February 2023

GARDENING NOTES 

 Flowers:

Ornamental's Prune late flowering Clematis down to about 6 inches from ground level to a pair of healthy buds. If you have overcrowded clumps of Snowdrops, now is the right time to lift, divide and replant in the green stage. It is important to plant back at the same depth that they were in before moving. Fuchsias which have been overwintering in the greenhouse can be pruned and repotted now but do not do both jobs at the same time, better to prune first and then repot two weeks later. When pruning do not be frightened to prune hard back and when repotting to move all the old compost from around the roots and repot back into a smaller pot, this will enable some room to pot on again into the final larger pot as the season progresses. If you grow Bougainvillea and Plumbago in your conservatory, now is a good time to prune them by cutting back all growth to two buds from the main framework. This will produce many more shoots to flower later in the season. If you have not already done so, purchase now all the flower seeds you wish to grow this year.

Vegetables:

 Seed potatoes are best obtained now and set up for chitting by placing in egg boxes or trays in a light frost free place. If you have a greenhouse and can keep it warm enough, especially at night, you can make the first sowings of vegetables such as Cabbage, Leeks and Onions in small trays and prick out into larger containers when they have germinated. Alternatively seed can be sown into small pots or cell trays directly. I would suggest sowing two or three seeds per cell and thinning out to one after germination has taken place. The first sowing of Tomatoes can also be made this month but the warmth is of even greater importance with this subject.

Fruit: 

Autumn fruiting Raspberry canes should be pruned down to almost ground level now ready to induce the new growth to fruit for you this coming autumn. Tidy up Strawberry plants by removing all dead or decaying leaves and any unwanted runners.

Questions:

 I have been asked recently When should I repot my Achimenes? The small tubercles should be removed from their old pot of dry soil by the end of February and then replanted in fresh good quality compost in early March by laying the tubercles on the top of a three quarter filled pot and then covered with no more than one inch of compost. When repotting, as a guide, put 3 tubercles to the 3 inch pot, 5 to a 4 inch pot and 10 to a 5 inch pot for best results. Water in and keep fairly warm until growth begins.

I burn a lot of wood, can I use the resulting ash around my plants? Yes you can. It works best around established woody plants but is also be successful in moderation around herbaceous and annual plants, especially if worked gently into the soil with the aid of a hoe. Wood ash gives a supply of small amounts of Potash and Phosphates.

Lavenders, how do I deal with them? Lavenders are dwarf shrubs which thrive in warm sunny dry sites, so avoid shady areas and soils which are not well drained or liable to waterlogging in winter. Lavenders also dislike an over rich soil so avoid over feeding and the use of manures. The best feed to give Lavenders is one of the controlled slow release types which as Osmocote and applied in early spring. This one application will feed the plants for the whole of the growing season. Lavenders like regular pruning to keep them compact and induce new growth which will flower well. Therefore prune annually by removing all the flowered stems by 50% of their length. This should be done as soon as the flowers fade and go past their best. If this type of pruning is not done the plants will become leggy and woody and if pruned then will rarely come back into shape.

I was given an Amaryllis (Hippeastrum) bulb for Christmas which has flowered very well. How do I treat it from now on? As soon as the flowers fade, remove the flower heads but not the main flower stem, leave this to die down naturally and remove by pulling away when brown and dry (about six weeks). After flowering the bulb should be placed in a south or west facing window in full light or placed in a greenhouse if you have one. Keep watered, but not standing in water, and feed with a high potash feed every two weeks. A liquid tomato feed is ideal for this purpose. Allow all leaves produced to remain and do not cut them in any way. As autumn arrives start to reduce the amount of water given and stop feeding. The leaves will die off one by one over a period of time. From this stage stop watering altogether and rest the plant by keeping in a dry frost free place until time for restarting into growth the nfollowing year. Do not try to start the bulb off too early – January/February is about right. At this time remove the top inch or so of old compost and top dress with fresh compost, John Innes No. 3 being idea for this task. Do not remove bulb from pot, or totally repot into a larger one for at least three years. Do not on any account trim roots. After three years of the plant being in the same pot, remove bulb in January or February, remove all soil from around roots being very careful not to damage the white fleshy roots, the old brown dead roots can be removed at this stage. Now repot into a slightly larger pot in John Innes No. 3, water sparingly at first until growth emerges and grows away strongly. Treated this way the bulb should last for many years and increase in size. Young bulbs, known as “pups” will be produced from time to time. If left on you will have a clump of flowering bulbs in time. They can of course be removed and potted separately if you wish to increase your stock.