March Gardening Articles

• Baby Plants
• Foxgloves

• Camellias

• Magnolias

If your fingers are pink, not green, and the seeds you sow never seem to come up, then growing pre-germinated seedlings is for you!

In fact, buying pots of seedling bedding plants is for everyone whether you are a first time gardener or you have been at it all your life. Most retail nurseries and good garden centres will have a wide choice of these little plants ready to take home this month and its' great fun and very satisfying to grow your own bedding plants this way.

 

The seedlings are carefully sown in ideal conditions by the grower and this produces perfect germination every time. It can be hard to achieve this in the average 8 by 6ft garden greenhouse and even more difficult on a windowsill. But to grow these little plants on is so easy. A bright windowsill is all you need, but if you have a conservatory or greenhouse with a little heat, so much the better.

If you haven't tackled this before, then stick to the sure-fired easy to grow and reliable performers. I suggest trying Busy Lizzies [Impatiens], Pelargoniums (Geraniums), Petunias, Fibrous Rooted Begonias and Lobelias first.

 

Take care transferring and spacing them into trays of fresh good potting compost. Never handle the stems but hold them gently by their leaves and try to keep as many of the roots intact as possible. You will find that after gently watering them in you will see growth in just a few days and soon you will be wanting to get them outside. However, a word of caution, most of these plants will not tolerate hard frost and so need to be 'hardened off' first. Do this by gradually acclimatising the plants to the brighter light and cooler temperature outside. Spread this toughening up over a couple of weeks and resist the temptation to plant them out until the risk of frost is gone [normally mid May].

 

The great advantage of pre-germinated seedlings is that the ones offered are usually the very best variety of each plant group. This will save your pocket too as it would often cost you as much to buy a seed packet as you would pay for a pot of 20 to 30 already growing seedlings!

 

So what are you waiting for, it really is easy and lots of fun too!

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In spring, if we aren't careful, our gardens can be dominated by yellow and much as I like masses of daffodils, Kerria and Forsythia, Camellias for me are the best antidote!

 

Ah, but they don't like my soil I hear you say and that's true to an extent but they are much easier to grow than you would think. Of all the so called lime hating shrubs Camellias are probably the easiest to keep happy. Unlike most Rhododendrons and Azaleas, they will in fact grow where there is a little lime in the soil. However, if you grow them in pots you can provide exactly what they like and reap the benefit.

First and foremost lime free compost is what they like most. This is widely available and often called "Ericaceous". Choose a pot that compliments the bloom colour but make sure that it is well drained, reasonably thick walled [to keep out the worst frosts] and large enough to allow plenty of root run. Don't be tempted to plant into huge pots unless you are prepared to temporarily grow other plants in there too. The danger with over potting is that the nutrients are released from the potting compost at a faster rate than your plants can use them and the excess salts will burn the tender roots. Planting a few white or blue flowered bedding plants will soak up the surplus feed until your Camellia roots start to fill the pot and the colours will compliment one another.

 

Make certain that the drainage holes don't get blocked by covering them with some broken tiles or flower pots as this is a plant that hates to have wet feet!Positioning your potted Camellia needs a bit of thought too. Although they are generally very hardy, the flowers are prone to frosts so a little overhead shade or a spot facing south or west is good. Avoid a position where the morning sun shines on the blooms after a frost. If they are allowed to thaw out slowly the chances are that most blooms will survive and not go brown. If they thaw rapidly the cells will be ruptured by a rapid rise in temperature. This is a plant that tolerates a windy spot and is even grown as a windbreak in Cornwall. It has remarkable tough and glossy foliage and is a beautiful evergreen even without flowers. This is plant for a city, suburban and country garden, it rarely looks inappropriate.

Although there are literally thousands of varieties to choose from I would recommend a few that are readily available now and are reliable performers. Many of the best began their lives in the gardens of Caerhays Castle near Truro. J.C. Williams made the original cross to produce the first "Williamsii hybrids" back around 1925 and his family are still there selecting good varieties now.

 

The orchid pink 'Donation' is outstanding and a perfect choice for a first time Camellia gardener. 'Debbie' is a shade darker pink and has flowers that tend to be more double. The great advantage of these earliest flowering varieties, with the first blooms often appearing just after Christmas, is that they are not all produced at once and there can be blooms opening for a full three months! If you prefer to have later flowers look to the "Japonica" varieties such as the rich red 'Adolphe Audusson', the pure white single 'Alba Simplex' and oh so many other beauties!

