Dinah

Neighbours dogs - my plant pots!

Thank You so much for those suggestions, I am really grateful for your researched and insightful responses. I will look out for and try them. 

To clarify about the gate being left open, the postman and other utility people leave it open while they walk down the drive, or while they move their vehicles through if they are here to fix something. Also, my husband is unintentionally very forgetful and unobservant with regard to gates, the dogs are equally determined and watchful, so they usually outwit him.

Neighbours dogs - my plant pots!

I don't like to spell this out but leg-cocking over my plant pots, shrubs and perennial boarders has become the one, single objective-in-life of my neighbour's dogs. I try to keep the gate closed, but people open it to drive through, and the dogs are ready and waiting. Every now and then they also break through the brushwood defences that I have wedged under the fences. I've had quite a few young plants killed over the past five years: one Arbutus, my precious seed-grown Medlar, two Wisteria, numerous trays and pots of perennials and shrubs - I don't want to go on listing them, it's too terrible!

Anger aside, what I need right now (apart from some sort of electrical deterrent or a sedative) is a first-aid cure for a wilting Clematis. Is it possible to neutralise the liquid with something after the fact? Obviously, I've already tried flooding or soaking the plants with water, but it didn't save the others. Dog-rocks and such like are no good because they are not my dogs, but any suggestions would be very welcome.

Newbie to Morning Glory

Oh, and any other advise or suggestions on how to get around the spring slug and snail assault would be immensely welcome! I've had - well actually more or less anything and everything eaten on previous years by this over-the-wall, annual, overnight invasion. Some very large snails even managed to climb up a lamp-post, along a bracket, past a butchers S-hook and down the chain of a hanging basket in order to get at it's contents! 

Newbie to Morning Glory

I've only tried growing Morning Glory plants once before - with disappointing results. Last year my entire crop of 5 inch high seedlings (about 50 plants) was chewed to the roots overnight by snails. I live in a rural area with lots of surrounding vegetation. The slugs and snails come slithering in each spring with the first rain after a period of drought that nearly always takes place around this time. It is a real invasion, so I'm now very wary of putting my seedlings outside. I plan to try the Morning Glory in flower pouches (I have some lovely, green hessian ones) and hang them up as high as possible. I've seen Morning Glory grown up trellises and supports but never trailing from pouches or baskets. I'm wondering if their stems are strong enough to trail in the wind. We are rural-coastal and mountainous, so the winds can be very strong. If anyone has experience with them planted in this way could you please let me know how you got on.

reallly need help please

Well done Susan 6 for finding it!

reallly need help please

There are so many wonderful colloquial names for plants, especially medicinal ones and ones with other specific uses. Some have dozens of names. For example, plants have often been named after Saints because they have healing properties. If you've heard the name used somewhere it is quite possible that it is a local term, so you need to ask someone from the area where you think you heard it. If you are looking to obtain such a plant, perhaps to honor a person of that name, you might also try Wikipedia - they mention a number of colloquial plant names that you won't find in formal classifications. Good luck!

Plastic bags for seedlings

Cling film is OK as long as you don't have pets or children. If you have cats or dogs and they manage to tread on your trays the cling film will be ripped. Children like to pierce the smooth shiny surface with an inquisitive finger, making a satisfying POP (and who can blame them). Also, you need to make sure that you leave an adequate gap between the soil surface and the cover for a little air. Both Clingfilm and tight plastic bags can cause some kinds of surface sown seeds to be pulled up by static building up in the plastic. Children (again quite understandably) like to rub the smooth, squeaky surface, and see little bits start to fly up and stick to the plastic! If you can adequately restrain or exclude children and pets I'm sure cling film is fine.

