Posts Tagged ‘hardy’ < back
Gareths plants for June
23rd May:
Roses – Now is their peak-time, as June sees all Roses in their absolute element. Options and scope for selection are huge – shrub Roses, old and modern, hybrid tea, floribunda, groundcover, climbing, rambling, species – it can be quite confusing at times to find the ‘right Rose, for the right space’. Generally speaking, they prefer as much sun as possible – there are some exceptions though, such a R. ‘New Dawn’ – an amazing climber. R. ‘Iceberg’ is the all-time modern favourite, and for good reason, as this will flower well into December if happy, and is relatively easy to please. However, my favourite is R. ‘Margaret Merril’ which is unique in the fact that it is a cross between a hybrid tea and a floribunda, and so means that it has highly-scented, large flowers, in abundance – a total winner! Pink buds fade to faint blush and the white flowers that are both huge and sweetly-scented. Black spot and aphids can be a nuisance with all Roses – and sprays combined with fertiliser can prevent both of these, if used correctly. Spray with a combi-spray before blackspot/aphids appear – ‘Roseclear’ is a popular and effective commercial brand. Repeat every 6 weeks. Also, remember, a stressed plant is a vulnerable plant. This may sound silly – but if there is adequate light and sun, rich but free draining soil, and regular watering during dry spells, then a Rose will gain vigour and most importantly – resilience. Much like us – kept healthy and happy, our immune systems are at their best!
Lavender – Now we see why this plant is one of the most well-known and best loved plants throughout history. Tough, independent, undemanding – when happy, Lavender is the kind of plant that thrives on neglect and lack-of-attention. It’s demands are few, but very specific, and often neglected at the expense of its performance – soil, must be free draining, gritty, sandy, relatively low in terms of nutrient content. It hates ‘wet feet’ for long periods, and so free-draining sorry is essential if it is to get through our wet and cold Winters. If needs be, dig in large amounts of horticultural grit and sand into your soil – it’s well worth the effort. Full sun is a must, and water should be modest and reserved. Clip back all the current year’s growth by two thirds at the end of the season, to retain shape and promote bushiness. Spray with a systemic insecticide once or twice in late Spring and early Summer to prevent beetle attack (not a widespread problem, but if a beetle attack happens, it really does ‘happen’, leaving widespread ugly foliage from their roaming, munching habits). L. angustifolia ‘Hidcote’ is your tradition ‘English Lavender’ – nice and big, dark blue, hardy as they come. If space is an issue, then go for L. ang. ‘Munstead’ which has violet flowers, and reaches half the height of Hidcote at only 40cm. White Lavender is always up and down in terms of fashion trends dictated – largely – by Chelsea. But, it does have its place, and I often use it for that splash of cool, clean white that works so well against its silvery foliage. Lavandula stoechas is the French, or ‘bunny rabbit’ Lavender – very pretty and fun flowers with ribbons of petals at the top, this species is a wonderful choice but is slightly more tender than our English varieties.
Salvia x superba ‘Mainacht’ – the most loved and used of the Salvias. The family is huge, and includes white, black-purple, pink, and the whole range of purple, flowering varieties. Most tend to respond well to being cut back immediately after flowering, to produce a second bloom of smaller, but still impressive, flowers. Be swift and confident – as soon as they have definitely passed their best – even if there are still a few flowers left – cut all flowers back to the next set of unopened buds below the flowers. Or, if feeling a little impatient and reckless – go in there with the sheers… it WILL come back! Much like Lavender, these plants thrive in the same conditions. Salvias are best used in bold displays of at least 3 – be confident, and plant a large clump or sweeping line of them. A wonderful plants for bees and butterflies too.
Cornus kousa – a spectacular and unusual specimen tree, especially useful where space is limited. Its 4-petaled, slightly odd – but deeply striking – flowers are profusely displayed to bold effect over June. the c. kousa species has quite a range, with Cornus kousa ‘China Girl’ being the established favourite for greeny off-white flowers, but ‘Satomi has boldly deep pink flowers. Most varieties are also known well-loved to their spectacular Autumn displays of leaves going through the changes from green through hues of orange and purple-red, before shedding just before Winter’s onset. A wonderful choice of small specimen tree for something that is just ‘that bit different’ and that will engage the eye and draw comments from all who view this splendid specimen during its peak-months. All Cornus thrive in full sun, with fertile but free-draining soil, and are generally very undemanding in terms of pruning, or pest and disease problems.
