and a collection of grass like Iris.
  • Other plants fill up the space so that in the middle of August there is no bare soil showing.

Selecting Your Vista

  • For your backdrop use trees or shrubs to screen out ugly areas.
  • Vary the shapes of trees, shrubs and plants.
  • Green has more shades than any other colour from bottle green to lime, blue-green and purple-green to yellow-green and so on. This provides opportunity to select contrasting or complementary shades.
  • Shape and texture can play an important part in providing the eye with something to consider after the initial view has been taken into account.
  • Construct your layout like an artwork. Split the view into thirds vertically and horizontally and aim for interest at the intersections.
  • Circular and triangular impressions work well be keeping the eye moving but holding it on the main view.


Rheums are not just Rhubarb link

Overwintering Fuchsias

Overwintering Fuchsias

Fuchsia splendens

Overwintering as the name suggests is the treatment of a fuchsia to protect it during winter so that it will survive to perform again next year. All Fuchsias can be overwintered as cuttings and I recommend that as a belt and braces approach.

Overwintering Hardy Fuchias.

  • Hardy cultivars are bred and grown to survive British winters and do well particularly in the south. Fuchsia magellanica ‘Gracilis’, Happy, Lady Thumb, C J Howlett, Graf Witte, Lena, Margaret and Thompsonii are hardy varieties with an AGM.
  • The micro climate for a Fuchsia can help it survive. If grown in full sun the wood will ripen to a firm brown twig that resists freezing. Well drained soil prevents water logging.
  • Plant deeply, at least 4″, so that buds below the soil are protected.
  • I cut back the soft growth in October and cover the root and shoot area with bracken or peat substitute.
  • In spring I prune down to just one or two buds at the base to encourage new growth.

Overwintering Decorative Fuchsias

  • Unless your fuchsia is known to be hardy it is safer to assume it is not and treat it accordingly.
  • Take semi-ripe hardwood cuttings before frost in October and keep in a frost free room to root over winter.
  • The whole plant can be overwintered for several years by making it dormant from October. Stop watering, harden the wood outdoors in the sunshine where possible.
  • Put the plant in a cool, dry frost free place. If it starts shooting it is too warm.
  • Water thoroughly with tepid water only when the root ball becomes totally dry.

Restarting Overwintered Fuchsias

  • Hardy Outdoor varieties will start themselves. Pull off the bracken leaves after the danger of frost has passed.
  • In spring bring out the pot plants and prune back to one or two buds per shoot. Cut out crossing branches and make the plant open.
  • Repot in fresh compost.
  • Place in the light and warmth and syringe the branches. Do not over-water, wait until shoots are growing strongly before any feeding.
  • Stop the plants to get bigger flower heads. Beware overwintered plants can start to loose the size of flower after several seasons.

See also Fuchsia Pink Fantasia on Gardeners tips

Runner Bean Organic Feast

Runner Bean Organic Feast

The early insect damage on my runner bean leaves (above) has not damaged the crop of beans. Cool evenings and warm sunny days with adequate rain, has helped produce a bumper crop of tender beans.

Tips For Runner Bean Next Year

  • Add plenty of rotted compost this winter to increase the moisture holding ability of your soil.
  • Grow in a sunny spot sheltered from strong winds.
  • Stake to at least 6′ high in a wigwam or A frame shape. I used old canes and they snapped in the wind so beware false economy.
  • Plant more than one variety (I also planted heritage Painted Lady for the bi-coloured flowers).
  • Runners need pollination by insects and this is helped when the air is a bit damp. If the weather is very dry, spray your plants with plain water.
  • For organic veg I put up with some leaf damage rather than use chemicals

For more tips on Growing Scarlet Emperor

Saving Bean Seeds

  • When the beans start to fill out the pod and go starchy the seed is ready for saving for next years crop.
  • Let the pod dry out then keep the seed cool and dry for next year.
  • Save enough to give some seed to neighbors.
  • A good big one will beat a good small one so select prime seeds to save.
  • Even runts will probably grow OK but damage seed should not be kept.
Autumn Insect Feed

Autumn Insect Feed

Sedum

The Sedum or Ice Plants are providing a treat for the bees and insects in the garden this September. Many other plants have ‘gone over’ quite early this year so these Sedum blossoms will be quite welcome as a pre-winter energy booster.

Autumn Insect Food

  • Late Rose flowers seem especially well scented at the moment and this will also be attracting nectar feeding insects.
  • I have left a couple of rotting apples on the ground and of course the slugs are now getting free reign on the Hostas.
  • This morning I spread an old compost heap on a plot that I am renovating. The bio-activity and insects have done a great job breaking down the garden waste but there are still bits for the insects to keep feeding on as they work their way back into the garden soil. If you think about the waste products produced by insects no wonder the compost is rich in food – they provide the P in NPK!
  • My sprouts have been decimated by butterfly caterpillars
  • Some plants are having a final burst of individual flowers like the Cistus below.

Wentworth Castle 069