 

Regular watering is a must and rain water in hard tap water areas will be best. Shortage of water in summer and early autumn will often cause the flower buds to abort or not even form. Regular feeding is essential and the plant's leaves will quickly loose their dark rich green if they aren't getting enough. Use a specific feed, such as Miracid, widely sold for lime hating plants, but switch to Tomorite after mid summer until early autumn. In winter, they shouldn't need any extra fertiliser.

 

Having done all this and got great growth, what if they get too big! Relax, they can be pruned. The best time to cut back lanky untidy shoots is immediately after flowering. This will give the new growth a chance to form flower buds.

 

Camellias are not troubled by too many pests but two that can cause real problems are vine weevil and scale insect. If your plants get attacked by vine weevil it could spell disaster as the grubs of this pest will chew away the bark at soil level and eat the roots. Often the first you know of the problem is a dramatic and sudden collapse. Where vine weevil has been a problem in the garden, it is wise to drench Camellias with Provado Vine Weevil killer or obtain the natural predator Just Vine Weevil from a local stockist. With scale insect, the first sign of attack is often an unsightly sooty mould growth on the leaves. This grows on the sticky substance that the scale insects excrete but the real problem is the limpet-like scales attached to the underside of leaves. Control this persistent pest with Provado Bug Killer or with Just Scale Insect predators.

 

A variety of Camellia I'm just off to try is Camellia sinensis because that's one of the varieties that are grown to make tea. A nice cuppa, I think I deserve it!

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Magnolias are the spring aristocrats of the garden and, although their origins are in the Far East or the Americas, they perform particularly well in this part of the world. In size they range from trees approaching 30 metres high down to the far more manageable and bushy garden varieties at 2-3 metres.

Most are early spring bloomers and although the plant is remarkably hardy the flowers can be 'browned' badly by the frost. Consequently some thought should be given to where to plant them. Avoid low lying and cold frost pockets.

 

Deep well drained soils without lots of lime are enjoyed and, although many gardeners complain about having heavy clay soil, this will suit them admirably as long as the planting hole is very well prepared by the addition of plenty of organic matter. Light sandy soils are okay, especially after receiving the organic matter treatment too.

 

So which varieties are best?

 

Well that depends a bit on how big your garden is. The Star Magnolias [Magnolia stellata] can be accommodated in all gardens and is particularly suited to small ones. Look out for the varieties 'Waterlily', 'Royal Star' and the pink 'Rosea'. In fact these are small and slow enough to be happy in a large container for many years.

 

In larger gardens the first choice must be to plant one of the magnificent varieties from the Magnolia x soulangiana group. The rich bronzy pink 'Rustica Rubra' is particularly good as is 'Alba Superba' but there are masses of others and it is hard to find a dud.

One of the most widely available is a hybrid called 'Susan'. This is a cross between a very dark purple bloomed form [liliiflora 'Nigra'] and the star magnolia. The result is rich dark almost red flowers which are more frost tolerant than many, produced in greater quantities on a compact bush and bearing a sweet scent.

 

In large gardens the choice is almost endless particularly with so many good hybrids available as a result of plant breeders around the world. If you can find them, I reckon 'Wadas Memory' 'Heaven Sent' and one of the huge Himalayan Campbellii varieties would be my choice. But be warned, some of those that grow into trees can take 30 years to flower! In this case it pays to buy a plant that has been skilfully grafted.

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Take a walk in most West Country woods in late spring and you will find masses of foxgloves. But take a walk down most streets and peep into gardens and you will rarely see them. That's such a shame!

 

These are easy plants to grow and provide the extra vertical element that is so often lacking early in the year. The pink and white spires can reach head height and provide you with a close up of the beautifully marked insides of the little 'gloves'.

Foxgloves are easy and once you have them they are usually there to stay. They are really biennials and often die after flowering in the second year of their life but, because they produce so many seeds, they will sow themselves. Even the tidiest weeder will miss enough plants to ensure that the youngsters survive to produce another brilliant show.

There are a few different species and varieties but I think it's very hard to beat the native Digitalis purpurea and its white form Alba. As to where to plant them, I guess a shady spot would be best but you will find that they a have a knack of sowing themselves and succeeding in the most unlikely places. This is a survivor that will perhaps only fail to colonise your garden if the flower heads are removed before the seed is allowed to form.

 

Bumble bees love them too and will spend hours lazily working their way up and down the spires. But a distinct advantage is that slugs and snails rarely trouble them and there are few other maladies to worry about.

 

Plants will be readily available for planting out now and if you buy the larger ones you should have flowers later this spring. If you have more patience, then seed can be sown in late spring to produce nice strong plants that will flower next year. Either way, give them a try, I promise you won't be disappointed!

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