Hydrangea petiolaris – such a spectacular climber with incredible displays of large white sprays of white, which can be so bold and magnificent when seen at this time of year. Best planted and trained against wall, where – after a short period of training and supporting, it will happily self-cling and take care of itself from thereon. Initially it is slow-growing, so do not be surprised or disappointed if ‘not much happens’ for the first couple of years after planting – this plant is an investment, and is best grown with a view to the long-term future of its site. It can be contained quite easily, and will happily bounce back and respond well to hard-pruning and tough training, but can just as easily scale up a 10m wall, to unleash its full potential. Loves the sun, but will also be happy in partial shade. Like all Hydrangeas, it appreciates rich, fertile soil, and does require a bit of water. However, once established, these climbers take care of themselves – if it thrives, then there is nothing you need do except stand back and admire its beauty and splendour, and occasionally get up that ladder to hack back at will.
Winter Gardening Tips
11th Jan:
Firstly, on behalf of the Harrington Porter team, let me wish you all a happy new year! I hope that 2010 is a flourishing year for your garden!
Although it is the middle of Winter, now is still a good time for maintenance, especially if your garden didn’t get a thorough Autumn tidy up last year. Now is the ideal time, before Spring, for pruning and training, especially Wisteria, Roses, Clematis and fruit trees. Also, if your garden is looking quite bare and dull at this time of year – it doesn’t need to and we can change that for you! Although certainly less abundant than Spring and Summer, there are a huge range of plants that provide Winter interest throughout the season, and not just in the form of flowers; there are ornamental stems, such as the striking red, orange or yellow stems of the ornamental Dogwoods (Cornus ssp.), or the haunting white stems of Rubus. Colour doesn’t have to be the main feature of ornamental and eye-catching stems as it does, take Corylus avenella ‘Contorta’ – the Corkscrew hazel – has a mass of twisting, gnarled stems that loop and bend in all directions, in fact this plant is at its most striking in Winter, when it has no leaves so the stems can be appreciated much more, plus it is adorned with bright yellow catkins towards the end of Winter. This is just one plant of many that really come into their own at this time of year. Contact us and we can advise on a huge range of plants to provide interest for this season, or any other, and even source the plants for you from reputable and professional suppliers to ensure the best quality.
Hopefully this recent bout of snow hasn’t been too damaging for your garden. As beautiful as snow is, it can be very destructive to tender plants, so I hope you got yours all wrapped up or sheltered before the onslaught. But, it’s not too late to protect tender plants – as long as they are still alive and not wiped out by the recent frosts, then get busy with the fleece, or drag them into a sheltered position. Not only is it the damage from frost that you should watch out for in your garden with this recent snow, but also the actual weight of the snow itself on branches and hedges can be a problem if it is left sitting there for too long. Some plants are fully hardy and will not be bothered at all by this; other plants however are hardy but they will still suffer frost-burn if left with snow on their leaves or crowns for too long. E.g. Cordylines are a good example of this, a hardly plant, but one that is quite susceptible to damage when its crown is wet and then we get regular hard frosts. When in doubt, please contact us and we can advise on particular plants and their susceptibility to frosts as well as suitable ways to protect them.
Although there’s nothing quite as fun as building a big snowman on the lawn with the children, do beware of walking on the lawn when there is snow on it, or indeed when there has been a frost and the ground is frozen. This can be very damaging to the grass which easily snaps and is damaged when frozen and then stepped on – that ‘crunchy’ sound that everyone likes to hear so much when walking on frozen lawns is actually hundreds of blades of grass snapping and breaking internally with each step. There, now, if that hasn’t guilt-tripped you into avoiding the mass slaughter of hapless grass strands then nothing will!
If you have any Winter bedding plants – i.e. in your window boxes or pots, then remember to ‘dead head’! Often people forget and this will quickly result in a plant ceasing to flower. Cyclamen, pansies, violas, primroses, all need to be dead headed before going to seed, this can keep them flowering for months as opposed to a few weeks. And, if you don’t have beautiful Winter or Spring bedding plants in your window boxes or pots – then come on and visit us! We can take care of that for you, and we pride ourselves on really eye-catching and tasteful planting schemes for such situations.
