Planting and pruning
Fight the temptation to sit in looking at gardening books and magazines and get out for some timely jobs in the garden
THIS is a good time to plant new trees or shrubs while the ground is damp and a couple I can recommend are Cytisus battandieri known as ‘Moroccan Broom’, I have seen some plants of this around, and Hibiscus mutabilis, the ‘Changeable Rose’. The latter is usually only found in old gardens here but it does deserve a renaissance and I would love to hear if you know of any growing near you! Its charming, rose-like flowers start off the day white, gradually flush to pink and by evening are a deep red – it’s to die for! I do have some seeds of the Moroccan Broom and if you would like any please send me a stamped self-addressed envelope and I will share some with you. If you are able to collect any seeds of the Changeable rose, then please share them with us!
Most trees and shrubs these days come in big pots so it’s possible to plant them when you buy them unless it is summertime. Take the plant out of the pot carefully and check the roots. If they are circling the pot because they have been growing in it for too long, gently tease them out. Dig a hole a little wider and deeper than the root ball and adding some slow release fertiliser to a handful of compost or some wood ash strew that in the bottom of the hole and lower the plant gently into it adding some more compost around the sides. If it is a big plant, then firm it in gently with your foot otherwise the weight of your hands will be sufficient. If the weather is dry then water it in. Trim off any dead stems but give it a break until it settles in before you do any drastic pruning. Always try to leave the centre of bushes free from crossing branches so that air can get between them.
You can prune your roses now and it will do them a power of good if you do. I know, you still have some flowers and you enjoy picking them for the house and it’s lovely to show them off to your friends but roses need a break and this is just the right time. You may have heard the gardening expression ‘flowering to death’, well that may happen if you don’t prune roses, so get out the secateurs and be brave and cut right down to an outward facing bud 5 or 6 centimetres from the base where fresh strong growth will burst forth shortly. Look at other shrubs that might need a trim too and any topiary that might need a haircut. It’s a good time to be doing all these jobs.
If you didn’t prune your prunus last month you really must do it now or the almonds, in particular, will be bursting into flower before you know it. I have seen some out already. Take out any crossing or apparently dead branches and if the tree is getting beyond reach tip cut the branches to a reasonable height. Clear up any leaves and if you are able to have a bonfire you can reduce the piles of cut twigs and leaves to wood ash, which is so useful for composting and putting around the bases of trees.
If you have a little warm, sheltered spot where you can have seed trays sow any seeds of herbaceous perennials and shrubs or take cuttings of your favourite plants if you can keep them out of the weather and the soil warm. I have some spare seeds of a lovely plant called Sisyrinchium striatum, which just loves to grow in dry conditions, even gravel and looks like a miniature iris before the flowers appear. So send me a sae if you would like some of them. Watch out for moss on your paths and patios if your garden is overhung with trees. It’s incredible that it grows even at lower levels here when you would expect to find it only in the mountains. Give the stones a good scrub with a hard brush using hot water and washing up liquid or detergent. If that doesn’t work try a moss remover.
The response to my book The Cyprus Garden has been incredible and it has been wonderful for me to meet so many readers at book signings. I hope that you enjoy reading the book as much I did writing it.
Best wishes for gardening in 2006
PLANT OF THE MONTH Viburnum tinus
Viburnum tinus belongs to the same family as Honeysuckle although it is not a climbing shrub. A native of the Mediterranean area, it is known as Vivournos here, in Holland and UK as Viburnum or Laurustinus, in France as Laurier tin and in Germany as the Mittlemeerschneeball, the ‘Mediterranean Snowball’ although I rather think this refers to its cousin Viburnum opulus with it’s snowball-like flower heads.
It is certainly a much-valued evergreen in any garden and there are quite a few varieties, perhaps the best known being ‘Eve Price’. You certainly wouldn’t be growing it for its scented flowers as some say that they smell of wet dog, but the deep pink flower buds and subsequent pretty flower heads are charming. Growing to a maximum of perhaps three metres in full sun or part shade and even able to withstand winds and salt spray in coastal areas, Viburnum tinus requires little attention apart from some watering out of the rainy season. The shrub is often used for hedging and as a specimen bush and can also be grown as a standard just as easily, making an attractive ball shape. Viburnum tinus ‘Compactum’ however is smaller, growing, as its name suggests, and does have white to light pink fragrant flowers. Sometimes the shrub can be affected by Viburnum whitefly, which are found on the underside of the leaves in midsummer but I have not found any instances of this in my garden.
Things to do this month
I KNOW it is much more comfortable not to stir outside at this time of year and you would much rather stay indoors and ponder your gardening plans for later on, but this month we can expect the period called ‘Halcyon Days’ when the weather is calm, warm and sunny for about a week to 10 days and it is just ideal for making a head start and getting some of the tedious routine jobs out of the way. If you put on layers of warm clothes, you can shed them one at a time as you warm to your tasks.
The warmth we enjoyed in November and early December caused bulbs to push up even earlier than usual so look out for the Red lily beetle that will decimate many flower heads, especially narcissus. The only effective way of dealing with them is to squash them in your (preferably) gloved fingers! Check under seed trays and the rims of piles of plant pots for our archenemies, sleeping snails, and get rid of them the same way!
The cold spell in October followed by that warm autumnal weather fooled some of the citrus trees too, especially oranges, into thinking that winter has been and gone and you may find blossoms are appearing. I hate to tell this but it is not good news! The cold weather that we usually experience in January and February could mean that the flowers and embryonic fruits may well drop off and there will be less citrus fruits to harvest next year! Someone spoke to me recently about oranges splitting their skins and over-watering may cause this. It sometimes occurs in pomegranates as well when the inside grows much faster than the skin, bursting open the fruit. Keep your eyes open for any Mediterranean fruit fly as the little blighters are out and about despite the low temperatures and tunnelling into your ripe oranges and grapefruit given half a chance. Check your sugar cans or keep spraying every 10 days or so.
Make sure that any tender plants in the garden or even in pots are protected from cold night temperatures by covering them in hessian or fleece and move pots if you are able to against a wall or into a shed. Don’t wrap them too tightly but leave a little space for air to circulate so that the plants will not go mouldy. Many leaves can be burned by cold just as easily as hot sun! In slightly warmer areas, Jasmine nudiflorum is beginning to show off its arching stems of stunning yellow blooms now. Winter flowering plants are heavily scented in order to attract any bees and if you linger close to Mespila you will know what I mean.
??
??
??
??
3
