September is a good month to take cuttings from roses. They root quite readily if you take some firm growth – about 10” (250 mm) long, strip the leaves off the bottom 6 inches (150 mm). Stick the cuttings in a trench or a slit in the ground made with a spade, having first put some sand in the bottom – and don’t forget to label them!
One of the advantages of using this method of propagation is that you don’t have to worry about suckers – any shoots that appear from the bottom will be true! They should root over winter and spring into growth next year. Leave them till next autumn before transplanting into permanent positions. You can do this with any sort of rose. The new English roses respond well and are always a welcome addition!
Now that autumn is with us we need to watch out for frosts. Any tender plants that we want to save need some form of protection or a move to a greenhouse or conservatory.
One of my friends on the allotments asked me about his raspberries because they have become weak and non-productive this year. I suggested that he should plant his new plants in a different place although he will have to move all the posts and wires. The ground he is currently using has grown raspberries for over ten years and will have taken all the nutrients out so a fresh start will be best.
Once I’ve picked the last of my cultivated blackberries, I am going to cut all the old wood out and tie the new canes in. This isn’t such a bad job as they are all spineless – it is a variety called Parsley-leaved Thornless, and it has great big shiny berries that taste great. I think I’ve picked about 10 lbs off each bush already and now have no more room in the freezer.
The season seems to be at least a fortnight early. I have a huge crop of pears but I never seem to get it right for picking as they often go sleepy in the middle or remain hard – it’s a good job I like hard pears! My Concord variety taste okay but the Conference pears are still my favourite. Hope you have a good year with your fruit but if not, there’s always next year to plan for!
A small group went to visit Leila Jackson’s T3 Wall End nursery in Herefordshire on 3 September and were suitably impressed with both the tour and her talk on perennials. Leila runs the nursery with her father on her husband’s farm and is extremely knowledgeable – she specializes in salvias and abutilons and everyone came away a memento of their visit.
Christine McGregor, Director of the Alpine Garden Society will be our guest speaker on Wednesday 1 October when she will be giving an overview of alpine gardening. This year the AGS exhibit at Chelsea won a gold medal and the President's Award for the best garden in the Floral Pavillion (see some pictures from the exhibit at www.alpinegardensociety.net)
On Saturday 4 October, we are inviting folk to join us on a Fungus Foray with Diane Bateman from Worcestershire Fungus Group (http://worcestershirefungusgroup.weebly.com/) at Trench Woods near Hanbury. Some of you may remember Diane’s talk last October when we were all spellbound by her talk and the number of toadstools and mushrooms she brought along with her which is why we arranged this event.
One of the advantages of using this method of propagation is that you don’t have to worry about suckers – any shoots that appear from the bottom will be true! They should root over winter and spring into growth next year. Leave them till next autumn before transplanting into permanent positions. You can do this with any sort of rose. The new English roses respond well and are always a welcome addition!
Now that autumn is with us we need to watch out for frosts. Any tender plants that we want to save need some form of protection or a move to a greenhouse or conservatory.
One of my friends on the allotments asked me about his raspberries because they have become weak and non-productive this year. I suggested that he should plant his new plants in a different place although he will have to move all the posts and wires. The ground he is currently using has grown raspberries for over ten years and will have taken all the nutrients out so a fresh start will be best.
Once I’ve picked the last of my cultivated blackberries, I am going to cut all the old wood out and tie the new canes in. This isn’t such a bad job as they are all spineless – it is a variety called Parsley-leaved Thornless, and it has great big shiny berries that taste great. I think I’ve picked about 10 lbs off each bush already and now have no more room in the freezer.
The season seems to be at least a fortnight early. I have a huge crop of pears but I never seem to get it right for picking as they often go sleepy in the middle or remain hard – it’s a good job I like hard pears! My Concord variety taste okay but the Conference pears are still my favourite. Hope you have a good year with your fruit but if not, there’s always next year to plan for!
A small group went to visit Leila Jackson’s T3 Wall End nursery in Herefordshire on 3 September and were suitably impressed with both the tour and her talk on perennials. Leila runs the nursery with her father on her husband’s farm and is extremely knowledgeable – she specializes in salvias and abutilons and everyone came away a memento of their visit.
Christine McGregor, Director of the Alpine Garden Society will be our guest speaker on Wednesday 1 October when she will be giving an overview of alpine gardening. This year the AGS exhibit at Chelsea won a gold medal and the President's Award for the best garden in the Floral Pavillion (see some pictures from the exhibit at www.alpinegardensociety.net)
On Saturday 4 October, we are inviting folk to join us on a Fungus Foray with Diane Bateman from Worcestershire Fungus Group (http://worcestershirefungusgroup.weebly.com/) at Trench Woods near Hanbury. Some of you may remember Diane’s talk last October when we were all spellbound by her talk and the number of toadstools and mushrooms she brought along with her which is why we arranged this event.