Perfect Time To Propagate

PERFECT TIME TO PROPAGATE      

Gardeners are always propagating plants. We get a lot of pleasure from seeing a mature plant grow from a small insignificant cutting, or packet of seeds. We know it makes economic sense to grow our own plants rather than buy them in at greater cost. However we have learnt to be patient while our wee cutting roots and slowly grows into a bigger specimen often over a couple of years.

Gardeners know the importance of getting the right variety of plant for the biggest impact, but then there is always an admirer who would just love a cutting or young plant from your impressive specimen.

I seem to have spent years travelling around the UK in my horticultural career, and each time I create a wonderful garden that I leave behind for the next person. However I always try to anticipate a move and start to propagate my specimen plants to have something for my next garden. I have many plants collected over the years that have travelled around the country with me. I am now at that stage again as I see a move coming quite soon (we are down sizing the house, but still need a big garden). I will be leaving behind a mature garden created over ten years, but really looking forward to starting a new garden venture. So the knife is sharpened and taking cuttings of my favourite plants is now in progress.

Autumn is a perfect time to propagate numerous plants. Most have finished growing for the season, and their flowering period may be over, but they are not yet dormant. The soil is also still relatively warm so root action can still be expected.

Some herbaceous plants can be split up, some alpines can also be pulled apart gently, and many shrubs can be propagated by semi ripe and hardwood cuttings. Trees and shrubs that produce berries can be propagated by extracting the seed from the berries which must be harvested before the birds eat them.

Herbaceous plants

These tend to grow in clumps that expand quite quickly. Strong pieces with good crowns can usually be dug out from the perimeter to reuse elsewhere. Replant these in drifts of three or more plants. Doronicums, Shasta daisies, phlox, delphiniums, oriental poppies, paeonias and Anemone honorine jobert will all split up easily. Flag iris has rhizomes that grow along the soil surface. These can be dug up, selecting strong young pieces with at least two or more good buds on them.

Geum Mrs Bradshaw does not form clumps readily, but it can be split up once it has been well established. Oriental poppies grow like weeds and even after they are dug up and replanted elsewhere older bits will still regrow and come back into flower very quickly.

This is an excellent time to replant lilies as the roots are still active although the tops have died down. Take care not to damage the succulent root system and as they need perfect drainage replant into holes prepared with a sandy soil mixture. They are happy to grow on a pile of stones without much soil, as they are not gross feeders but really love a dry soil surface just as long as the roots can find a bit of moisture deep down.

Alpines

Some alpines such as sedum, thyme, sempervivum, campanula, phlox, mimulus, ophiopogon and saxafrages will spread along the surface of the soil forming clumps which tend to root as they expand. These clumps can be dug out and split up into smaller sections. They readily grow back into the clump or ground hugging shape. Some alpines such as primula and aquilegia are best propagated from seed using a light free draining soil mixture. Lamium White Nancy, aubretia, delosperma and veronicas are better from cuttings. Again use a free draining compost and dibble in the cuttings quite close together and place in a light but not sunny outdoor position. Most plants will be well rooted by spring and will then need potted up or planted out.

Cyclamen hederifolium and aconites can grow and spread into large drifts by self sown seed. Young plants can then be dug out of the drifts which will reform very quickly.

Take cuttings

Shrubs can be propagated by semi ripe and hardwood cuttings as well as layering.

I take semi ripe cuttings of euonymus, ceanothus, cistus and pyracantha with a heel and insert them into a closed propagator with bottom heat. Hydrangeas are best as tip cuttings of non flowering shoots protected in a cold frame

Willow, philadelphus, buddleia, forsythia and shrub roses can all be propagated from hardwood cuttings of young mature shoots about six to eight inches long and inserted into a well drained gritty mixture in a cold frame The optimum time to take  hardwood cuttings is two weeks before leaf fall to two weeks after they have lost their leaves.

Cornus is slower to root so it is better to take a bundle of cuttings and plunge them two thirds into a very sandy mixture in a cold frame. The cutting base should be callused over in early spring and be ready to line out before the buds break.

Kerria suckers very freely, so it is easy to dig up rooted stems to plant elsewhere.

Sow seed

Shrubs such as berberis, cotoneaster, pyracantha and trees such as rowan can be propagated from seed extracted from the berries as soon as possible in autumn. Sow in seed trays and leave outdoors in a shady but cold spot to stratify the seed over winter. Do not let them dry out and protect them from birds and mice. They will germinate in spring. Treat Himalayan blue poppies this way to get a good germination.

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Summer has Arrived

SUMMER HAS ARRIVED    

The summer must be here. The sun is shining, not too many clouds, great weather for killing weeds, but it is too hot to work. This is the time to relax on the patio with an ice cold lager and lime as the lilies, now in full bloom waft over the garden. To keep cool while still working the land, many gardeners get into their shorts and give their fair skinned legs a wee airing, but you do not want to see the photos.

