librarian2003 (librarian2003) wrote in weagardening, @ 2011-11-07 16:20:00 |
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Current mood: | cold |
Entry tags: | crocus, daphne, hesperantha, hibiscus, november garden, schizostylis |
Week 7
It's week 7 and gardens are really starting to wind down for winter. Our Plants of the Week for Tuesday were Schizostylis (thankfully, now Hesperantha) from Judy, and winter flowering Daphnes from Hugh. For Friday, we were given Hibiscus and autumn-flowering Crocuses, both from Enid.
Images are here:
Schizostylis, Daphne, Hibiscus and Crocus
Our sites of the week concentrated on all thing bugly, apart from one with stunning aerial views of many places, including Sheffield and Rotherham:
GARDENING FOR PLEASURE
Sites of the Week : Week 7
Bug special
1 For lots of images and information about all the creatures in your garden
Garden Safari
http://www.gardensafari.net/index.h
2 For identification, images and information on everything with lots of legs
Bug Guide
http://bugguide.net/node/view/15740
3 For moth and butterfly images, from the tiniest upwards
Marsland Moths
http://www.marslandmoths.co.uk/ValleyLi
4 For all images of all the moths recorded in Northumberland
Northumberland Moths
http://www.northumberlandmoths.org.uk/g
5 Image guide to the moths of Britain and Northern Ireland
UK Moths
http://ukmoths.org.uk/thumbnail.php
6 For information on UK wildlife
UK Safari
http://www.uksafari.com/
7 As an aside, aerial views of Sheffield and Rotherham
http://www.webbaviation.co.uk/galle
http://www.webbaviation.co.uk/galle
Jo Hanslip
October 2011
Our main topic for the week was The Garden in November, and here's the handout:
GARDENING FOR PLEASURE
THE GARDEN IN NOVEMBER
November is often considered by gardeners to be the end of the season, but really, it should be looked on as the beginning – the work done now lays the foundation for the garden next season.
1 TREES AND SHRUBS
Decide whether you have enough autumn colour from autumn foliage and long-lasting fruits and berries. If not, decide on new plantings. Colourful stems will also be visible now as leaves fall – have you made use of these and are they in the best place?
Container-grown and bare-root plants can be planted so long as the ground is not frozen. Mulch rhododendrons with chipped bark or compost to protect their shallow roots from frost damage.
Put guards round young trees, shrubs and climbers if there is danger of rabbit or squirrel damage.
Leaves
Rake up fallen leaves, particularly where they are covering lawns and other plants. Leaves can be left to rot down on bare soil, in plastic bags or in wire mesh containers. Small quantities can be incorporated into the compost heap.
Preventing wind-rock
Tall deciduous shrubs such as roses and lavatera can be pruned back by one third to prevent wind rock. Pruning will be completed in spring. Some evergreen shrubs can also suffer from wind rock – stake or tie any that do.
Check the ties on all plants to make sure they are not rubbing after the growing season, and are secure, to resist heavier winter winds.
This is the best time of year to tidy up climbing roses. Take them off the wall, or other support. Remove old, tired stems and cut side shoots to within a few inches of the main stem, keeping the best of the current season’s lead shoots. Tie everything back, distributing it evenly to create a good framework over the climbing surface.
Preventing snow damage
Conifers that are fastigiate (have an upright narrow shape), such as Juniperus ‘Skyrocket’ can be badly damaged by heavy snow. Loosely wrapping the branches with wire or netting can prevent this.
Hardwood cuttings
May be taken from deciduous shrubs at any time over the winter. Put in a slit trench with sand in the bottom. Rooting takes about a year. Hardwood cuttings taken last year can be carefully lifted and moved to a nursery bed or potted up. Grow them on for a further year before planting out.
2 SOIL CULTIVATION
Digging, where required, and adding organic matter to the soil should be done now. If organic matter is not well rotted, breakdown robs the soil of nitrogen. However, this is unimportant in winter when plants are not growing. Digging straw, lawn clippings or other plant material which does not contain seeds or perennial roots can be done now, and the soil will be ready for planting in the spring.
Where heavy soil needs digging to improve structure, complete this as soon as possible to allow maximum weathering over winter.
Prepare next season’s planting trenches for sweet peas and runner beans.
3 ORNAMENTAL GARDEN
Now is the time to review how your garden performed during the year. Areas to consider include: practicalities such as paths, compost heap and fences – did they work as they should; colour and form in the borders – are there things you want to change; containers – did they have the impact you wanted; fruit and vegetables – was the harvest worth the effort; focal points – did they attract attention; year round interest – does the garden have enough.
Now is also the time to decide whether you have enough autumn and winter interest for the coming weeks.
