Posts Tagged ‘Trees’
How to deal with a snowy garden!
Posted by editor on Thursday, 2 December 2010
When did we last have snow in early December?! Last year it was January, the year before, April – this is becoming a regular if rather unpredictable occurrence!
So wonderful whilst it’s looking fresh, treacherous underfoot when it gets icy – and downright disaster for the garden if you didn’t prepare in good time (I didn’t!)…
On the plus side, it’s a great insulator, and it melts to provide much needed water to dry plants in the winter. However, heavy snow and ice build up can cause devastating damage in the garden if limbs and trunks bend or break. Even hardy plants and tough evergreens can also be damaged by prolonged spells of severe cold when soil becomes frozen.
To protect (I know too late this time, but worth remembering!):
- Tie up plants: Before the snow, use plant netting to tie up the branches of your conifers and soft shrubs, to prevent them from being misshapen or broken by snow. Tie them in a cone shape, to deflect snow off to the sides.
- Move containers: Put planters and containers under a shed or porch during snow and ice storms to keep freezing water from expanding and breaking containers.
- Prevent your pond freezing over: Place a rubber ball in any outdoor ponds to prevent them icing over completely, then remove to allow oxygen into the water.
Post heavy snow:
- Look after your garden birds: Don’t forget to put out extra food out, clearing snow and ice off bird-tables – and most important, fresh water – if possible de-ice your bird-baths and top up with fresh water.
- Take care clearing paths: Be careful not to pile snow on your plants when clearing paths as it will then need to be removed and might do damage you can’t prevent.
- Avoid Salt: Salt can damage lawns and plants when it runs off your driveway. If your plants have been exposed to salt, water and rinse them well as soon as temperatures are above freezing. Next time, use sand or clay-based kitty litter instead of salt.
- Take care with damaged trees: Tender branches (particularly conifers) may become broken or weighed down with heavy snow. Broken branches should be pruned away immediately to prevent injury and disease. Ragged tears are very susceptible to infection, so remove damaged wood using clean cuts.
- Remove snow from roofs (if you can safely): Remove the piles of snow that may cascade down onto your shrubs from the roof above. If your shrubs are right in the danger zone under a steep roof, you may want to protect them with a temporary wooden frame.
- Keep off grass: Snow covered grass is fragile, easily uprooted, and susceptible to fungal diseases under the snow. Avoid walking on snow-covered grass as it will damage the turf beneath and leave unsightly marks on the lawn.
Try to save damaged plants:
The extent of the damage often won’t be clear until spring, when you find out if your plant is able to spring back into shape. Wait for spring to do any staking or reshaping of bent plants, since winter branches are extremely brittle. In the spring they’ll be much more supple.
- Cut back frosted growth in spring to a healthy, new bud, to prevent further die back and encourage plants to produce fresh, new shoots.
- Feed damaged plants with a balanced fertiliser (one with equal amounts of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium) to encourage strong, healthy growth.
- Dig up small, tender plants and take them into the greenhouse. Many will quickly produce new growth and recover, provided they are not subjected to prolonged periods of heavy frost, wet or cold.
- Newly planted specimens will often lift themselves proud of the soil surface if there is a hard frost straight after planting. Check them regularly and re-firm the ground around them to ensure their roots are always in contact with the soil.
Finally – just enjoy the sheer beauty of your snowy gardenscape – take some photos and make a note in your September diary to have your own Christmas cards printed!
Making valuable leaf mould…
Posted by editor on Monday, 22 November 2010
In natural ecosystems, autumn leaves are a crucial part of the natural cycle, returning complex chemical compounds to the ground where they are broken down.
The first phase in this breakdown is often carried out by worms, slugs, woodlice and other small animals on the woodland floor. So just piling leaves in out-of-the -way places, or spreading them under shrubs, will see many of them disappear by spring.
