Pot Plants for Christmas

                                               POT PLANTS FOR CHRISTMAS

Christmas decorations come out every year, and brighten up the home, but a few growing pot plants in full flower can still steal the show. Every shop and garden centre will have lots of poinsettias, but there are also many others equally vibrant. Cyclamen, pot mums and Phalaenopsis orchids have been available for a while now, but they are all very reliable. Christmas cactus is still around though mine are always finished a few weeks ahead of Christmas. The winter cherry, Solanum capsicastrum is always a favourite with its orange berries at this time of year, and a pot of scented forced hyacinths will certainly attract attention both for its bright colour as well as its perfume. Amaryllis can be in flower for Christmas, but I do not find it reliable after the first year.

If you are growing your own plants, some of the old favourites can be quite challenging, but very rewarding when they work such as dwarf azaleas and cinerarias, both of which like to be grown in cool conditions.

Some plants received as Christmas gifts are designed to have their festive moment of glory then are discarded. Poinsettias, winter cherry and pot mums, (chrysanthemums) fall into this category, as some are naturally tall plants but get dosed with chemical hormones by the growers to keep them dwarf. As we have no access to these chemicals they are best discarded after flowering. However bowls of hyacinths are different. After flowering these can be grown on in a cool light position with some feeding to build up the bulbs for flowering another year, Plant in a border outdoors rather than trying to get another pot plant the following year.

Permanent pot plants

Many festive flowering pot plants can be enjoyed over Christmas then retained to flower another year, though under normal house and garden conditions it is often difficult to time flowering for the next Christmas.

Cyclamen will flower for several weeks up to a couple of months. Keep them growing after flowering in a cool but frost free position. By late spring they will start to go dormant, so slowly dry them off and keep them in a shady place outdoors. Growth will start again in autumn, so resume watering and give them some fresh compost.

Christmas cactus usually starts to flower a few weeks before Christmas and remain in bloom for a couple of weeks. As soon as they have dropped the last flowers dry them off and don’t water until they show signs of growing in late spring. Keep them cool and in partial shade while they rest. Once growth commences restart watering and give the occasional feed, but as soon as they have made a bit of growth dry them off again in late summer. This will ripen up the new growth which will then produce flower buds. Hopefully these will emerge at the end of November to early December when watering can commence again to get them into flower for Christmas.

Azaleas come in a range of colours and the type, Azalea indica is often used to provide a flowering pot plant for Christmas. Although it is not very hardy, always grow it cool and well watered. After flowering keep it in semi shade till late spring, then put it outdoors but keep it watered. It will flower every year, but not always in time for Christmas.

Amaryllis are often bought in autumn then potted up to flower at Christmas. It will need about ten weeks to flower from potting. The flower bud is already formed in the bulb on new bulbs, but to get it to flower in the following years you may need to grow it strongly throughout the spring and summer, but let it go dormant in autumn to ripen up the bulbs. It is often shy to flower until the pots are root bound. Keep it like that for a few years as it hates repotting, which only encourages vigorous growth at the expense of flowers.

Phalaenopsis orchids are popular all year round coming in many colours. They are usually bought in full flower which can last for weeks. They are great value and easy to get back into flower every year. Get them pot bound and don’t be in a hurry to repot, even if the base is several inches well above the top of the pot. Do not cut off the aerial roots which absorb water from the atmosphere, especially if you grow them in a bathroom, which is usually warm and moist. After flowering cut off the old flowered stem and keep the plant watered and fed. A new flower stem will grow again at the end of summer.

Plant of the week

Swiss Chard Bright Lights will be the star attraction on the allotment over winter. The stems retain their bright colours no matter what the weather. The plant is sown in spring and leaves with stems are harvested as soon as they are big enough to cook and will last to the following spring when it will run up to seed. This chard is related to beetroot and spinach, so is considered a very healthy vegetable, high in vitamins A, B, C and K and is rich in minerals, fibre, antioxidants  and protein. Young leaves can be added to salads, and mature stems stir fried, boiled, sautéed or added to soup.

