PLANTS FOR WALLS AND FENCES

PLANTS FOR WALLS AND FENCES

Clematis montana

At some point we all experience the trials and tribulations of moving house, usually in connection with going for a new job, or as we get older we no longer need a large home so we down size to a smaller house. Once settled in the keen gardener

Camellia Donation

can analyse the existing garden’s merits or if the move was to a new build home then the garden can be designed from scratch. The priorities are usually drives, paths, lawns, then borders, shelter, patio, and then vegetable and fruit garden. Size has a lot to influence how many of those must have plants we can fit in, so we need to utilise all available spaces. Walls and fences can all accommodate a few plants and this helps to blend the home into the landscape. Traditionally north facing walls were the most difficult to find a good plant that was happy with lack of sunshine, but then the south facing walls allowed us to experiment with the more exotic plants looking for a hot spot. When planting against a wall it is important to give the plants a good

Solanum crispum

start, so excavate the planting area a foot deep and fork up the subsoil before replacing the top soil, with some good compost added in. If you are planting the more exotic plants such as vines or figs add some stones or gravel in the bottom of the pit to improve drainage. After planting give the plants some fertiliser to boost growth to help them get established, and keep them watered in dry spells in the first and subsequent year.

North walls will be fine for most plants, but some are better than others. The firethorn, Pyracantha Orange Glow was always a favourite. It gets smothered with bright red berries in the autumn which will feed the blackbirds for weeks and the bees just love the flowers in spring for their nectar. It makes a dense climber, great for nesting birds but needs support and some winter pruning.

Delosperma cooperii

Hydrangea petiolaris will also be fine on the north wall but again it will need support. Most Camellias are fine on north and west walls but not east due to danger of sun scorch on frosted buds, and south walls may be liable to drying out. Virginian creeper can go on a north wall and has great autumn colour, but it can be very rampant once it gets established. Clematis can go on any wall, but again some varieties like Clematis montana love to ramble, and climb through anything in its path.

Another three rampant climbers for wall and fences are the yellow Jasminum nudiflorum, the scented honeysuckles and the Chilean Potato vine, Solanum crispum.

Some climbing and shrub roses can be trained up walls in any aspect, but they are so numerous that you need time to study rose growers catalogues as they bring out new varieties every year, and now they are concentrating on disease resistance as chemical control is falling out of favour.

As well as flowers and berries walls can also be used for fruit

Delosperma nubigenum

production. Perfect places for a Bramble such as Helen, or you can train apples, pears, peach Avalon Pride, (all grown as fan trained,) cherries and fig Brown Turkey to grow and crop on a fence or wall.

Grapes can also benefit from the warmth of a south facing wall and it is hard to beat Brant, though the bunches are not big, but the black grapes are sweet and juicy. Grapes can be very vigorous so need constant summer pruning to restrict growth and let the sun shine in to ripen up the grapes.

Tall stone built garden walls can be planted with the succulent Delosperma which is happy to grow from shoots pushed into cracks between stones where they will root. They are quite drought

Outdoor grape Brant

tolerant. Delosperma nubigenum hugs the wall and is smothered in yellow flowers in late spring, and the other variety Delosperma cooperii has purple flowers.

Anna trying out the first strawberries

Wee jobs to do this week

Protect strawberries from birds, slugs and soil splashes in wet weather. The strawberry season is now upon us. I have been picking my early variety Christine since late May but it had been growing under a low polythene tunnel for warmth and protection. Normal varieties will crop from now for early varieties (Honeoye) and continue as mid season (Elsanta) and late varieties (Florence and Symphony) come into season, then finally the perpetual autumn varieties such as Flamenco will crop till October. Protect the rows from birds with nets and lay straw along the rows to prevent soil splash damage and if slugs and snails are a problem sprinkle some pellets along the rows.

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PLANT PROPAGATION

PLANT PROPAGATION

As a young gardener, plant propagation was a very important topic. Apprentices got both practice and lectures on the techniques employed at college. This knowledge was enhanced with time spent in the greenhouses at Camperdown Park and the outdoor nursery. We were taught how to take outdoor hardwood cuttings and indoor softwood cuttings.

Fig cuttings starting to grow

We were always keen to learn how to propagate all kinds of plants, as during the hard times fifty years ago it was a way to create an attractive garden at home with plants for free from a few cuttings found here and there. This also gave us the chance to replace the large drifts of London Pride ground cover which most gardens had in abundance. Today we still propagate plants all year round in our own gardens to create a display, or to give a few spare special plants to friends and family as well having a few for our City Road allotments Open Day in Summer when we invite the public in to see what we grow on our plots.

In early winter we take hardwood cuttings of currants and gooseberries and numerous flowering shrubs. Use current growth

Grape vine cutting now growing

about nine inches long and line out four inches apart in rows a foot apart in open ground or in a cold frame if one is available. This gives some protection in winter. The cuttings will root and begin to grow the following year when they are carefully lifted and either potted up or lined out about six to ten inches apart to grow on to form a sturdy plant a year later.