Good things about leaf mould:
- It’s easy to make
- It cuts out bonfires
- It saves using peat
- It’s free
Good things about using leaf mould:
- It’s clean and easy to handle
- It’s good for the soil
- It cuts down on watering
- It can be used on any soil
- It can be used at any time of year
The second phase is helped by invertebrates which are aided by fungi. These work slowly on tough and nutrient -sparse old leaves, which the bacteria that fire up our summer compost heaps find hard to deal with. For this reason large quantities of leaves slow down the composting process and are best dealt with separately.
Dry leaves won’t decompose so water them if they are dry to help them rot. All you need is a secluded corner of the garden or a simple container, to stop the leaves blowing away. Black bin bags can be used, when full of leaves make a few holes in the bag and tie the top loosely.
Leafmould makes a good winter cover for bare soil; mulch around shrubs, herbaceous, trees, vegetables or dig in as a soil improver for sowing and planting. Use as an autumn top dressing for lawns. It also makes a good seed sowing mix – mix with equal parts well rotted leafmould, sharp sand, loam and garden compost.
Leaves on the lawn are easily dealt with. Run the mower over leaves on the lawn with the grass box off, the shredded leaves will soon disappear into the lawn – OR run the mower over leaves on the lawn with the grass box on, then add the chopped up mown leaves and grass to a leafmould heap. They will be quicker to rot than whole leaves.
So turn the autumn leaf fall to your garden’s advantage! But remember, don’t disturb drifts of autumn leaves under hedges and other out of the way areas – they may be used for hibernating sites by hedgehogs and other creatures.
Plant of the month: Malus
Posted by editor on Friday, 19 November 2010
As the autumn draws in, fruits and seeds ripen creating an exciting range of colours and shapes in the garden.
A great tree for the smaller garden is the Malus or crab apple with its fantastic fruits and autumn colour. One of Bridgette’s favourites is Malus x zumi ‘Golden Hornet’ which bears huge crops of bright yellow fruits that last on the tree well into autumn and winter.
- Common name: Crab apple
- Family: Rosaceae
- Height & spread: 10m (30ft) high by 8m (25ft) wide
- Form: Deciduous tree
- Soil: Well-drained, neutral to alkaline soil
- Aspect: Full sun or semi-shade
- Hardiness: Fully hardy
The name Malus is from the Greek for ‘melon’, and a name applied to several trees with fleshy exterior fruits. This genus contains about 35 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found in woodlands and thickets throughout northern temperate regions.
Malus are easily grown, small- to medium-sized trees flowering from April to May. They produce fragrant flowers 2-5cm (1-2in) across, usually shallowly cup-shaped, singly or in umbel-like corymbs.
Edible fruits follow the flowers. Although some fruits do need cooking to be palatable, the fruit flavour improving considerably if the fruit is not harvested until it has been frosted. The fruit is quite variable in size (2-4cm diameter) and quality. While usually harsh and acidic, some cultivars are quite sweet and can be eaten raw. The fruit is rich in pectin and can be used to help other fruits to set when making jam. Pectin is also said to protect the body against radiation.
Bridgette’s favourite – Malus x zumi ‘Golden Hornet’:
It is a broadly pyramidal, deciduous tree bearing a profusion of large, cup-shaped pink-flushed white flowers opening from deep pink buds in late spring. Small, yellow crab apples follow, and persist well into winter. The display of golden fruit is further enhanced when the dark foliage turns yellow in autumn.
Grow in moderately fertile moist but well-drained soil in full sun, although partial shade is tolerated. Minimal pruning is needed in late winter or early spring, when the tree is dormant. Remove damaged, wayward or crossing shoots.
Problem pests can include – aphids, red spider mites, caterpillars, apple scab, honey fungus, canker, fireblight and mildew.
To propagate, bud in late summer or graft in midwinter
Awarded an Award of Garden Merit (AGM) by the RHS Woody Plant Committee who described it as: “Small deciduous tree with a broad ovoid crown and white flowers followed by a profuse crop of bright, deep yellow fruits 2.5cm long, which persist well into winter”.
Apple Day at Stanmer Park…
Posted by editor on Friday, 24 September 2010
If you’re at all interested in apples – growing, eating, cooking, pressing – get yourself over to Stanmer Park, Brighton, this Sunday 26…
Check out the display of Sussex apples, buy a rare Sussex apple tree, or bring along your mystery apple for identification. Look out for cookery demos and orchard tours, watch traditional apple pressing and enjoy apples (of course!), cakes, cider and apple juice, or visit the tea garden.