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END OF SEASON ALLOTMENT TASKS

END OF SEASON ALLOTMENT TASKS  

The sun has returned for a few days and the rain has stopped, so it is time to get onto the land and see what jobs are still to be done before winter sets in. Although there is a frost covering, it is not too deep and will allow me to wheelbarrow compost over the ground so I can continue with digging while the soil surface is not too sticky. A clover green manure crop has grown very poorly, but weather has been very cool and wet, so there is not much growth to dig in at present.

Enjoy a few remaining flowers

Winter jasmine is really looking good just now as the few dry sunny days has brought out the bright yellow flowers, and Fuchsia Mrs Popple also continues to flower profusely. However it was my white floribunda rose Iceberg that really dazzled me as it decided to continue to flower in spite of recent frosty mornings. I needed to capture it with my camera. Other roses are also giving a bit of colour, but this is their last chance as colder weather is forecast and I like to get ahead with the pruning.

Pruning

Raspberries, brambles, black and redcurrants, saskatoons and gooseberries are all due for a trim, as well as my roses, then later on it will be my top fruit trees, apples, pears, plums and peaches. Under glass the grape vines are now dormant and old leaves fallen off and cleaned up. As soon as the vine stems ripen up they will be pruned before the end of January. However some shoots will be used for a batch of vine eye cuttings to grow into nice young plants.

Summer fruiting rasps have the old fruiting canes removed and new canes tied in to a wire support. If there are a lot of new canes, remove the weakest and leave enough so that they are spaced about four inches apart along the top wire after tying in with a running knot.

Autumn rasps have all the canes cut back to ground level. I give them a light mulch and fertiliser dressing in spring, and new canes soon grow up very strongly which will give the next crop in autumn 2013. I support these with three foot wide weldmesh netting raised about four feet high so the canes grow through it to stop them blowing over in high winds.

Blackcurrants were pruned after fruiting, removing old wood and thinning out overcrowded centres, but leaving any strong new shoots.

Red and white currants are spur pruned to a few buds on a framework of about nine main stems all growing from the centre. Replace one or two of these main stems every year to keep the bush young.

Gooseberries have all shoots removed that are growing too close to the ground as soil splashing on  fruits as they are ripening really spoils them. Also thin out the centres to allow good air circulation and easier picking on these very thorny plants.

Saskatoons only need pruning to keep the height down to about five feet for ease of picking under the protective nets. Remove one or two branches right down to ground level so they can throw up new shoots and keep the bushes young.

I will cover pruning grape vines, top fruit and roses early next year.

Remove finished crops

Cape gooseberries were not successful this year as they need a decent summer to ripen up the fruit in their protective lanterns. They made excellent growth and gave a lot of lanterns, but no signs of ripe fruit. However these were harvested and I will see if they will ripen indoors in a warm room.

I am not overly impressed with this global warming in Scotland, but I do not give up easily so they are scheduled for another trial next year. Some plants were potted up and grown in the glasshouse after the disastrous tomatoes were thrown out at the end of August. These cape gooseberries fared a wee bit better, but a heavier crop would have been more encouraging.

Early flowering Chrysanthemums have now nearly finished, so they have been cut back and the old stools lifted, boxed up and will now overwinter in the glasshouse. These are supposed to flower in August and September in a normal year. My Barca Red new chrysanthemum variety obtained from a flowering shoot given to me at Gardening Scotland at Ingliston in June is in full flower in pots in the house. I propagated it up with leaf bud cuttings which all rooted and grew into young plants though a bit late for this year. This deep purple spray variety looks brilliant, so hopefully next year it will flower a bit earlier.

Plant of the week

Christmas cactus known as Zygocactus comes in a range of red, white and pink colours flowering from November to December, then sometimes they will flower a second time in spring. They are a succulent house plant that needs a sunny position on a windowsill when in growth and also when you dry them off to give them a rest and ripen up the shoots so they will produce flower buds. Dry them off after flowering and do not start till you see either growth buds swelling or the second flush of flowers emerging. Never overwater or leave water in the bottom of flower vases.