This is also a good time to grow grape vines and figs, but these are best grown in pots and kept in a greenhouse where it is warmer. However as soon as they have made a decent bit of growth usually by June they can be potted up individually.

In early spring the Christmas cactus, Zygocactus truncatus will be

Zygocactus cuttings

approaching its growth phase, so this is a good time to propagate it from cuttings about four inches long. I usually place about three shoots together in a small pot and keep them on a windowsill that does not get much sun till they are rooted and beginning to grow, when they can then go in full sun.

Geraniums and Impatiens must be some of the easiest plants to propagate. Start to take cuttings in autumn. Place short tips of geraniums individually cellular pots in well drained compost. However the Impatiens are best rooted in a wee jar of water where you can see the roots emerge before potting up. They grow fast and soon you will have a small flowering house plant over the

Rooted geranium cuttings

winter. They can also set seed in late winter and this can be scattered in a seed tray to germinate and grow on then as soon as they are big enough to handle prick them out into cellular pots.

Fuchsias can be grown from cuttings taken in autumn or late spring. Take the top shoot about three inches long and place in cellular trays in well drained compost and cover over with a polythene bag to maintain a moist atmosphere. They will root in four to six weeks.

Fuchsia cuttings

Spring is a great time for propagating numerous rock garden plants. Phlox, Aubrietia and Delosperma can often be taken as shoots with some roots on them as these ground hugging plants will layer as they spread. Dwarf Japanese Azaleas will also layer and root as they grow and cuttings taken in spring root fairly easily.

Summer is a great time for propagating strawberries from runners which root once the tip is secured to the soil. Border carnations and Pinks are also propagated in summer from growing shoots but avoiding flowering shoots. Use growths about four inches long placed in a sandy compost in pots kept in a cool spot outdoors.

Summer growth

Wee jobs to do this week

Greenhouse crops of tomatoes and grapes will now be in full growth so encourage this with extra feeding especially for the tomatoes. Give them a weekly liquid tomato feed, but I give my vines a feed once a month. Side shoot removal on tomatoes is a regular chore as they are grown as upright single stemmed cordons and grapes also need to be kept in check as they would love to run riot if given half a chance. All sideshoots must be cut back after one leaf but if growth is plentiful then start removing side shoots entirely to allow light and sun in to ripen up the fruit. Give full ventilation on all warm sunny days to prevent any build up of diseases.

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TIME TO PLANT PUMPKINS COURGETTES AND CUCUMBERS

TIME TO PLANT PUMPKINS COURGETTES AND CUCUMBERS

Pumpkins and courgettes have a lot of similarities in their needs for producing good crops. They are both gross feeders, so get the lion’s share of manure or compost during the winter digging. It is always a good idea to plan well ahead and using

A good year for pumpkins

a four year rotation you will know what space they have been allocated before the winter digging begins. They are also both a bit tender so sowing is best in mid spring and the plants kept protected in the greenhouse to grow on to sturdy strong plants before hardening off in late May to early June

Courgettes ready to cut

depending on weather at that time. A late frost or cold snap can harm them so keep an eye on the weather once they go out for hardening off. Also beware of any strong winds as the large leaves makes then vulnerable to getting blown over and damaged.

Pumpkins running riot

Early to mid June is soon enough for planting, as once established they grow very rapidly. This late planting gives us the opportunity to enrich the soil further with a fast growing green manure crop of tares, ryegrass or clover. Sow this down on prepared soil which has previously been well composted before the winter digging. The green manure crop has plenty of time to make good growth before trampling down and digging in at the end of May. Plant out in early June into prepared soil, raked level incorporating a dusting of fertiliser, but leave a depression at the planting stations to allow for watering which both plants need all through out summer. They will also benefit from a mulch of well rotted compost to maintain reserves of moisture and feed the plants as it rots down. Space plants about three feet apart. Where these plants are grown together do not be tempted to save seeds if you happen to get a cracker of a pumpkin. I tried it and got white striped courgette shaped pumpkins as the bees will ensure cross pollination,

Cucumber passandra

and then traits from the past are also likely to appear. During the summer keep them well watered and feed monthly. Weed early on, but once the large leaves take over weeds do not stand much of a chance to grow. Harvest courgettes once they are about six to nine inches long, but as usually happens a few days absence results in vegetable marrow sized courgettes appear. Do not discard them as they can make a brilliant soup together with other summer vegetables. Leave pumpkins to grow large then ripen off ready to harvest at the end of autumn. Pumpkins can produce long shoots which love to wander all over the plot and don’t necessarily produce any more fruit so chop these off after each plant has made a couple of fruits.

Courgettes cannot be stored for any length of time unless used in a recipe then frozen. However pumpkins will store till the end of March.

