Gardening Delight Tips

Check out our web site for our tip of the day: www.gardendelight.co.uk
Disclaimer – these tips are the result of many years experience in gardening however no guarantees can be given. Remember there are principles to successful gardening but no formulas.

December 09

Here are a few tips on buying your Christmas tree and Christmas houseplants.

Christmas Trees
The Christmas tree in Britain is a fairly modern custom dating back to the 1840’s when Prince Albert brought the custom to Britain from his native Germany.
Trees were traditionally decorated with candles, sweets small presents and paper chains. An angel on the top completed the festive picture.
The Norway spruce was the original choice for most households but these days there a few more types to choose.
• Norway Spruce - The traditional tree, a light green colour and by far the most affordable with prices around - £3.50-4 per foot. This type does not hold its needles well and will need lots of watering and plenty of patience when you come to remove the tree after Christmas!
• Nordmann Fir - The most popular ‘no needle drop’ tree. Typically cone shaped, usually very bushy. The needles soft and glossy dark green with a white stripe on the underside. It can be pricy at £5-6per foot but as it holds its needles extremely well its worth the extra cost.
• Noble Fir - Very similar and often confused with the Nordman, it’s more upright and has short stiff well spaced branches which make it good for hanging decorations. It has great needle holding qualities and releases a lovely fragrance into the room. It can be expensive at £6 per foot.
Other types you occasionally see for sale – Scots Pine – bushy shape good needle retention a lovely fragrance. Fraser Fir – dense and upright, holds needles well. Serbian Spruce a nice narrow tree which occasionally has cones but poor needle retention.

Choosing and caring for your cut tree.
Buy from a reputable grower or retailer, always ask to see the tree unwrapped and never buy a tree that’s been stored inside. Don’t be fooled by signs that say ‘fresh trees daily’ it often doesn’t mean they have been cut that day just delivered that day... Most trees will be cut a while before they are delivered to the stores ideally after the first frost as this can ‘set’ the needles in the tree and help prevent needle drop. Trees used to be sold by the foot but metric measurements and pricing policies make this difficult to do. Basically trees are measured from the base to the top of the last set of branches as they are folded to the top tip. Once you get your tree home cut an inch off the bottom of the stem and put it in a bucket of water, when you are ready to bring it inside make sure you use a stand which holds water and top this up frequently; its not unusual for trees to go through lots of water, keeping them topped up will mean the tree will stay fresher and hold its needles longer.
• Potted Trees - A lot of people are tempted to buy potted trees and plant them out after Christmas. It’s a great money saving idea but here are a few tips. Notice the difference between container grown and containerised... If they are grown in the container they stand a much better chance of surviving but be realistic... You are taking a tree from minus temperatures into a well heated house for two weeks and then back outside into the cold... Don’t be too surprised if they don’t cope with this!

Christmas Houseplants
It’s quite common to buy a Christmas houseplant either for yourself or as a gift. Here are a few tips to help choose and get the most from your purchase.
• Poinsettia – best for warm draft free rooms, water from the top with tepid water and make sure the plant is kept out of chills on its journey home. Choose plants with tight flower buds (these are the yellow buds in the middle of the red leaves; they stay fresher and last longer.
• Cyclamen- best for a cool room, water only from the bottom, standing in a saucer of water for a couple of hours then remove and allow to drain. Over watering and high temperatures cause the leaves to wilt. When buying hold the plant up to the light and check how many new flower buds are hidden in the leaves, a healthy plant should stand up side down on its own leaves in the palm of your hand.
• Azalea – Best for a room where the temperature is a constant 10-15 degrees. Water by submerging the whole pot in water and wait until the air bubbles stop, let it drain and don’t let it stand in water. Ideally use rain water as these plants are acid lovers. A happy plant will have a centimeter of dark brown stem just out of the soil this shows its ideally watered and when this ‘lightens’ in colour its time to water again.
Top Tip for the month: Put your feet up in front of the fire and with glass in hand spend a few quit moments looking though the seed catalogues and plan your garden for next year, it will soon be Spring again!

