Plunge Pot Grown Daffodils

Plunge Pot Grown Daffodils

This year I didn’t take my own advice and have pots of Daffs that are stunted and unlikely to excel. Take the plunge and bury your bulb pots to encourage strong root growth. Next year is the key- at least gardeners usually get another chance to fail!

daffodil

If you grow daffodils in pots you will get better results if you ‘Plunge Pots’ in soil or peat after potting.
Daffodil bulbs do not like to be frozen so you need to plunge or bury the pot at least 2 and preferably 4 inches deep.
Leave them covered for 16-18 weeks.
Feed with high potash feed every week during and after flowering to build up the bulbs for next season.
Do not cut the leaves but when they have died back gently pull them from the base.
gravel in the above photo is used to aid watering and the grit on top of the pot improves the appearance, prevents moss and lichen

Daffodil selection

Take the plunge and bury your bulb pots. This evens out the ground/compost temperature for the bulbs to grow good roots and develop in a natural manner.
Miniature daffodil bulbs like this treatment.
If you want to regrow the bulbs next year give them a bit more room and plenty of root depth.

Muscari A Blue Bulb for Spring

Muscari A Blue Bulb for Spring

muscari

Muscari Species AKA Grape Hyacinth

Look out in other gardens for great bulbs to grow for next spring. This Grape Hyacinth called Muscari Azureum is a clear soft blue that is recommended for naturalising.
Muscari Valerie Finnis is also blue whilst most of the  other species and varieties flower in shades of purple.
Muscari grow well in pots where the foliage can look interesting.

Muscari alba
I have not tried Album or Botryoides Album both white Grape or Feather Hyacinths, nor the new scented yellow Golden Fragrance.

Muscari

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Hyacinth Growing Tips

Hyacinth Growing Tips

hyacinth & primrose

Growing Hyacinths

  • Hyacinths like brilliant drainage
  • Hyacinth need full sun and a good baking during summer
  • Feed with a potash fertilizer in early spring to help roots and bulbs.
  • Plant between September and December. Christmas indoor bulbs need to be ‘prepared’ and planted as soon as available.
  • Put an inch of grit in the bottom of a pot to help drainage and cover the top of the bulb with 3″ of soil.
  • Deadhead and allow leaves to die down naturally.
  • Propagate by dividing clumps in early autumn.

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Bulbs to Plant this Autumn

Bulbs to Plant this Autumn

Get your bulb catalogues out and select your planting scheme for a glorious display next spring. Plant some bulbs just to cut for indoor flowers – the bunches will be superior to those you will pay na fortune for in the shops next year and you have the fun of growing your own.

I have planted some smaller bulbs around my rockery for spring flowers.

Selection by Height
‘Crocus Whitewell Purple’ are early flowering with 6 purple petals that open almost flat to display their attractive yellow stamen. They grow 3″ tall.
Narcissus Canaliculatus are multiheaded 4″ high flowers with white petals and yellow trumpets. They do not like dry soil.
For a dry spot I have planted a bulb new to me Ipheion Uniflorum. This has fragrant lilac-blue star shaped flowers 6″ tall. …

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Gorse with Spines and Prickles is a Weed

Gorse with Spines and Prickles is a Weed

Gorse

Ulex europaeus better known as Gorse, furze, furse or whin is a very prickly shrub of the pea family. Western gorse Ulex gallii is frequent in the western side of Britain and is relatively low growing yet robust. Dwarf gorse or Ulex minor is a low growing, sprawling shrub.

Gorse Facts

  • Gorse grows wild on heath and scrub land in the UK.
  • Gorse is closely related to the brooms with green stems, very small leaves and is adapted to dry growing conditions.
  • Common gorse flowers yellow in late autumn and through the winter. This picture was taken at the beginning of February 2011.
  • Gorse can be used as a hedge but beware the spines are really spikey.
  • Gorse is a valuable plant for wildlife, providing dense thorny cover ideal for protecting bird nests. The flowers and dead wood are eaten by insects.
  • Gorse grows in soils that are light, free draining and free from severe frosts.