Garden problems are beginning to disappear. Weeds are under control, pests have been wiped out, and diseases, mainly mildew, sprayed with a rose fungicide which worked.

Weather on the garden

Now is a good time to assess the damage on those plants that suffered from the hard winter, spring gales and early summer thunderstorms.

Outdoor hardy fuchsias are now growing strongly and are in full bloom.

Cistus shrubs are only just alive though they have been flowering, but there is now no re-growth of buds near the centre, so after a tidy up pruning, they will be monitored to see how they recover. They are not yet off the replacement list.

Cordyline had reached a height of about twelve feet but was wiped out right back to ground level. Previous experience has shown me that they do recover, so I was very pleased to see some new shoots push up from below the ground. They will recover.

Broom, Cytisus praecox, was so badly damaged in the gales it had to be removed.

My mature Eucalyptus has lost half of its foliage and the canopy looks thin, but there is a lot of new young shoots to replace them. They can grow quite rapidly in warm moist conditions.

Courgettes and pumpkins are still on the sick list, after the tops got separated from the roots in the gales, but seem to be trying to make a recovery. Fingers crossed.

Tomatoes have suffered from cold temperatures, cloudy skies and damp weather. Flowers bloom then fall off, foliage has blight, which then gets botrytis. A lot of leaves have had to be removed, weakening the plants, which were prey to an attack of greenfly. This is not their year.

Nature always has a reason to throw up the unexpected. I have no idea why my Hellebores (Christmas rose) have decided to come into flower again. It should be semi dormant as it builds up its strength for its peak flowering period in winter, but now it is trying to compete with the annual Shirley poppies. These were sown in spring from seed saved from last years display.

Summer flowers

 

The tubs, pots and hanging baskets have now all recovered from the gales and after a fair bit of watering and feeding are looking fantastic. I have a hanging basket just outside each door planted with geraniums, lobelia, impatiens and the deep blue petunias which provide a strong scent when you are close to them.

Tuberous begonias are in full bloom in a large bed at the front of the house. They have never looked better. They are in good soil and get plenty of sun beside a south facing wall.

Fruit

Maincrop strawberries are now finished, but the perpetual variety, Malling Opal has now started and should continue to fruit till the autumn.

Apple and pear grafts are growing very strongly, especially, pear Beurre Hardy and The Christie, both of which seem to be forming fruit buds along the base of long shoots. If we get a long warm dry autumn these shoots will ripen up and I may get a few fruit of these new varieties in 2012.

Fig bushes suffered a lot of die back in the winter and a lot of young fruit buds were killed, so this year’s crop will be a bit meager, but it has made a lot of growth that could ripen up in autumn for a bumper year in 2012, hopefully.

Allotment

Sowing summer salads has continued, with lettuce, radish, and golden ball turnip whenever some spare ground becomes available.

Spring cabbage April was sown in pots as club root risk is too high for an outdoor sowing in a seed bed. They germinated very quickly and will soon be potted up into large cellular trays.

Cauliflower All Year Round was planted out for an autumn crop. These were potted up to give them a better chance against clubroot.

Aberdeen Art Fair

The garden and allotment have kept me occupied during the day with planting, sowing, harvesting and preparing produce for the freezer and wine making, but evenings have seen me back at the easel preparing the last of my new paintings for display at the Aberdeen Arts Fair which runs from Saturday 13^th August to Sunday 14^th August 2011 at the Music Hall in Union Street.

As well as bold flowers on large box canvases, I will also show some of my latest figure studies including a portrait of Lady Gaga.

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The Scented Garden

THE SCENTED GARDEN

It is hard to beat a day of relaxation in a garden full of scented flowers on a warm sunny day. My past experience in horticulture has taught me to keep an eye on the weather forecasts and plan your work accordingly. So I have no problem getting on with the hard work on cold and wet days or pruning fruit trees or roses after a snowfall, but I like to have all my work up to date so that when the weather is warm and sunny I can stop work and relax on the patio amongst the garden flowers. It is the patio area where scented flowering plants are most appreciated.

Memories of summer always include a range of exotic scented blooms of Brugmansias, the Angels Trumpets, lilies, sweet peas, carnations and roses.

One of my earliest memories was a potting shed experience at Camperdown greenhouse as a young Parks Dept. apprentice in the sixties learning to make decorative sprays for a civic function with a combination of red roses, clove scented carnations and sweet peas. Perfume was fantastic.

Scented plants are available all year round as shrubs, perennials, annuals, bulbs, climbers and even trees.

Start with a good garden plan

My initial thoughts on establishing a new garden is to create a mature framework within which I can grow a range of plants each having their own requirements.

