'Garden Column - February 2009'

 

Start pruning roses.

 

Start pruning roses this month.

Most people will usually be too kind to there plant’s and do not prune them down hard enough.

A majority of rose plants will flower on their new growth. So the amount of new growth you can entice will ensure your plants produce more flowers and good strong growth.

A question I usually get asked is how?

Before pruning out the unwanted growth you should first remove any which is dead, damaged or diseased. Once this is done it can depend on the type of rose you are pruning.

Bush, Miniature/Patio, Groundcover, Standard and a majority of Shrub and Rambling varieties should all be hard pruned. Take out any stems which are old or weak and also any inward growing growth. Then count up from the base 3-5 buds up and prune on an outward facing bud. Make sure the cut is clean and at a 45’ angle away from the bud. Continue this until you are left with only 3-5 strong, healthy stems.

Climbing varieties need to be pruned hard back to their main frame work, trimming all the laterals down to 1 outward facing bud and also taking at least a third of the total height of the plant. This hopefully will give you a mass of Roses blooming all the way from base to top and not just at the top of the plant.

Once all your pruning is complete; remove all your rubbish and dispose of it – ideally do not compost as this growth mat be infected with disease so it is best to burn or place in your green bin.

Once you have finished pruning - mulch with Wessex Clavering Horse Manure Compost and feed with Bayer Top Rose or Vitax Organic Rose Food.

 

Sow for an early crop of Cues.

 

For an early crop of Cucumbers then you will need to sow this week.

Plant each seed into an individual pot using Levington Seed & Cutting Compost.  Push them sideways into the compost then if possible place each pot onto a heated propagator.

This will encourage the seeds to germinate.

Once they have germinated, place the seedlings as near to the glass as possible this will help to prevent them becoming spindly and drawn.

Nurture the plants until they start to produce their first set of mature leaves. Once this occurs plant 2 plants per grow bag or individually into cropping pots and then grow on.

Keep the crop moist at all times but never let it get waterlogged. The temperature should be kept at a steady 15-20’C (60-70’F) at all times inside the greenhouse.

Train the plants up a vertical wire or cane and pinch out the leader once it reaches the top of the roof/cane.

Try and grow an all-female strain which will save you time in removing unwanted male flowers. The difference between these is the female flower will have what resembles a small cucumber behind it.

Once fruit has set, count two leaves on from the miniature cue and then pinch out the tip. Another job which will need to be done is any shoots which grow flowerless, allow them to get 60cm in length and then pinch out.

As the fruit starts to swell feed every two weeks with a high potash feed like Levington Tomorite or Doff Organic Concentrated Tomato Feed.

Crop fruit once it is of a reasonable size.

 

Time to plant Shallots.

 

First choose your sets – ideal varieties like Golden Gourmet or Red Sun are reliable and good croppers.

Plant your shallots in a well-prepared bed which has been dressed with a good sprinkling of Vitax Superphosphate.

Rake or fork this in well.

Then plant your sets in rows about 30cm apart. Push the sets gently into the soil allowing 10-25cm between each bulb.

Once planted keep the rows weed-free and water well in hot/dry weather.

Lift and harvest from mid-late July onwards.

 

Pot on your Dahlias.

 

Dahlias this month should be taken out of storage and potted on into containers ready for planting out later in the year.

Take your tubers and plant into either Levington Multi-purpose with added John Innes or YHS Peat-Free Multi-purpose Compost.

Water and then leave your planted Dahlia to stand whilst the compost settles.

Place a garden cane into the container for your Dahlia to be trained to.

If you have never grown Dahlias then make this your virgin year.

A word of warning - once grown they can become addictive especially with the wide range of varieties and colours available to grow.

With Bi-colours, Cactus, Pompon, Decorative, Bedding and Dwarf varieties to choose from. Dahlias are probably the most dramatic bedding plant that can be planted for summer colour.

Some varieties have bronzed foliage which makes them ideal dot plants in larger bedding schemes. Dwarf varieties make ideal companion plants for patio planting - giving a vibrant and vivid spectrum of colour in your containers and your pots will be the envy of your neighbours.