November 09

Flowers, Tubs and Borders
• Finish planting out spring bulbs, November is an especially good month to plant Lilies and Tulips, in both cases if you have a heavy soil put a little coarse grit in the bottom of the planting hole to aid drainage.
• Plant deciduous hedges such as beech and hawthorn.
• Trim over your summer flowering heathers, removing the old flower stems keeps them compact and will encourage fresh new growth next spring and stop the plants becoming woody.
• Plant up a few Paperwhite Narcissi in pots to bring inside to flower for Christmas.
• Take hardwood cuttings of shrubs.

Lawns
• You will most likely need to make the final cut of the year, make sure the blades on the mower are set high and the grass is dry when you cut.
• If it’s not too wet or cold you can carry on laying turf until the end of the month.

Fruit and Vegetables
• Harvest and store late varieties of Apples and Pears.
• Plant ‘soft’ fruit’ this month for cropping next summer. November is the right month to buy and plant Raspberry canes, Blackcurrants, Redcurrants and Gooseberries.
• Protect Cauliflower ‘curds’ by bending a few leaves over the centre. Leeks and Parsnips can be left in the ground until required for use; the flavour will improve after the first frost.
• Bring in some roots of Chives, Mint and Parsley pot up and grow on the kitchen window sill for fresh foliage all winter.
• Sow Aquadulce Claudia Broad Beans to over winter and gain a head start to harvest next June.
• Plant out Garlic bulbs by the end of the month, they like a fertile well drained sunny position.

Greenhouse
• Check greenhouse daily opening vents on sunny days to regulate the temperature and increasing ventilation to cut down on pest and disease. But make sure to close up on frosty nights and check insulation is in order for when it gets really cold.
• When watering avoid splashing on leaves as this can cause mildew and other fungal diseases.

General Tips
Put out food and water for garden birds, but make sure the spot you choose is in the open away from hedges where cats can hide! Keep bird tables and feeders clean removing old or rotten food.

October 09

Flowers, Tubs and Borders
• Now is the time to plant out spring flowering bedding like Wallflowers, Stocks, forget-me- nots and pansies, try under planting them with winter and spring flowering bulbs to give extra colour.
• October is a great month for planting out new trees and shrubs, the ground is warm from the summer and the autumn rain will enable the plants to establish quickly. Is also a good month for moving any deciduous shrubs taking a good root ball replant firmly incorporating some good compost in the soil.
• Once the frost has blackened the leaves of Dahlias cut down the stems to about 6’’ and then lift and store in a frost free place ready for next year. Dusting the tubers with sulphur powder will help prevent rotting.
• Lift and divide large clumps of early flowering perennials/herbaceous plants, late flowering varieties are best left to the early spring. Replanting the divided clumps will give you new plants and increase the vigour of the older plants.
• Tall deciduous shrubs such as Rose, Buddleia and Lavetera should be cut back by a third this stops them rocking in the ground during the winter winds. If they do this a gap appears where the stem enters the soil, this gap can fill with water, freeze and then damage or even kill the plant.

Lawns
• Reduce the frequency of mowing raising the blades high, by the end of the month it will be time to stop mowing all together and put the mower in for service ready for next year.
• If you haven’t already done so apply a good autumn lawn food which will help control moss and toughen the lawn up for the winter.

Fruit and Vegetables
• Prune back Blackcurrants, Blackberries, Loganberries and Tayberrys train in the new canes to fruit next season
• Harvest and store pumpkins and marrows before the first frosts, sow cauliflower, peas and winter lettuce under cloches.
• Spray peach and nectarine trees with Dithane 945 to help prevent peach leaf curl.
• Dig over veg plots to allow the air and water to penetrate incorporating in any garden compost and manure this will work in over the winter as the frosts break down the soil.

Greenhouse
• Move inside any tender plants to over winter, ensure you watch out for the colder nights when you may need extra heat or need to apply fleece to give full protection.
• Water only when required and then in the morning only so that foliage does not remain wet over night.
• Ensure there is good ventilation to keep up air movement and prevent dampness, take down any shading and make sure the glass is nice and clean to take full advantage of the winter sun.

General Tip
Rake up any fallen leaves of borders and lawns store them in a stack and encourage them to rot down and produce a leaf mould for use later as a soil conditioner. Composting the leaves and building up the heat in the stack will help destroy any overwinter fungal diseases. Make sure you remove fallen leaves from ponds and any dead foliage from the lilies and other pond plants allowing this to sink to the bottom of the pond will encourage toxins to build up and make your pond very smelly!

