Lessons learned...

Herbaceous plants

  1. Dahlias are tougher than I thought. I lifted many after a bad winter and thought they were all rotten. I threw them onto a heap but they still grew, some even flowered, so they were rescued and potted up!
  2. Cutting the flower stems of hostas, preserves the quality of the leaves.
  3. Spring flowering perennials, like hardy Geraniums, can be cut down to the ground after flowering and they will grow back quickly with fresh leaves and potentially a second flush of flowers.

Vegetables

  1. Planting garlic bulbs cloves in February, still produced a good harvest, despite the traditional planting suggestion of October. As long as there is a period of cold frosty even freezing conditions, the cloves will still divide and grow well.
  2. Planting cordon/indeterminate tomatoes in a grid, makes harvesting very difficult. Next year they will all be in rows.
  3. Two courgette plants IS plenty for two people!
  4. Sow your favourites every year. The ones you know you'll eat. But always leave room for something new!

Roses

  1. It’s good to mulch roses with home-made compost, manure or soil conditioner, but you need to be very careful when it comes to fertiliser. If you accidentally overfeed, you run the risk of soft stems and lush growth that can’t always support the flowers. Also that lush growth attracts aphids in their millions!!
  2. Do not ignore rose rust. Rose rust can defoliate an entire bush or climber. If you are an organic Gardner, your only option is to pick off the leaves as and when you see the orange rust spots appear, otherwise use a product like “Fungus Clear Ultra II” for localised treatments. This does not have an insecticide like “Rose Clear” which is lethal!

Container Gardening

  1. Reusing plastic plant pots is a great way of keeping your favourite galvanised or terracotta garden plant pots seasonal. Plant seasonal bulbs, annuals, or perennials into the plastic pots and drop these into your garden pots, swapping them out again when they fade.
  2. I don’t have to be so strict about potted/containerised plants all needing a nice terracotta or galvanised planter. Reused plastic pots are fine when you can tuck them behind ‘the nice pots’. If it’s good enough for Dixter it’s more than good enough for me!

Buxus

  1. Clip box topiary in August only. The spring growth will have hardened off and the later cut will keep its shape through the winter. Only cutting once, limits the time Box Blight can spread and infect those fresh cuts.
  2. After an initial late winter feed of Fish-Blood-Bonemeal, water container plants regularly and feed with seaweed feed fortnightly or monthly. Plants that are healthy are less prone to disease.
  3. Top Buxus Health Mix is a great tool against box blight. Top Buxus Xentari (Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. Aizawai) works quickly to halt box tree caterpillar, safe for pets and wildlife, and is safe or organic use.

General

  1. Losses in the garden can be demoralising, even heartbreaking, but see them as an opportunity to try something new.
  2. Get your plant supports in before the plants need them! No really!! As early as possible.
  3. Mulch is might! A thick mulch excludes light, preventing many weed seeds from germinating as well as dramatically slowing the rate of water evaporation. At the same time, organic mulch feeds the soil life, which in turn enriches your plants and opens the soil structure. It's not just mighty but magical!
  4. Long term container plants require feeding. Shop bought compost usually only has enough feed for 6-8 weeks! A late winter / early spring feed of Fish-Blood-Bonemeal plus a fortnightly or monthly seaweed feed during the growing season works really well.

Watering Tips

The Finger Test

Check if your pots need watering my pushing a finger into the compost and checking the moisture level. You can also use an old wooden spoon handle or a cane.

The Lift Test

A quick way to see if your potted plant needs watering is to simply lift it. Dry compost weighs a fraction of the weight. Water the pot and check again. You'll see the difference!

Watering Peat Free Compost

Peat free compost has a tendency dry out on its surface, but retain water lower down. Use the above tests to check. You could also just water deeply once per week, with a lighter top-up if it's hot.

Does the plant even need watering?

Some plants, like hydrangeas and dahlias, wilt during the heat of the day, But, by nightfall or the next morning, they’ve perked up again. This is the plant's natural coping mechanism to deal with heat and drought. They’re not dying, just taking a siesta. If they’re still droopy and wilted in the morning THEN they are in need of a drink.

How much are you watering?

I timed how long it takes to fill a 10l watering can with my hose (60secs). I use that as a 'standard' to then guesstimate how many litres I'm giving each pot when watering from the hose. For a bucket-sized pot I count to 20-30secs for 3-5litrs of water.

