ChristyRose

Talkback: Making a stumpery

Osteospernum

I have several osteospernums in pots and some are planted in the garden.  I just wanted to know if they are tender or not.  A couple are planted in the borders and seem to survive from year to year but the ones in pots havnt been so lucky.  I had a lovely white flower with variagated leaves that was in a large pot that I lost one winter.  Should I move all the pots under cover or are they hardy?  Apparently the temperature is going to drop down to freezing tonight.  I am in Cornwall.

Blanket Weed

Sorry Madonbirds,  I didnt get your last message - dont know whats going on here.  Just had to tell you that I went out the other night to shut the chickens coop up and I shone the torch into the deepest part of the pond and there was a toad there!!  Fingers crossed for the spring!!

Is there anything I can't compost?

Hi Joe,  no its just droppings and bedding - no food. 

HELP me please!!

Winter flowering jasmine.  It is a climber that could be grown against a fence.  Viburnum bodanantense 'Dawn' is beautiful (not ugly but each to their own ) and is fragrant when the garden is looking sparse but does grow quite big I think and i dont think they like being pruned.  Viburnum tinus has pretty white flowers and starts off quite small and its evergreen.  Think you can prune that to shape...  Forsythia - yellow flowers early spring will need pruning to keep in shape.  What size is the space you have?

Blanket Weed

Thank you.  It is lovely having a pond in the garden.  Theres something very realaxing about water.  I had a few damelflies in the summer and I could see all these organisms swimming around in the water.  Dont know what they were.  There were a few small black snails that I presume came in on the pond plants I brought but havnt seen them for a while.  Do the snails and organisms go to the bottom of the pond when it starts getting colder?  Cant wait for frogs and toads to find it.

HELP me please!!

Just looking at my garden now I have several things still flowering. Kaffir Lily (schizostylis coccinea).  It spreads quickly and is beautiful and comes in different shades of pink and I have a red one aswell.  Ceratostigma Willmottianum - pretty blue flowers.  It is a neat little plant that you can just cut back.  Verbena bonariensis is still flowering and is fantastic for butterflies and bees.  Hebes and sedums.  Evening primrose - self seeds.  I still have roses still flowering.  I love pierus as they are evergreen and have young bright red leaves and pretty bell shaped flowers in the spring but needs acid soil.  Abelia is another favourite shrub of mine.  Flowers all summer and is still flowering now.  Is a slow growing shrub but would need cutting back eventually if you only have a small space.  I love hellebores as they flower late winter early spring.

Osteopurnum - suitable soil

Yes I had that one and it is beautiful but it didnt survive the winter.  I think osteospermums can be abit on the tender side?  I had it planted in a pot in normal compost and it was fine - until the winter came....

Blanket Weed

Thank you so much madonbirds.  Very informative.  No I will not be using any chemicals as I want a nature pond.  I have 2 small water lily plants in there so I suppose in time they will give the cover needed.  I put in several oxygenating and marginal plants.  Everything seems to be dying back now.  Is this normal?  So there wont be an cover during the winter?  It is about 60cm at its deepest point and then it has quite a large shelf all the way round that is about 20cm and then a pebbley area for animals to crawl out.

Blanket Weed

Yes I do use a bamboo stick to pull it out.  Its about 3m x 1.5 m and I put 2 of those barley straw things in.  Maybe it just takes time for them to work....

Talkback: Making a stumpery

Osteospernum

Blanket Weed

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