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WINTER EVERGREENS OF MERIT

WINTER EVERGREENS OF MERIT

The autumn may now be fading into winter and garden flowers are not so plentiful, but now it is the turn of colourful evergreens to brighten up the garden while we wander around on those few bright sunny days. It is quite surprising to see a wide range of plants getting our attention over the winter months, so make sure you find room for some of them. There is still a few with flowers such as the Jasmine, Erica carnea and Mahonia, but berries are very attractive in early winter on the Holly, Pyracantha, Skimmia and Pernettya. Beauty also comes from variegated foliage with Euonymus being one of the best. Some of the heather family of Calluna vulgaris have rich orange and golden foliage which really strengthens after some frost.

Flowers in winter

Although there are not many plants flowering in winter, they are really appreciated when they put on a show after a few days of continuous sunny days, then die away, only to reappear later at the next sunny spell. The ground cover heather Erica carnea has pink flowers (Springwood Pink) as well as white (Springwood White) and both are very reliable, tough, hardy and easy to grow.

Mahonia aquifolium grows to four feet and has brilliant golden slightly scented flowers. The variety Charity is quite superior to the species. The Christmas rose, Helleborus niger comes in many colours, but my favourite is the pure white form. However it has been affected by the unusually cold wet weather so flowering can be very erratic as it thinks late summer is winter and time to flower. I can understand its confusion.

Yellow jasmine is a climber/twinning vigorous plant that can flower all winter. It starts off appearing to be evergreen and although it loses its leaves, the green stems make it appear like an evergreen. Some deciduous shrubs are at their best in winter such as the pink scented Viburnum fragrans and the variety bodnantense Dawn.

The Chinese Witch Hazel, Hamamelis mollis produces numerous weird looking, but very attractive yellow scented flowers in late winter. It also has fantastic autumn colour.

Best of the berries

Cotoneaster frigidus, horizontalis, simonsii and many other species berry profusely. However choose one according to space available as frigidus grows into a small tree. Pyracantha, the Firethorn, also gets smothered in bright red berries that only last until the birds get hungry, but really put on a brilliant display.

Holly is also a small tree but different forms have red and yellow berries.

Pernettya is a dwarf evergreen with large white, pink, red and mauve berries which can last most of the winter as the birds don’t find them very tasty. They will only start to eat them at the end of winter when desperation for any food is at critical levels.

Stunning foliage

Euonymus fortunei comes with silver foliage, Silver Queen or golden foliage, Emerald n Gold and really impresses with its bold colour when most other plants are dormant and dull. Both are excellent low growing ground cover shrubs. Two other showy shrubs with golden foliage are Choisya Sundance and the shrubby honeysuckle Lonicera Baggesons Gold. Both very reliable and birds just love to nest in the Lonicera. They will grow to four feet, but Elaeagnus pungens maculata, (sorry about that long name) with its golden variegated leaves will reach ten feet in time. Keep checking it for branches that revert back to green and remove them entirely.

Coming back to ground level the Heucheras are now the in plant to grow. For some reason that escapes me everyone is planting them as the latest must have garden plant. I do admit that they are very attractive, but so are many other plants. I only have a modest twelve plant collection.

Lower in height is the black grass, Ophiopogon planiscapus nigrescens, (who makes up these names!!!) It is very different with its black foliage, but perfect as a ground cover around red stemmed Cornus Westonbirt, and with pristine white snowdrops planted underneath, it creates a breathtaking display in late winter.

Lastly, a wee ground hugging succulent is always found in my garden. This purple leaved sedum is a wee beauty in winter in the rock garden, but is also troubled with long name as Sedum spathulifolium purpureum. However we need these long names to make sure we get the right plant.

Plant of the week

Holly known botanically as Ilex aquifolium is always a very welcome sight in December with its bright red berries, as we head towards Christmas. It is a slow grower and not too fussy about soil or position (sun or shade) but does eventually make a small tree so allow it a fair bit of room. However if space is limited it can be pruned annually in winter giving it time to put on some growth that can mature and produce a crop of berries for the following winter.