September 09

Flowers, Tubs and Borders
• Trim back and remove any gone over summer bedding and start the process of replacing with autumn flowering plants.
• Don’t be tempted to buy and plant out pansies too early you may find if the weather remains warm they will go leggy and attract aphids. Wait until the end of the month until the weather cools a little.
• It’s a good month to be buying and planting out bulbs for a riot of colour next spring. Get the bulbs when they are fresh in the stores but be sure they have not been in stock too long and therefore drying out under the heat.
• Prepared Hyacinths (these are ones which have been pre treated to ensure the flower bud is well up the bulb) should be planted up in containers and placed in a cool dark place by the end of the month. If you don’t have holes in the pots you will need a bulb fibre compost containing charcoal and oyster shell which keeps the compost sweet. These pots can then be brought out in time to flower for Christmas; a number of other bulbs are suitable for this treatment, check with your local garden centre for advice.
• Spray michealmass daises with a fungicide to control mildew before flowering.
• Dahlias will be looking good and still producing lots of flowers, if yours suffer from earwigs (lots of nibbled holes in the leaves) then try placing an up turned flower pot full of straw or shredded paper on a cane in amongst the plants, check it every morning you will find that the earwigs like to hang out here during the day, you can then dispose of them as you wish.

Lawns
• Now is a good time to sow new lawns or lay new turf.
• Scarify and aerate existing lawns, scarifying means to rake out and remove the thatch or old dead grass and if your lawn is the type which holds water during the winter it will benefit from aerating – go over the lawn with a garden fork making holes and then sweep/rake in a gritty lawn treatment to aid drainage and help keep down moss.
• Feed lawns with an autumn lawn feed, these autumn feeds go to the roots and toughen up the lawn for the hard frosts of winter, they also help to control moss

Fruit and Vegetables
• Lift Onions and dry them out by putting them on the garden path for a day or so in the late autumn sunshine. Store them somewhere cool dry and airy to use as required.
• Plant Garlic now in a sunny free draining spot, garden centres should now have the new cloves for sale. They should also have stocks of Japanese onions which if planted now will be ready for an early crop next June, but be quick they usually sell out very fast!
• Toward the end of the month lift the last of the beetroot, carrots and potatoes but leave in parsnips and Swedes until after the first frost this way they will develop more flavour
• Sow Aquadulce broad beans, this variety will over winter as it’s hardy and therefore give you an early crop next year. ‘Claudia’ is an improved variety

General Tip
Toward the end of the month you can pick the last of the tomatoes, any green fruits that have not ripened you can either use to make green apple chutney or you can place them on a sunny window sill to ripen. Alternatively try putting a few in a brown paper bag with a ripening banana (or the skin) this should speed up the ripening process.

August 09

Flowers, Tubs and Borders
• Continue to water and feed baskets and tubs regularly
• Spray roses to control black spot and mildew, pick up and dispose of any fallen leaves as these can carry disease forward to next year.
• Tie in any new growth on ramblers or climbers as this will provide the framework for next year.
• Vine weevils will be laying eggs in tubs and containers and Lily beetles will be very common so it’s a good time to water the compost with Bio Provado helping solve the problems for up to 4 months.
• Prune Wisteria by reducing back this years growth to 5/6 buds
• Pick Sweet peas regularly to encourage more flower production.
• Keep Camellias, Magnolias Rhododendrons and Azaleas well watered. Its at this time of year they produce flowering buds for next year, if they dry out the buds will drop off.
• Trim over Lavenders, Santolinas and Curry plants after flowering, doing this will keep the plants compact and fresh, careful not to cut into the old wood.
• August is a great month for taking cuttings – these are semi ripe wood cuttings ( shoots that have not flowered and are now starting to age but not yet turned woody) Root in a gritty compost. Plants you can choose are for example – Lavenders, Penstemons, Hydrangeas, Rosemary, Salvias, Heathers etc..

Fruit and Vegetables
• Pinch out the tips of runner beans as soon as they reach the top of the canes/poles.
• Pick Courgettes regularly encouraging new production
• Strawberries will be producing runners ‘pin’ these down into small pots of compost they will root in a week or so and give you new plants for next year.
• Continue to feed tomato plants with a high potash feed such as Tomorite Pinch out side shoots to ensure all the goodness goes to the fruit.
• Earth up main crop potatoes to increase the crop.
• Cut down Raspberry canes that have fruited and tie up the new canes for next year.
• Toward the end of the month sow spring Cabbage and Winter Spinach.