Clearing Gorse

  • Due to it’s spiny nature, Gorse forms thickets that are impenetrable to animals and humans.
  • Gorse produces large numbers of seeds in seed pods which explode open increasing the area of seed distribution.
  • Seed may last for up to 100 years in the soil before conditions become suitable for germination.
  • For controlling small plants hand weeding is an effective method.
  • Other labour intensive methods of gorse control for larger plants include digging, slashing and cutting.
  • Burning can also be done, but stimulate more plant growth.
  • Herbicide treatment after spring flowering is a good time to carry out a gorse control programme.
  • Cutting and stump ‘pasting’ (treating the stump with chemicals) is also effective.

Gorse

Read about other Prickly Shrubs

Common Lawn Weeds Ruin Stripes

Common Lawn Weeds Ruin Stripes

Dandelion clock

Many common weeds found in lawns and grass are appealing wild flowers. They look best in a meadow setting and not in a manicured lawn.

Grass lines
Lawn with stripes nor weeds

Problems with Lawn Weeds

  • Low growing lawn weeds escape the cut of the lawnmower and can eventually create a mass of leaves that throttles the fine grasses.
  • Lawn weeds can host pests and disease and create unsightly flat patches by smothering the grass.
  • Lawn weeds are ugly or make a tidy lawn look unkempt.

Daisy & DANDELION

Dandelions produce prodigious amounts of fertile seed that seems to germinate well amongst grass in the lawn.
Their deep tap roots need to be fully removed or killed to prevent a reinfestation of Dandelions. They can be spot weeded by hand or by using a spot-touch weed killer.

The common Daisy is a low growing weed that hugs the ground too smother the grass. They can develop large colonies and are often left untreated as they ‘look pretty’ and can make daisy chains.
Four-leaf Clover

Clover has tight heads of pink, yellow or white flowers with shamrock shaped leaves (Why sham rocks and not real ones?). It thrives in poor soil and runners can be intrusive. Feed the lawn and mow regularly and treat with selective weed killer if these treatments do not work. (pick the four leaved clover for luck!)

Plantains (bottom left)have large leaves that compete for soil nutrients depriving the grass.
Buttercups

Buttercups stunt neighbouring plants and creeps quickly over a lawn. There was not much stunting going on in this picture.

Use Good Culture to Control Weeds

  • Mow the lawn regularly with sharp blades. Set blades so the grass grows about 1″ long.
  • Feed your grass and encourage it to branch freely to thicken and discourage annual weeds and grasses.
  • Keep blades higher at the start of the season and in drought to conserve moisture.
  • Do not let weeds set seed. Remove flowerheads and seedheads and do not put seeds in your compost.
  • Treat weeds early before they have chance to get settled and grow.
  • Use chemicals only with care and when absolutely necessary.

Other Resources

Most Common Weeds
Uncommon Weeds
Weed control of Avens
Horsetail and Mares-tail
Why war with weeds
Credits
Four-leaf Clover by dalcrose CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Buttercups by R~P~M CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Dealing With Dandelions

Dealing With Dandelions

Oxford Castle
A sea of Dandelions

It is the time of the year where dandelions are popping up everywhere. This shot of Dandelion flowers is quite attractive (taken by Oxford Castle Mound). But, in the border and lawn dandelion is classed as a weed. In particular dandelion leaves will smoother the grass and make it weaker in the long term.

It is a tough weed, but definitely beatable.

For a small number of dandelions, I do recommend digging out the tap root with a trowel or custom weed trowel. The secret is to try and get as much of the root as possible. In practise, it is hard to get everything. But, it means that when it regenerates from a small bit of root, it will much easier to finish off with weed killer.

It is best to dig dandelions when the soil is dry as this makes it easier to shake off the soil surrounding the dandelion root.