Garden trees get first consideration as they will require the most space, then I usually try and grow climbers up walls and fences. The essential patio must be sheltered, private, sunny and adjacent to the house, a glasshouse also needs a sunny aspect and then other plants integrated into the plan.

When selecting plants having a scent is very important especially in those areas that receive the most attention. Top priorities will be the patio area, front door entrance and even the rotary drying area. There is always plenty of scented plants to fit all these features covering every month of the year.

Trees

Selection of trees will depend on size of garden though even the smallest can get away with at least one tree. The upright Japanese cherry, Prunus Amanogawa forms a narrow column of pale pink scented blossom in spring and takes up very little space, however if more room can be afforded Prunus Shirotae, (Mount Fuji) is a beautiful site.

Most small gardens can also fit in at least one lilac, my favourite was always the double white Mme Lemoine though the rosy lilac Michel Buchner and deep purple Charles Joly are well worth a bit of space.

For the garden with plenty of space plant a balsam poplar, Populus balsamifera. In early spring the unfolding leaves emerge from large sticky buds which give off a delicious balsam scent.

Climbers

Some plants can be self supporting and others need help with strong wire support, or trellis and some plants may need a warm south facing wall whereas others are fine on north facing walls.

Climbing roses can accommodate all aspects with the vigorous soft white Mme Alfred Carriere quite happy on a north wall. I have a heavily scented shrub rose Gertrude Jekyll trained as a climber on a west wall on my patio. It is fantastic.

Honeysuckle is available in many varieties and will clamber happily over many fences.

The pineapple scented yellow flowers of Cytisus battandieri appear in mid summer and it will need a south wall and a bit of support as will the heavily scented white Jasminum polyanthum.

Sweet peas can be trained on any fence as long as it is given support and good soil. They can also be trained as cordons up a tall cane for cut flowers.

Shrubs

Garden size again dictates what size of shrub you have room for, but Daphne is quite small

whereas the mock orange, Philadelphus needs a fair bit of space. Both are available in a range of different varieties.

In late winter or early spring the Chinese witch hazel, Hamamelis mollis, Viburnum fragrans, and carlesii and Mahonia will provide a wee bit of garden scent

On a lower scale many herbs provide beautiful scents through their foliage from Rosemary, and lavender to mint and ground hugging thyme, and all can be used in cooking recipes.

Roses

Every one has their favourite roses as there are so many available, but in these times where chemicals are frowned upon and no longer available to amateur gardeners many old favourites just don't have the vigour to fight off blackspot, rust and mildew diseases.

My favourite red, E. H. Morse is still good but Wendy Cussons and Margaret Merrill go down in mid season every year. The new English shrub roses are mostly scented, fairly vigorous and come in every size and colour.

Carnations and pinks

Border carnations are very easy to grow and make excellent cut flowers, and garden pinks are perfect for trailing over walls. Select those types with the strong clove scents and make sure the soil drainage is good. There are many varieties available at garden centres as well as specialist nurseries found in garden magazines or on the internet.

Beds, tubs and hanging baskets

Spring flower beds placed near front entrance doors benefit from wallflowers with their bright colours as well as strong scent. Stocks are less popular but if you want perfume they must be included.

My summer hanging baskets are placed beside main entrances and I always include the deep blue petunia both for its strong colour as well as its scent, though seed producers never seem to give this trait much recognition.

If you have a large tub or border a specimen dot plant using a Brugmansia, the Angels Trumpets will fill the garden on any warm evening with a strong exotic perfume, but remember all parts of the plant are poisonous with a hallucinogenic chemical.

Bulbs

In spring it is the narcissus and hyacinths that reign supreme followed by flag iris, then in summer nothing can compare with the scent of exotic lilies.

There are many other scented bulbs to try if space can be found in the greenhouse. Try the Polianthus tuberosa, or the spider lily, Ismene festalis or even the sub tropical Hedychium coronarium. They all require careful looking after but the rewards make it well worth while.

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Harvesting Fruits of your Labour

HARVESTING FRUITS OF YOUR LABOUR

The harvesting and picking season is just getting into full swing. Times are very busy as there is so many fruit and vegetable crops to be picked and eaten or preserved.

Salads have been available for some time but now the summer cabbage, courgettes, early carrots, Swiss chard, baby beet thinnings, mangetout peas, broad beans, early potatoes and leafy kale are all needing to be regularly picked.

Soft fruit picking is almost a daily task with blackcurrants, redcurrants, gooseberries, Bramble Helen, and my huge crop of saskatoons all needing to be picked. There is still a few perpetual strawberries, (Malling Opal) popping up though most of the summer ones are now finished. As usual there is always a glut so the summer diet is extremely healthy with ample spare to pass to family, friends and the freezer.

This used to be the time of year for jam making from summer soft fruits in season which would then be stored in a cool spot for use till spring. However the freezer has now taken over and fresh jams are made as they are needed, provided you can find freezer space.