Ponds
• Remove blanket weed by twisting it around a cane or stick.
• Continue to feed the fish.

General Tip
• If you are planning to go way on holiday arrange for a relative or neighbour to ‘pop’ in and check your pots and tubs for watering whilst you are away. Nothing worse than coming back from hols to find everything dried out!

July 09

Flowers, Tubs and Borders
• Dead head bedding plants on a regular basis to encourage continual flowering
• Pick sweet pea flowers on a regular basis leaving them will mean they go to seed and you will not have as many new flowers
• Cut back Lupins and Delphiniums that have flowered, if you feed them they may give you a second flush of flowers
• Continue to water and feed summer tubs containers and baskets and arrange holiday cover if you are going away
• Dead head roses as the flowers go over this will encourage a second flush of flowers, you can now start to feed and treat with a combined pest and disease treatment to keep the plants healthy thought the summer.

Lawns
• Water if its dry and there is no hosepipe ban, it’s a good time to liquid feed the lawn if its looking like it needs a fillip, use a high nitrogen liquid feed. You can also ‘spot’ weed those weeds that your early weed and feed fertilizers missed, but be sure you only use a weed killer suitable for use on lawns!
• Keep the edges trimmed, doing this regularly will keep the shape of your borders and keep your lawn looking neat and tidy.

Fruit and Vegetables
• Time to harvest early potatoes; check when the flowers are fully open by removing some of the soil if they are about the size of an egg they are ready to harvest.
• Water onions if it’s dry to help the bulbs swell up and make good size, keep the weeds down around them to avoid competition.
• Regularly water and feed tomatoes plants with a high potash tomato food, do not allow them to become water logged. Irregular watering will produce blossom end rot and cause the fruit to split.

General Tip
• If you are picking herbs for cooking or storage pick them early, when the day warms up they release some of the essential oils into the air which is great for evening fragrance but not for cooking or storage.

June 09

Flowers, Tubs and Borders
• Continue to plant out summer bedding, plant up hanging baskets and tubs. Remember to rake a good quality general fertilizer such as blood fish and bone into the borders before planting. In tubs and baskets use a good quality compost containing water storage granules and a slow release fertilizer.
• If the weather warms up you will need to water more often. Always water either first thing in the morning or in the evening when the sun is not so bright ensuring all the water goes to the plants and is not wasted.
• As we move into the month you should start to feed containers and baskets once every 10 days or so, use a liquid fertilizer as per the instructions on the packet, this will go straight to the plants and help produce a wonder summer display.
• In the borders to prune back those spring flowering shrubs this prevents them becoming over crowded and will keep the bushes compact and encourage new growth for flowering next spring.

Lawns
• The grass should be growing well and will need mowing more regularly, dropping the blades of the mower to give a nice neat cut but not too low in case we get a very dry spell, the grass will deal with the dry weather if its cut to a medium height rather than too short.
• It’s not too late to use a granular feed and weed which will boost the lawn and help reduce the weed growth but make sure the brand you use is suitable for use during the summer months.

Fruit and Vegetables
• Potatoes will now need earthing up, this means bringing the soil up around the new shoots as they come out of the ground, this helps prevent the tubers going green if they become exposed to the light and increases the crop. Water well if the weather gets dry.
• Thin out seedlings of beetroot, carrots etc..This allows the remaining plants to grow on to full size. Carrots are best thinned in the evening when they are less likely to attract carrot fly. Beetroot ‘thinnings’ can be used in salads to add an extra flavour..
• Put straw or matting under strawberries to protect the crop from slugs.
• Tie out and separate any new canes from Raspberries and Blackberries these will carry next years fruit.

General Tip
• I’m now harvesting the first of the lettuce and making new sowings about every two weeks to ensure a follow on of crop. I usually sow a few seeds at a time into old bedding plant ‘punnets’ as the seeds germinate and develop I can then just transplant them into any gaps where I have harvested lettuce already. I also make a point of cutting the lettuce off level with the ground when harvesting leaving the stalk in but making a cross in the end. New leaves usually develop and these can be cut to use in mixed salads.