Cucumbers

Young cucumber

Cucumbers come from the same family and enjoy similar conditions, but grow best indoors under the protection of the greenhouse. They are sown at the same time as courgettes and pumpkins, then pricked out into pots to grow on before planting into ten inch pots spaced 18 inches apart, or in growbags (two to a bag.) Like tomatoes they are best grown as cordons up a cane, or strong polypropylene baler twine. Pinch out the top once it reaches the roof and cut back side shoots to two leaves after a female flower, seen as having a wee cucumber behind the flower. Remove any male flowers as these might pollinate the female flowers and produce bitter tasting cucumbers. Keep the plants moist but not wet and feed every fortnight with a liquid fertiliser high in potassium like tomato feed. Carmen, Zeina and Femdan are all female varieties so no need to remove male flowers.

Aconites

Wee jobs to do this week

Remove withered leaves from spring flowering bulbs. Snowdrops, crocus, daffodils, tulips and the

smaller bulbs, Chionodoxa, Anemone blanda, Aconites, grape hyacinths and bluebells will now all have just about gone dormant. This old foliage can go on the compost heap, but some will have produced seeds. Aconites, snowdrops, crocus planted drifts will increase from seed which in time gives a better display, but bluebells and grape hyacinths can become very invasive so remove the seed heads, once they have spread to their allocated space, before discarding the old foliage.

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RHODODENDRONS, AZALEAS and CAMELLIAS

RHODODENDRONS, AZALEAS and CAMELLIAS

Azaleas, Rhododendrons and Camellias flood the garden with colour in late spring when most spring bedding plants and bulbs have faded away. The first to flower is usually the Rhododendron praecox, a small evergreen bush with mauve flowers in

Mixed dwarf azaleas

late March provided there are no late frosts around to spoil the delicate blooms. Rhododendrons and azaleas come in all sizes and are very popular all over UK, as they are very reliable and easy to grow provided you give them well drained but moist soil, not prone to drying out and the soil must be acidic. A sunny aspect is also of benefit, as is dappled shade, but not deep shade under trees. In

Azalea Vyuks Scarlet

preparing an area for these plants add plenty well rotted leaf mould and even rotted pine needles. A bit of feeding is good to get them started, but either use ericaceous fertiliser or the sulphates of ammonia, potassium and iron, but in modest amounts as these fertilisers are all acidifying in nature. A good source of plants and information can be found at Glendoick Garden Centre, and with an enjoyable trip up the glen beside the centre you can see them at their best in a natural environment as well as other woodland plants such as the Himalayan Blue Poppy, maples and primulas.

Some plants can be propagated by cuttings and layering but for

Camellia Adolphe Audusson

the difficult varieties grafting onto a suitable rootstock is necessary. Best to leave that to the professionals who use non suckering under stocks. The dwarf Japanese azaleas are relatively easy to propagate from both cuttings and layering made easy as they are ground hugging. Adding a top dressing of well rotted leaf mould often helps the layering process.

Varieties The gardener is absolutely spoiled for choice as there are thousands to choose from. So give thought to space available with good acidic moisture retaining soil (but not a heavy clay soil), the right degree of light and shade, good drainage and how deep pockets you have. My first choice in late teens were associated with experiences in the Dundee Parks, so Rhododendron praecox was a must. We had a gorgeous bed of them in Dawson Park, grown in almost pure leaf mould, and then in the sunken

Rhododendron praecox

garden there was a range of the dwarf Japanese Kurume Azaleas. Of course as an apprentice I was shown how to propagate these by cuttings and layering and soon I had my own wee collection in my council house garden in St. Marys. My two favourites were Blaaws Pink and Vuyks Scarlet, both still popular today. As apprentices we were told about the plant explorers, both the Cox family members and also E H Wilson who went to Japan and returned with his choice of the best evergreen dwarf Japanese Azaleas known as the Wilson 50. My next choice was Rhododendron Elizabeth, a low growing bright red but a bit prone to mildew. Many years later I still grow a wide range of Rhododendrons, azaleas and camellias. I like the scented yellow deciduous Azalea luteum, and A. Anneke also yellow, A. Gibralter and Klondyke both an eye catching golden orange, but there are masses to choose from. Low growing yellow Rhododendron Nancy Evens, scarlet Dopey, and for a good white try Dora Amateis. My two must have Camellias are the very popular pink Donation and the bright red Adolphe Audusson.

Like all plants they are also prone to a range of pests and diseases. The Azalea gall Exobasidium vaccinii can be a real nuisance on the dwarf Azaleas, but keep problem at bay be removing the galls as soon as seen. Scale is the latest problem and associates with sooty mould. Spray under the leaves with an insecticide in late spring once the scales are on the move. Phytophthora root rot is the latest plant problem affecting everything from trees and shrubs, raspberries and potatoes. Just keep fingers crossed as there is no solution yet.

Wee jobs to do this week

Planting sweet corn

Plant out sweet corn on ground that had a green manure crop of tares sown in early spring and dug in a couple of weeks ago. Plants were raised from seed grown indoors under glass, and then potted up to make strong plants for planting out. I plant out in a square block, spacing plants just over a foot apart as this will assist wind pollination. In last years brilliant summer my plants were yielding between one and three cobs per plant with the variety Incredible.

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