Borders
Can be weeded and tidied at any time during the winter, so long as the soil is dry enough not to suffer. Mulches can be applied now. Hardy weeds will continue to grow in mild periods.
Spring bedding plants and bulbs
November is the best month to plant tulips, which can be susceptible to disease if planted earlier. If you want to mix them with spring bedding plants, such as wallflowers, forget-me-nots or sweet williams, now is the time to plant them.
Lilies can still be planted for flowering next year.
Plant winter pansies by the end of the month to allow them to get established.
Plants that are borderline hardy
Protect plants that are on the delicate side, and that can suffer in frosty weather, such as cistus, fuchsia and penstemons, by tucking bracken, straw, bark or dead leaves around their bases. Don’t use peat or compost, since these hold water and can rot the plant.
Similarly, bulbs such as nerine and agapanthus, which are slightly tender, appreciate a thick mulch.
Herbaceous perennials and alpines
Herbaceous perennials can be divided now and replanted, if they have become overcrowded. This helps to keep them healthy and vigorous. Discard any old, woody or weak sections and fork over the planting area, incorporating a long term fertiliser such as bone meal.
Alpines with woolly or fleshy leaves, such as lewisias, dislike winter wet. The protection of a small cloche or pane of glass can make all the difference to them. Planting lewisias at an angle, so that water runs out of the rosette of leaves, will help. Renew any grit top-dressing if necessary – this will help drainage around the vulnerable crown of the plants.
Spring-flowering perennials can be lifted and brought into flower early in the greenhouse – primroses, drumstick primulas, lily-of-the-valley, bergenia and kingcups are examples. After flowering they can be planted out again.
4 LAWNS
Lawns are looking rather untidy now. Grass will recover as moisture levels increase, but edges that have been affected by overhanging plants will need to be redefined. Either recut the edge (although beware of the border getting larger and larger) or cut a turf and turn damaged edges around so that they are in the lawn itself, and can be reseeded.
5 KITCHEN GARDEN
Check stored fruit and vegetables, discarding any showing signs of rot.
Fruit
New fruit trees and bushes are best planted this month as soon as the new season’s crop is available. Where space is limited, gooseberries can be grown as cordons, like apples, or as standards in the flower garden with strawberries underneath.
Briar fruits can be grown on post-and-wire supports either within the garden or as an unusual boundary.
Prune apple and pear trees and currant bushes.
If you have autumn fruiting raspberries that are still carrying berries, a layer of fleece should protect the fruit from frost.
There is still time to fix grease bands to fruit trees. Winter moth is the most important of the moths with wingless females, and it emerges as adults during November to mid-January.
Vegetables
If you have decided to make an autumn sowing of broad beans, early varieties are best – for example, Aquadulce Claudia, or Aquadulce Loretta. Similarly with early peas, choose early varieties such as Daybreak, Douce Provence or Feltham First.
Outdoor crops can be covered with cloches, either for short periods to protect them against periods of severe weather, or permanently to encourage earlier crops. Cloches can be home made from wire hoops and a long piece of clear polythene.
Plant garlic by the end of the month. Garlic needs to be well-drained.
Lift and force Witloof chicory; force seakale.
Net brassicas to protect against birds.
If you have been bothered with mealy cabbage aphid (in dense, greyish colonies) or cabbage whitefly, there is an organic insecticide available based on oil seed rape. Several sprayings may be necessary, especially for the whitefly.
6 GREENHOUSE AND COLDFRAME
The greenhouse needs to be heated if you wish to keep it frost-free. There are thermostatically-controlled electric heaters, but there are also paraffin and propane gas heaters if you don’t have an electricity supply for the greenhouse. Maintain constant ventilation if you are using gas or paraffin. Bubble polythene is a cheap and effective insulator. If you don’t wish to heat the whole greenhouse, gather the tender plants at one end and separate that section off with a curtain of bubble polythene. You just need to heat the smaller section.
Coldframes can also be insulated with bubble polythene. During really cold weather, added protection can be given by covering the whole frame with a piece of old carpet.
Prick out autumn sown sweet pea seedlings into 3-inch pots. Pinch out the tips when they are about 4 inches high. Grow on slowly – these will need no heat.
Lift tender plants such as fuchsias, begonias and pelargoniums and bring inside.
6 SEED PURCHASES
Decide which seeds you need to purchase – have a good selection of seed catalogues, since range, quality and price vary considerably.
7 WILDLIFE
Bird boxes should be cleaned of old nesting material, which can harbour parasites. Wash out with boiling water, and repair if necessary. Do this well before late winter, when some birds will already be selecting suitable nest sites ready for spring. Decide where your bird boxes should be situated.