Plastic bags for seedlings

Also take a shifty look in the tall, wheeled isle bins that often stand near the fresh dairy product isles while the staff are stacking and clearing the shelves. You may spy excellent quality clear bags being thrown away, some of substantial sises that you can put 2 or 3 full size trays in. Also, look out for clear plastic wedge shaped lids that go over 1 dozen packs of some yoghert type products. There is one in particular that is absilutely the same size as a seed trey, and it has a ready made "frosting" effect to diffuse the light a little. I'd tell you what brand it was but I have never actualy asked what it came off. There are also ideal multi-pot stands to be had, to lift 6 or 12 plant pots at a time (just make a mental note of the diamiter of your favourite plant pot bottoms and you are laughing). The staff are usualy only too delighted to ferret out a particularly usefull looking item if you explain it is for gardening purposes. If any bag, lid or multi-carton you see dosn't look pristine when you get it home wash it with a very mild detergent and rince it well. The inside of bags can be done in the same way. If I come across a good, tough transparent one I will wash it carfully and re-use it several times. Sometimes I use detergent but if they are getting greenish or they smell I use a little bit (a puff at most) of anti-bacterial surface cleaner spreyed into the bag, rub it arround a bit and then rince out the bag thoroughly. I've never had any problems with mould after doing this. Finally, experiment carfully with freezer bags, which do have the massive advantage of being re-sealable. Most of them are perfectly Microwave prooff. So if you put a little water in the bottom and sit the bag, open and upright in the microwave it will steralise itself in a very short time. Check that they don't melt - some say microwave safe on the lable just to help you out. Also, goes without saying really, carfull lifing the hot, steamy bag out. A rince, followed by microwave will provide a recycled sterile bag if you don't want to have to keep buying new ones.

Lastly, if you can find a book or website that gives a general and reasonably comprehensive guide for different plants that need germination in light, or those that need shade, or darkness to germinate please let me know because a chart or lists would be very useful. I could put up in my potting shed for quick reference. Maybe Gardeners World Magazine could publish one???

Talkback: Preparing for drought in the garden

Where I am living (North Coast of Ireland) we often get a drought in early to mid spring. The rest of the year the problem is usually too much water! I live half way up a mountain, and the results of drought are quite frightening. Last year, a spate of mountain fires did a great deal of damage to areas of Scientific interest both inland and along the coast. Our latest big fire eat up half of the mountain, igniting heather, gorse, and the underlying peat layers. In mountain areas like ours the fire brigade can't reach these fires with their equipment. My husband spent six and a half hours putting out a fire that would have extended the length of a town's high street! It is foolish to tackle such fires unless you have lots of experience, which fortunately he had already acquired while living in Africa. The most deadly aspect of such fires is during high and changeable winds, but even in calm conditions smoke inhalation is always a danger. The best way to deal with a mountain or scrub land fire is to prevent it from starting in the first place. In wild areas people should be extra sensitive to the possibility of inadvertently starting fires during drought - and be awaire that drought can occur at any time of year including winter! Remember that this is the time of year when dead grasses, leaves and heathers are in abundance. Roadside barbecues, or lighted cigarette ends carelessly tossed out of the car window can start fires, and if you live on the edge of such land you need to be extra careful that your garden fire does not spark nearby hedges etc. Farmers, too, need to resist the temptation to burn scrub land in order to clear it for grazing or agricultural use during general conditions of drought.

Tropaeoleum Azureum

I have a Tropaeolum Azureum (hope that's how it is spelt) growing in a pot on a fairly shady window ledge in my kitchen. It has the most fine and delicate little leaves on cotton-thread wide stems that have scrambled up a twig. The leaves are very small indeed, mostly less than half a cm. across, but they are quite prolific, and though the stems are fine they seem quite strong. The foliage has taken the form of a small, feathery cloud, about 20cm high at the tallest point. I have heard that these plants grow bigger, but mine seems to like being very small, and it hasn't flowered after two years of growth (starting from seed).

I do love the plant, so I would hate to do anything that might kill it off! Perhaps someone knows how I might safely encourage it to grow bigger and to flower?

Jackaranda?

Static-electrical winowing

Rooting cuttings with potatoes

Planting out pot grown roses

Neighbours dogs - my plant pots!

Newbie to Morning Glory

Tropaeoleum Azureum

flower buckets, mushroom cartons and noodle pots.