ORCHIDS

ORCHIDS

Orchids once held the reputation of being expensive to buy and difficult to grow as these exotics were not native to our climate. Plant collectors and breeders have now introduced us to a massive array of orchids that most folk can try out with varying degrees of success. I have grown these both for the impact of large beautiful flowers, but also as a subject for numerous orchid paintings. Many of my art class students also like to paint these exotic flowers from their own plants. John has many orchid paintings available for sale from his studio with details on his website www.johnstoa.com

Cattleya orchid

Habitat

There are many types of orchid native to Scotland, though these grow in the ground preferring damp areas and banks just above boggy ground so the roots are not in standing water. These types are known as terrestrial but the common ones we see flowering in garden centres are mostly epiphytic in origin coming from rain forests in tropical environments.

Pink phalaenopsis

These cling to tree trunks and branches where there is high humidity. They roots hold the plant in place and aerial roots which hang below the plant and absorb moisture from the air. They do not draw on their host plant for nutrients but rain with atmospheric nitrogen washes nutrients down in bird droppings, and small amounts of leafmould produced by natural falling leaves.

Culture

Phalaenopsis are usually quite reliable and very rewarding with repeat flowering every year from autumn through winter. They will come in pots with ample holes for drainage and planted in special orchid compost. This is often a mixture of bark chips, coarse graded peat, charcoal to keep the mixture sweet, nutrients and trace elements. Repot in spring after two to four years as growth commences. Once flowering is over allow the plant some dormancy. Keep it in a cooler spot with good light but not in full sun, and water less often, but do not let it dry out. Do not feed at this stage or repot. Never leave the plant in standing water as they all require free draining compost.

Phalaenopsis orchid

Orchids are not heavy feeders so just give them an orchid feed once every two to four weeks.

Propagation

Orchids sometimes produce basal offshoots that can be separated for growing on once they have produced their own roots. Others can produce many pseudobulbs, or swollen stems which can be split up and repotted. Before potting up, remove any broken, diseased or dead roots, and make sure there is plenty of drainage in the bottom of the pot before adding orchid compost. Repot into the nearest size for the plant as they prefer to be rootbound before they settle down to flower. Do not put the aerial roots into the pot when potting.

Phalaenopsis are now a very popular pot plant and one of the easiest orchids to grow with long racemes of large flowers lasting for many months. They are fine on a sunny windowsill in Scotland from autumn till spring, but then give them a more shady position for summer.

Cymbidium Ormoulu

Cymbidiums  flower in autumn to spring producing many spikes with up to twenty flowers each lasting for months. The plants can grow quite large and are happy in a cool room.

Paphiopedilums grow from rhizomes just below ground level and produce medium sized flower stems with just one or a few flowers. They like to be kept lightly shaded. Propagate by division in spring and repot every second year in the smallest pot available.

Cattleyas are very flamboyant with large colourful flowers which are often highly perfumed.

Wee jobs to do this week

John carving the pumpkin in March

Pumpkins in storage need checking, but can keep till end of March in a good year. We still have three left so this one getting cut up for the pot is still in a perfect condition at the end of February.

Anna will roast some of these slices with nutmeg, honey and butter for tonight’s supper. The rest will get roasted, and then skin removed before bagging up for the freezer. Later on they will be used for soup, risotto, pumpkin pie and as a vegetable with a bit of seasoning. Even with young grandchildren visiting there’s just no chance these will end up as lanterns.

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CROP ROTATION

CROP ROTATION

As daylight begins to lengthen and the sun’s warmth begins to get noticed we look for some excuse to make a start to our gardening year. We have had plenty time to look at catalogues and visit garden centres and choose which crops to grow for 2017, so with seeds in hand and potatoes getting chitted we can relax on an evening and plan where everything is going. We have heard of crop rotation, but for some it is still a bit of a mystery.

Anna picks runner bean Enorma

We do it to grow crops on fresh soil away from last year’s crops that may have been infected by disease so hopefully we might just avoid reinfection. The main fungal diseases to avoid include clubroot on brassicas, white rot on onions and blackleg on potatoes. However other factors crop up as some crops such as pumpkins, are gross feeders so need to go on land that was heavily manured during the winter digging. Other crops such as parsnips, carrots and turnips prefer fertile soil that got no compost in winter otherwise you end up with forked roots. Salads like fertile soil so they can grow fast as they are often used as a catch crop or an intercrop, (more later). Then of course, different crops like varying degrees of acidity or alkalinity. Potatoes prefer an acidic soil otherwise scab could be a problem. All the brassicas prefer an alkaline soil with a high pH as this reflects their natural

Pumpkin just planted

environment as many grew wild on chalk soils. This also discourages clubroot disease which can be a real problem. It may all sound complicated, but it is really good garden practice.

It is a good idea to draw up a plan of your garden to scale and include paths, sheds and compost heap. You can then work out where crops are to go well in advance of sowing.

My rotation plans show where last years potatoes were grown, and this is where I start, as this area gets limed for the next crop of cabbages, sprouts, Swedes, kale and cauliflower. The land that grew these brassicas last year will now get the gross feeders such as peas, beans, pumpkins, courgettes and sweet corn. Last years land that grew the gross feeders will now become the root crop area plus salads. On a four year

Turnip Purple Top Milan

rotation the potatoes can follow the salads and roots, but they need a good feed. To get maximum yield the potato patch gets composted during the winter digging, then at planting time I like to take out a furrow and line the bottom with more compost into which I plant my chatted seed potatoes.

