galest

Seeds are up

Yes yr right it doesnt seem to matter what nature throws at us we are all still there in January chomping at the bit to start again. Ive just been outside for a couple of hours as 80% of the snow has gone and I needed to look for life whatever sort it was! Plenty of bulbs coming up and the buds are showing on many of the shrubs so that cheared me up. Very cold tho -5 with the north wind but the sun was out so a nice change from being stuck inside. Ive got rid of around 25 mole hills numerous parcels of what doggies leave and was suprised at how well the soil has drained this year considering we had almost 3ft of it so I got a few bulbs planted. By that time the toilet was calling yet again and so was the kettle. Off to watch A - Z of gardening now I just hope its better than last week!

Bare root roses arriving tomorrow - help!

I wouldnt leave them in their bags especially if its polythene. Take them out and if your ground is that wet just put them into buckets and make sure all the roots are covered with any sort of compost or soil it doesnt matter just as long as they are covered as it will stop them drying out. Dont keep them in the dark you wouldnt like it so neither will they just put them outside somewhere sheltered from cold drying winds. Freezing will do them no harm as the ground in the garden freezes in winter and years ago I had a rose sat in a bucket of pure water that was frozen for weeks and it was fine. If the top growth gets abit damaged prune it off when you plant them, it will always come back when it warms up but if the roots dry out you cld loose them. I know its sounds alot of messing around especially for someone who isnt used to all this but if they ve come from D Austin you will have paid alot of money for them so you shld give them abit of care now. When you come to plant them prepare the soil well, if its heavy dig in some sand or grit (not a handful - half a bucket for each) to open the soil up as this helps with drainage then give them a good top dressing of manure or compost. When spring comes give each one a handful of blood fish and bone and they shld grow well.

Seeds are up

Weeds I understand. Sometimes I wonder why we are gardeners as everything seems to be against us. Slugs and snails weeds all the worlds population of greenfly blackfly and caterpillars etc seem to decend into yr garden and in my case the worst of all moles !. When we finally think we have most things under control along comes the weather which brings floods drought and winds etc

Seeds are up

I just throw the seeds of plants like nicotina, larkspur, forgetmenot, poppy, nigella etc around the garden in September, by the time winter comes they are good strong plants and able to cope with the cold -16 here. I only did this once when I moved here 5 yrs ago and now they just selfseed everywhere so all I have to do in Spring is thin them out and move some to another place.The only one I cant do this with is Cosmos so I save the seed then do the same in March, if the ground is too cold they will just sit and wait till it warms up then germinate. It saves all the messing around with plants on a windowledges growing long and leggy, pricking out and coldframes. Ive even started to do this with tomatoes, i leave the last couple of each variety on the ground thro winter, when the ground is warm enough they germinate then I pick the strongest and replant in their proper place.

Seeds are up

Hello nutcutlet 3 yrs ago I sowed larkspur in the garden in April and ive never sown any since. They are abit like love in a mist once you have the flowers they then seed everywhere. They are very hardy as im in Hungary where our temps can get down to -16 with 2 ft of snow but it doesnt do them any harm except to squash them abit with the weight of the snow. When I last looked in October I had as many at 200 seedlings and they all came from 3 flower stalks from a friends garden. So just sow like any hardy annuals when the soil begins to warm up.

Bare root roses arriving tomorrow - help!

Bradawls are great and you can get different sizes, I have a small medium and large however I do tend to loose them in the garden for a few months at a time, so if I cant find them I use a old electricians screwdriver as it has a small head and it does the same thing.

Peonys

Ok thanks. Every website describes it a deep burgandy so ive decided to take a gamble and buy it especially as its described as having a strong perfume.

Peonys

Yes I know shades vary on the monitor and how strong the sunlight is when the photo is taken which was why I hoped someone was growing it and they cld tell me what they considered was the true colour. Maybe i ll just go for a white or pink.

Peonys

Does anyone have the peony Francoise Ortegat as some pictures I look at show a bright red but another shows a burgandy. The description is dark red to black so very confusing.

Bare root roses arriving tomorrow - help!

I usually did a hole as rosa carroila said and put a couple in and cover over with soil up to just above the graft point. I only put 2 in a hole together so that when the time comes for planting I just dig up 2 at a time. If you plant them all in one hole and dont have time to plant them all at once you will have to heel the rest in again. I did this with 12 and even tho they are still covered in snow they will be fine. Ive done this many times as I cant leave roses alone. Everytime I say thats it another one comes along that I cant live without. If theres going to be a frost cover the tops with straw or a bucket but I really dont think you need to as the roses you have already in yr garden (i asume you have some) survive the frost so these will too. If you havent got any ground suitable put them in a couple of builders buckets and cover all the roots with soil they will be fine.

Plum sawfly

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