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EVERY GARDEN NEEDS A TREE

 EVERY GARDEN NEEDS A TREE

When I started my first garden as a very keen fifteen year old apprentice gardener with a heap of enthusiasm, but no experience I was determined that my wee council house garden in St. Marys would stand up proud if it had a few trees. There was precious little space, but I managed a laburnum, an upright cherry, Prunus Amanogawa and a weeping birch Betula pendula youngii. There was a lot of really excellent gardeners in the Dundee Parks dept where I worked so advice was given that if I wanted a really impressive weeping birch I would have to stop it weeping and force it to grow tall first before it started serious weeping. The main stem was tied to a stake then as it grew it was tied to another long cane on top of my stake. Eventually it reached about fifteen feet then I let it weep. I got a fantastic specimen. Moving on to bigger gardens my love of trees stayed with me and over time I planted numerous trees in gardens all over UK.

I now have a decent sized garden so I have indulged in many of my favourites, though I am not yet on the scale where I can have my fruiting walnut, a weeping silver lime, an Atlas cedar or a mulberry, and I would also love a big copse of white stemmed birch trees. Maybe one day!!!

Trees add scale to a garden, encourage birds and other wildlife, can screen eyesores and create impressive specimens in lawns and borders. Trees can be selected for any size of garden and may be ornamental, flowering and fruiting.

Ornamental trees

Only plant oak, beech, lime, Scots pine, spruce and cedar if you have a huge garden with space to let them grow, but for normal gardens there is always smaller growing trees. Rowan is a favourite in Scotland and berries come in white, orange and yellow as well as red. Birch is another common species and I prefer Betula jaquemontii for its brilliant white trunk and B. Youngii as a great weeping form. The dwarf weeping elm tree, Ulmus camperdownii, is well worth planting as it is very attractive as well as being our local elm. Upright forms of many trees exist, that do not take up too much space such as hornbeam, oaks and cherry. For larger trees try a Eucalyptus, whitebeam, hawthorn or Japanese or other maple. Maples have dazzling autumn colour, come in all sizes and many have ornamental bark. The golden leaved Robinia frisia grows well in Dundee as long as the ground is well drained, and it can make a stunning specimen.

Leyland cypress should be avoided as although it is cheap, easy to grow and fast, it soon becomes a nuisance and at the end of the day it is not all that attractive.

Flowering trees

Cherries, crab apples, Magnolias, Eucryphia, Lilac and Amelanchier are all perfect for smaller gardens. Prunus Amanogawa is upright and quite narrow. Prunus Shirotae is spreading, but an absolute stunner in flower. Crab apples flower then have a crop of very bright small apples, e.g. John Downie. Some Magnolias are more large shrubs, but can attain a fair height when mature.

Eucryphia Rostrevor is slow growing but will make a tall white flowering tree in time.

Amelanchier is brilliant in flower, has terrific autumn colour and if you get the fruiting form, known as the Saskatoon, the birds will get a healthy feed in summer.

Fruiting trees

If you prefer to have a fruiting tree then the choice can include apples, pears, plums, peaches, and cherries, and if you have the room and patience try a mulberry. Modern dwarfing rootstocks now allow us to have apples, peaches and cherries that will happily fit into the small garden often trained against a south facing wall. Choose varieties that have healthy foliage as there are very few fungicides available to tackle scab, mildew or brown rot. I can recommend apple Discovery, Katy, Red Devil, Fiesta and Bramley for a good cooker. Victoria is still my favourite plum, Peregrine a good peach, and Beurre Hardy my best pear, but newer varieties are appearing all the time and it is good to try something different.

Plant of the week

Jasminum nudiflorum is at its best in late autumn to early winter, but will continue to flower every time we get a few mild days. Its bright yellow flowers are very welcome at this time of year. It is treated as a wall climber, but needs a support and tying in. It can be planted on a north wall, or any other aspect, but flowers best in full sun. It is not fussy about soil as long as the drainage is good and is very easy to propagate as long shoots arch over onto the ground and quickly take root by layering.

Painting of the month

“Picture of Fruit” is an acrylic painting of summer fruits, completed as part of a project of about thirty paintings using fruits as still life subjects. I included peppers, Cape gooseberries, mushrooms, bananas, grapes, apples and pears, and set up spot lights to create a dramatic effect.

Some of these can be seen in the West End Gallery in the Perth Road Dundee.

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