If you grow strawberries on the same site and replace these every three years bring this area into the rotation and replant fresh strawberries as part of the rotation. They won’t be affected by clubroot or white rot.

Intercrops

Salads are short term fast growing crops so are very adaptable to use as an intercrop between other slower growing crops with wide spaced rows such as Brussels sprouts or sweet corn, or even on the sides of your celery trench before they need earthing up. Lettuce as pick and come again, rocket, radish and baby beet can all be used as an intercrop to get the maximum value off the land.

Salad catch crop

Catch Crops

The same salads can also be used as catch crops where less hardy vegetables such as courgettes, pumpkins and sweet corn don’t get planted till early summer leaving the land free for a quick maturing catch crop from an early sowing. Similarly catch crops can be used after an early harvested crop such as early potatoes, onions or first early peas. There is usually time to get in another crop before winter, and if you grow winter hardy lettuce, spring onion and rocket they can continue to crop well into winter especially while winters continue to be mild.

If you have enough salads any spare land can be sown with a green manure crop in early spring and autumn to help improve the soil fertility.

Wee jobs to do this week

Tying in shoots of climbing Rose Gertrude Jekyll

Tie in climbing roses after pruning or any affected by recent gales, otherwise wind rock can damage next year’s flowering stems.

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West End Gallery Dundee exhibition

 Original Scottish paintings on exhibition

New Scottish paintings now on exhibition at West End Gallery on the Perth Road in Dundee include two snow scene winter landscapes in oil painting, one acrylic pink orchid on a stretched box canvas, a summer landscape watercolour painting of Rait Village in Perthshire, then over to Islay for a view of the Paps of Jura and one dramatic figure painting of Warm Glow.

Summer Sunshine in Rait Village

Warm Glow

Sunset at Tullibaccart Oil painting

Winter Has Arrived oil painting

Deep Pink Phalaenopsis orchid

Paps of Jura

SOME WINTER JOBS

SOME WINTER JOBS

As winter progresses there has been quite a few decent days to crack on with a few gardening tasks so many of us are up to date with seasonal activities, and the spring rush is still a few weeks away.

The strawberries are still dormant, so now is a good time to replace any fruiting rows that have cropped for two or three years. It was the practise to allow three fruit crops before replacing strawberries, but now there are so many

Young strawberry runner ready for planting

new varieties to try that we tend to just go for two crops then see if we can get an improvement with something new. Another problem seems to be that many new varieties stop producing runners after a couple of years, so there are no replacement fresh runners if you delay it too long. If you are using your own plants make sure you use one year old strong runners. Plant these about 10 to 12 inches apart in rows three feet apart on well prepared fertile soil that is weed free. If you are buying in new strawberry plants they will most likely be cold stored runners delivered in March which is perfect to get them off to a flying start.

Continue with planting bare root plants

If you have ordered any bare root trees, shrubs, roses or fruit bushes or have any of your own grown from cuttings now is the time to plant them while the dormant season continues. As most of these will be permanent for quite a few years make sure the ground is well prepared, composted and weed free before planting. Although it may be very hard work, I always double dig soil, going two feet deep and adding plenty of compost to planting positions for permanent planting of roses, raspberries and other fruit bushes and all trees.

Harvesting

Lifting some spring onions from greenhouse border to use

Harvest cabbage, leeks, kale, Swedes, parsnips, rocket and sprouts as required for roots and fresh green produce in winter. There will still be some carrots and beetroot in store if you had a good crop last autumn. Keep a check on other stored fruit and vegetables and remove any going off.

Taking tops out of geraniums to make them bush

Apples can get some brown rot which will spread if left, and pumpkins need to be checked in case they begin to go soft in the middle. Potatoes can get soft if the eyes begin to sprout so remove any shoots as they appear. Some varieties are more prone than others so these should be used first.

Indoor tasks

Harvest spring onions, rocket and lettuce from greenhouse borders grown under grape vines or where tomatoes have been removed. Growbags that had a tomato crop are still useful for another short term salad crop sown in autumn and which will mature late winter and be used and cleared before the soil is needed for the next crop of grapes and tomatoes. Mind you greenhouse space in early spring is at a premium with young plants and seedling, so salads need to be used by March.

Bramley apples in store in February

As soon as you get your seed potatoes you can start to chit them in trays in a cool but light place so they can sprout short sturdy shoots. This should give them a good start after planting out in March and early April. Place them rose end up as that is where most of the shoot initials are.

Mulching the saskatoons

Take tops off geranium shoots that are now beginning to grow from cuttings taken last autumn. This will help them to remain sturdy and encourage branching. The tops can be used as cuttings to increase stock and provide smaller plants in spring just perfect for hanging baskets and tubs.

Wee jobs to do this week

Give roses, fruit trees and bushes some fertiliser towards the end of February to give them a spring boost of growth. Growmore is a good general fertiliser to promote healthy strong growth, but to enhance fruiting use a rose fertiliser which is higher in potassium. Similarly if you have access to ashes from bonfires, this is an excellent source of potash, but is very soluble so collect it before any rain washes its nutrients away. Use sulphate of ammonia, sulphate of potassium and a wee sprinkling of sulphate of iron on blueberries as these all help to keep the soil acidic.

Then give all the trees and bushes a good mulch of compost to retain moisture and add feeding.

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