How do you water a plant?

Don’t spray the leaves. That doesn’t help anything apart from leaf-loving fungal infections like blight and rust. Use a slow flow and drench the roots. Aim all the water around the stems and compost or soil. If it's really dry, the water might appear to sit on top. Not a problem! Moist compost and soil is invariable more absorbent than when it’s dry. So, pick 4-5 pots and water each briefly, so the surface is moist. Then go back water them properly and you’ll see the water absorb much faster.

SLOW the FLOW

Use a slower flow rate. Don’t be in a rush. If you just fill the pot up to the rim and hope it soaks through, you’d be mistaken. Under pressure, water always find the path of least resistance. So, if there are existing drainage paths through the rootball and surrounding compost, the water will just flow straight down these and out the bottom as quickly as you’re filling it. If you slow the rate, the upper layer has a chance to absorb water, expand, and slow the rate of water passing through.

Pot sizes make a difference

The larger the pot, the greater the volume. The greater the volume, the longer it takes to dehydrate. However, with a larger pot you may well have a small tree that draws up lots of water and transpires at a higher rate, than say a group of small herbaceous plants. This is where it gets very nuanced and you need to pay attention to your plants and work out which are the thirsty ones.

Planting Tips

Planting in hot weather

Before you dig the hole, soak the plant in a bucket of water for at least 10mins, ideally longer. While it's soaking, dig the hole, then fill the hole with water and let it drain. If it drains quickly (less than 30s) fill it again. Place the plant in the hole, add a sprinkling of mycorrhizal fungi to help speed establishment of the root system, backfill some soil and water again, settling the soil around the rootball. Backfill the remaining soil and give one more water.

Planting in dry shade

I follow the method above, but I will also add a layer of composted bark or garden compost into the of the planting hole to act as a sump, while the plant establishes.

Planting shrub roses

Soak the rose in a bucket of clean water for at least 10mins. Dig a hole roughly 40cm deep and the same width. Mix the soil with a rich compost, ready to back fill around the rose. Prune out any yellowing/diseased leaves, weak stems, etc. Remove the rose from its pot and position the rose in the hole - the root stock should be roughly 4cm below the soil level. Use a cane across the hole to gauge the depth. Water the rose in its planting hole and let it drain. Add a sprinkling of mycorrhizal fungi to help speed establishment of the root system. Then backfill with the soil/compost mix and firm in with your fingers only. A final watering will settle the soil around the rootball.

Planting hostas in pots

Soak the hosta in a bucket of clean water beforehand. Make sure the pot you use is deep enough and can drain easily and is deep enough for the rootball. I use a mix of bark based peat free compost, composted bark, and leafmould as I try and mimic woodland growing conditions. Add a sprinkling of mycorrhizal fungi to help speed establishment of the root system. Add a layer of compost in there base, place the plant in the pot and fill in around the rootball. Firm the compost in. It’s a finite space so try and cram in as much nutrition as possible. Now give the plant a thorough soaking to fill in any large air pockets and make sure there is good contact between root and compost.

Planting in pots

Drainage is key. Most plants are killed by too much water and not enough air around the roots. So, before you start, research the plant and check whether a) it's suitable for pots and b) what soil conditions it prefers (it may need acid/ericaceous compost). On the whole, I favour well drained potting mixes. It's easier to add more water than to sort out a waterlogged rootball. I use a peat-free multi-purpose compost with the option of composted bark or garden compost, depending on the level of moisture retention/nutrition the plant needs. I then add potting grit to increase the drainage. Some plants, like lavender, would enjoy a sharp draining 50%-50% compost to grit mix. Hostas, maybe only 10% grit.

Plants, plants, plants...

Long flowering season

One of the biggest challenges for all gardens is succession planting, so the party continues all year. Often this involves sacrificing some room (and colour) early on, so you have more later.

There are some key plants that just seem to flower all season. Geranium Rozanne. Geum Totally Tangerine. Erigeron. So these make a good backbone for colour.

Then maybe swap out some of your early flowerers for scabious, echinacea, dahlias, and salvias, gaura, sedums, and verbena. Okay, they maybe just mounds of foliage in spring, but these plants will all flower until the first frosts. Most available in smaller forms and with punchy colours or softer pastel shades. 

Another huge category are roses. Repeat flowering English shrub roses (I personally favour David Austin Roses) will flower all the way through to November here..

More to come...