My partner Anna created a brilliant compote of blackcurrants and rhubarb stewed with sugar to taste. It is added to the muesli at breakfast with a sprinkling of saskatoons or brambles and often at lunchtime with yoghurt and a dash of honey and again some soft fruit, rasps, brambles or gooseberries. As the summer season fresh fruit crops finish there is plenty in the freezer to continue the fruit diet all year round. All those anti-oxidants and vitamins must be doing us some good apart from the feel good factor from home grown produce..

Summer Flowers

Flower beds, tubs and hanging baskets are all at their peak but to keep them flowering they need feeding, watering and dead heading regularly. Shasta daisies are a picture and my exotic Japanese lilies are giving a fantastic show with a heady perfume that permeates the whole garden. I bought a couple of bulbs five years ago and after flowering kept the seed heads for sowing. They were quite easy to germinate and grow on, so now I have masses of them.

I grow a large drift in my winter border of coloured stemmed shrubs, (cornus, kerria, leycesteria, salix britzensis and acer Sangokaku) which is quite a dull border at this time of year. The lilies grow through and above the shrubs in harmony adding colour and scent.

Climbing roses as well as bush and shrub roses have all finished their main flush but many can be repeat flowering with a wee bit of summer pruning to take off seed heads, straggly shoots and any showing signs of mildew, blackspot or rust. I have a policy of only growing those varieties that are resistant to these diseases since there are no longer any chemicals available to the amateur gardener to control them other than Dithane which must be used regularly and preferably before the first signs of any disease appears. However if you grow organically it may be possible to look into the latest idea to use of milk sprayed at 10% dilution every ten days throughout the whole season to prevent some fungus diseases from getting started. This idea is still in its experimental stage, but you can keep up to date with this new method on a range of gardening and allotment forums on the internet..

My other main flower task at this time of year is disbudding early flowering chrysanthemums. I grow one bed with a range of decorative, reflex and incurving flower heads and another bed of sprays which need no disbudding. These will give me cut flower for the house from August till October. I grow these in beds three feet wide and support them with 6 inch weldmesh wire held between four posts. As the plants grow up I raise the weldmesh to keep them supported.

Gladioli are now coming into bloom and will be cut for the house with some left on my allotment to give a show of colour throughout the summer. These are grown on well manured good soil in rows one foot apart and planted four inches apart along the row.

I have kept the corms for years and add new varieties to the collection every year.

Looking ahead to next spring my wallflower seedlings sown in the middle of June, are just perfect for transplanting so they can make a sturdy bushy plant by autumn. I transplant my four inch seedlings into rows spaced 12 inches apart with the plants at 4 inch spacings.

These will be planted on good ground that has just been cleared of my broad bean crop. I also had some land left over from my early summer cabbage, but as they are all in the same family, cruciferae, the risk of clubroot disease is too great to risk it.. I can sow some late summer lettuce and radish or even a fast growing dwarf early pea variety here. There should just be enough season left for these to grow and give a crop in autumn.

Hanging Baskets and Tubs

These are now at their most colourful and can be kept like that with continual dead heading, watering and feeding. My hanging baskets usually combine a central geranium with petunias and nemesia, then Impatiens and trailing lobelia around the perimeter to hide the container.

Some pots which were planted with winter flowering pansies for an early spring display dont seem to realise it is summer. They were to be replaced with summer bedding weeks ago, but they refused to stop flowering and continue to provide an excellent display so I will just leave them a wee bit longer.

Often in late summer I will replant any pot or tub that is going past its best with cyclamen in flower which become available in garden centres in late summer and early autumn. They will then flower till the frosts come.

Larger tubs get my best tuberous begonias as they need more space and in full flower they are very impressive. I bought a box of young begonias nearly twenty years ago and at the end of the season, usually late October I lift and dry them. The dormant tubers are stored in my garage over winter.

I should be finding some time to do some painting, but art has been relegated to late evenings often going well beyond midnight as I need the daylight hours for gardening tasks.

Just finished potting up a batch of indoor and outdoor grape vines which I will take to the Camperdown Flower Show in September to accompany my saskatoon fruit bushes.

Summer pruning fruit bushes

Mid summer is the best time to prune currants and gooseberries, peaches and of course grape vines need continual pruning throughout the growing season.

Blackcurrants fruit on young shoots produced and ripened the previous year, so cut out old wood that has just fruited down to the nearest young shoot. Also cut off any branches too close to ground level.

Red and white currants are spur pruned on a framework of about nine main branches which can be replaced every third year. Cut back all sideshoots to four or five leaves on these main branches.

Peaches are also better spur pruned in late summer to encourage fruit buds to form and restrict growth.

Grape vines need all new growths cut back to one leaf in summer. Earlier on all shoots would have been cut back to two leaves after each flower truss.

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