Berghill

Looking after alpines

Blimey, you need a book to answer all the requirements of those things. Don't throw them away, the whole point is to grow them properly so they get bigger and better with time.

Bulbs should be allowed to die down naturally then dried off and put under the staging to rest. Keep them damp but not wet.

Need to know what kind of saxifrages you have to advise on them. Ditto Cyclamen.

Spring Bulbs

You should never cut back the leaves of ANY bulb after flowering, at least not until the leaves have truned brown and dried up. They make food to feed the bulb so you get flowers next year. Even the dying leaves have a function, in that sugars in them a taken back into the roots as they die. You should not tie them in bundles as some folks do either. Leave them alone!

You may even find it useful to feed the bulbs after flowering too. I use a foliage type feed sprayed on to the leaves. If the bulbs are in posts and you need to use the pots then you may carefully remove the bulbs and soil and put it somewhere out of the way in the garden to die down naturally.

By the way, the only silly question is the one you did not ask when you could have done!

Talkback: Growing hellebores from seed

The reason why the Seed company gives such instructions is because by the time to see reaches you it has gone into deep dormancy and it needs a lot of persuasion for it to wake up and grow. In nature the seed drops from the plant and is ready to germinate straight away.

If you have plants then fresh seed germinates easily. I confess that these days I just dig up any self seeded ones from around the mother plants. As said they hate root disturbance, especially drying out, so I drop the babies into a bucket of water and they are taken out to be potted on. Also they make new root growth  in early Autumn so that s the best time to move them.

Sadly they often do not come true to colour especially if you have more than one form in the area.

Gardening Shows

The AGS Show in Whitworth Manchester for tomorrow has been cancelled because of the weather.

Autumn

And the dried bulbs you see in G/C''s are dead, but only growing plants.

Gardening Shows

Any Alpine Garden Society and Scottish Rock Garden Club shows are worth visiting.

These are some of the plants on display at the last one in Blackpool.

http://www.ideasforgardens.net/palustris/AGS_Blackpool_2013/

Talkback: How to plant out leeks

Sure do.

Talkback: How to plant out leeks

Colcos, you could pot them up and grow on until the soil is warm enough to put them out.

Brenda, normally we plant ours in early May when the soil is warm here. In milder areas you can do it earlier.

Jennie, saldly no matter what you do, those leeks will go to seed now. Best would be to eat them before that happens.

Snowdrops

You may get more hep here

Scottsih Rock Garden Society

Tomato Growpots, any good?

They are very expensive. We were given some many years ago and still use them. Cleaning afterwards is not problem, we just soak them in a bucket with dilute Jeye's Fluid.

But why pay all that money? The rest of our toms are grown in bottomless plant pots on Growing bags.

Potato problem

Plant id

Photo size

Sheds

A mild annoyance

Helleborus x hybridus

Timber

Silene and Phlox roots

Anyone used this mower

An invitation to View June 2012

A few of our bulbs.