Before lighting autumn bonfires, check for hedgehogs and toads that may have crawled inside to hibernate – and take care how you dig in compost heaps, since they can often hibernate in these.
Feed the birds.
8 GARDEN BUILDINGS AND FURNITURE
Make sure that garden buildings are sound and ready for bad weather.
Heavy wooden garden furniture standing outside during the winter should be stood on bricks if it is not already on a stone or concrete base. Consider investing in a waterproof cover to keep out the worst of the winter rain and frost. If water gathers on part of the furniture, such as the seat, it helps to tilt it to allow puddles to drain away.
9 TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT
Drain hosepipes, roll them up and store them under cover.
Lag outdoor pipes and taps to prevent freezing – drain them if possible.
Clean tools and equipment as you put them away for the winter.
Clean pots and seedtrays in hot water and disinfectant, ready for spring.
Store canes used during the season in a dry place.
10 WINDOWSILL
Feed flowering pot plants weekly with a liquid fertiliser.
Twist off the dead leaves and flowers from indoor cyclamen where they join the corm; remaining pieces of stem can cause the corm to rot.
11 PONDS
Stop feeding fish – they will live off their reserves during winter.
Jo Hanslip
November 1999
8th revision October 2011
GARDENING FOR PLEASURE
SEASONAL PLANTS FOR NOVEMBER
1 Border and rock garden
Name Common Name
Anemone japonica Japanese anemone
Arum italicum pictum
Bergenia (for autumn leaf colour) Elephant’s ears
Cyclamen
Galanthus Snowdrop
Gentiana farreri Gentian
Gentiana sino-ornata Gentian
Iris foetidissima Gladwyn iris
Liriope Lily turf
Nerine bowdenii Guernsey Lily
Schizostylis coccinea Kaffir Lily
Sedum
Tricyrtis Toad lily
2 Border plants with good autumn colour
Aruncus aethusifolius Goatsbeard
Astilbe
Euphorbia griffithii
Euphorbia palustris
Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’
Hosta
Lysimachia ciliata Loosestrife
Lysimachia clethroides
Lythrum salicaria Purple loosestrife
Lythrum virgatum
Osmunda regalis Royal fern
Persicaria microcephala ‘Red Dragon’ Bistort
Rodgersia
3 Shrubs in flower
Jasminum nudiflorum Winter jasmine
4 Trees and shrubs with colourful foliage
Acer Maple
Amelanchier Snowy mespilus
Azalea (deciduous)
Berberis Barberry
Callicarpa Beauty Berry
Cornus kousa Flowering Dogwood
Cotoneaster
Ginkgo Maidenhair tree
Hamamelis Witch hazel
Nandina domestica Heavenly bamboo
Viburnum
5 Shrubs with colourful stems
Cornus alba ‘Sibirica’ Dogwood (red stems)
Cornus alba ‘Kesselringii’ Dogwood (purple stems)
Cornus sanguinea ‘Viridissima’ Common dogwood (green stems)
Cornus sanguinea ‘Winter Beauty’ Common dogwood (orange-yellow and red stems)
Cornus stolonifera ‘Flaviramea’ Red osier dogwood (yellow-green stems)
Cornus stolonifera ‘Kelsey’s Dwarf’ Red-tipped yellow-green stems
Rubus cockburnianus Ornamental bramble (white stems)
Rubus thibetanus Ornamental bramble (white stems)
Salix alba ‘Britzensis’ Scarlet willow
Salix alba vitellina Golden willow
6 Trees and shrubs with colourful fruit
Amelanchier Snowy mespilus
Arbutus Strawberry tree
Aucuba Spotted laurel
Berberis Barberry
Callicarpa Beauty Berry
Chaenomeles Ornamental Quince
Cotoneaster
Crataegus Hawthorn
Euonymus planipes
Gaultheria
Leycesteria formosa Himalayan nutmeg
Malus Crab apple
Pyracantha Firethorn
Rosa moyesii ‘Geranium’
Rosa rugosa
Sarcococca
Skimmia
Sorbus Mountain ash
Symphoricarpos Snowberry
Viburnum
7 Greenhouse plants in flower
Abutilon Indian maple
Capsicum Ornamental pepper
Cineraria
8 House plants in flower/fruit
Aphelandra Zebra plant
Begonia
Cyclamen persicum Cyclamen
Euphorbia pulcherrima Poinsettia
Saintpaulia African Violet
Solanum capsicastrum Winter cherry
9 Vegetables in season
Artichoke, Jerusalem
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Chicory
Marrow
Parsnip
Radicchio
Radish
Rocket
Spinach Beet
Swede
Sweet corn
Swiss chard
Tomato
Turnip
Oriental greens
Jo Hanslip
September 2001
Updated November 2003
Jo