If you don’t have time or energy to dig up dandelions, you can resort to a weedkiller which is designed for broad leaf weeds. You can either spray or paint it directly on to the leaves. It may need 2 to 3 treatments to finally kill them off.

Prevent Seeding.

Now is a good time to act, as if you let them go to seed, it will be just storing up more work for the future.
Oxford Castle

Dandelions aren’t the end of the world. This makes quite an attractive picture.

Eat Dandelions.

Another option is just enjoy the flowers and pick the leaves and flowers for salads. If you are really keen, you could roast the dandelion root to make a healthy organic dandelion coffee.

Related
Weedkiller for Dandelion

Book Cover

Roundup Weedkiller concentrate. Good for large areas which need treating at Amazon.

Related Posts

Controlling Moss in Lawn

Controlling Moss in Lawn

moss
Unfortunately, my lawn has a lot of moss (if you look closely) this is because I’ve gone for the ‘wildlife effect’ i.e. too lazy to mow the lawn.

Moss is a signal of a lawn with problems. To control the moss, it is important to tackle the underlying causes of moss.

Causes of Moss

  • Damp, poorly drained soil.
  • Dry sandy soils which are infertile.
  • Acid soil
  • Too Much Shade. Moss is almost inevitable in heavily shaded areas. You could cut back the trees, but, it can be a shame to remove a shady spot on the lawn. Don’t forget moss is not the end of the world.
  • Infrequent Mowing
  • Cutting too low

Basically, moss thrives where grass struggles to grow. The best way to prevent excess moss growth is to provide conditions for strong grass growth. This involves.

  • Well drained soil
  • Watering in dry spells
  • Regular grass feed and use of weedkiller.

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Gardener’s Mildew Cures

Gardener’s Mildew Cures

If gardeners have left wet leather gloves or shoes in a mild garage since summer they may now be covered in a white dusty substance that is powdery mildew. Powdery Mildew can affect many garden plants and it is especially vexatious on Gooseberries, Roses and Peas. The greying of leaves leads to yellowing, distortion and falling, it is unsightly and damages crops.
For help understanding mildew read these tips.

Mildew Causes and Cures

Stress through dryness at the roots can make plants vulnerable. Water well in dry spells. Do not plant too close to dry walls or in a rain shadow. Add a water retaining mulch.
General maintenance issues bin any fallen or damaged leaves. Well fed plants will have more resistance to disease, apply Growmore or Blood, Fish and Bone at the start of the growing season. Select varieties that are less prone to mildew like Klevedon Wonder Peas or Cascade Brussels. Do not encourage sappy growth with too much nitrogen based fertilizer.
Good air circulation will restrict mildew so prune or thin out branches to create an open framework. Damp humid conditions also favour mildew so water the roots not the leaves. Mildew is spread by spores so do not shake infected material.

If all else fails there are proprietary fungicides and sprays including organic Fish oil blend or Sulphur powder which can help particularly on roses. Powdery mildews spend the winter as dormant infections resting structures or leaves which then release spores the following spring.

Oh and if your boots have mildew you are not doing enough gardening.

 

Avoidance is better than cure read tips to avoid mildew.

Autumn Fungus and Fairy Ring Tips

Autumn Fungus and Fairy Ring Tips

fungus

Following my summer post Fine and Fantastic Fruiting Fungus I have been out in the local woods seeking these new pictures.

fungus

Fairy Ring Tips

  • Fairy rings in a lawn are a result of fungus such as Marasmius Oreades growing thread like spores.
  • Fairy rings are dark green circles of lush grass in the lawn or may also be noticed as a group of toadstools in mid-summer.
  • Do not compost the toadstools or even the clippings to avoid spreading spores.
  • Fairy rings like dry soil so one treatment is to water and feed the lawn so the whole area goes dark green.
  • It is hard to treat Fairy rings but a fungicide containing dichlorophen may help.
  • The last alternative treatment is to dig out the infected area and returf.

fungus