The event has been organised by Action in Rural Sussex and Brighton Permaculture Trust as part of Local Fruit Futures - a three-year project to train over 1000 people in fruit tree planting and care and in fruit cookery, plant a further 36 small school and community orchards, propagate hundreds of Sussex variety apple trees, plant examples of all these apples at Stanmer Park orchard and make it more accessible, and produce two publications, based partly on research by the University of Sussex into the history of fruit growing in Sussex.
Open: 11am – 5pm
Location: By the farmhouse/orchard/church at stanmer park
Travel: Travel by public transport if you can. Bus 78 from Brighton. Trains to Falmer, a mile’s walk away.
Further details: www.permaculture.co.uk
Trees for small gardens…
Posted by editor on Saturday, 6 February 2010
Choosing a tree for a small garden takes a good deal of thought and planning. If you choose a tree that is too large it may need to be removed and this can be very expensive – it will also make growing other plants in the garden difficult as there will be competition for moisture, food and light.
It is possible to grow a tree in a container but this will restrict its overall height and spread and often spoil the eventual shape of the tree.
Selecting a tree: Trees up to 8-10m (25-35ft) in height are usually reasonable for most small gardens, although in some cases a taller tree with a narrow habit may be better. A narrow tree can give a more formal look with spreading trees offering shade. If you only have room for one tree make sure you choose one that gives more than one season of interest – such as fruit, autumn colour and of course, flowers.
It may help you to draw a scale plan of your garden and then plot the size of your tree when it reaches maturity. Don’t forget that if you are planting it in the corner of your garden that the canopy may shade your neighbour’s garden too.
Below are some suggestions for trees for small gardens. Before making your choice make sure you check soil requirements and aspect (sun/shade/shelter from winds etc):
Acer palmaum ‘Sango-kaku’ – 6m
Amelanchier lamarckii – 10m
Cercis siliquastrum – 10m
Cornus kousa var.chinensis – 7.5m (photo above)
Crataegus laevigata ‘Paul’s Scarlet’ – 8m
Malus ‘Evereste’ – 7m
Malus tschonoskii – 12m
Prunus ‘Pandor’ – 10m
Sorbus hupehensis – 8m
All of the above trees have received the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit (AGM). This award indicates that the plant is recommended by the RHS.
With more than 100,000 plants available in the UK alone, the AGM is intended to be of practical value to the home gardener, helping gardeners to make the best and most appropriate choice. It is awarded therefore only to a plant that meets the following criteria:
- It must be of outstanding excellence for ordinary garden decoration or use
- It must be available
- It must be of good constitution
- It must not require highly specialist growing conditions or care
- It must not be particularly susceptible to any pest or disease
- It must not be subject to an unreasonable degree of reversion in its vegetative or floral characteristics
Trees add structure, contrasting height and beauty – key components of every successful garden design. Even in the smallest garden, well-chosen trees offer seasonal interest, shelter – and a great place to hang your bird-feeders!
Prunus x subhirtella ‘Autumnalis’
Posted by editor on Saturday, 23 January 2010
Looking for a winter-flowering tree for your garden?
During the rather dreary months from late autumn to early spring there are a small number of woody plants that dare to flower and bring colour into the garden. The Autumn Cherry is one of them, Prunus x subhirtella ‘Autumnalis’.
Most of our winter-flowering trees are types of Prunus. From Japan and China, there were first talked about in the 18th century by the Swedish botanist Carl Thunberg, but it is only in the last 100 years that have become widely available in the West.
Prunus x subhirtella ‘Autumnalis’ forms a small, open-branched tree with a spreading canopy; and even when it is in full leaf it does not cast a lot of shade. It is a great choice for a small town garden. The flowers are small but delicate and they are semi-double, pink when in bud, opening to a creamy white which continue to open during mild spells until the end of March, which is amazing as the frilled flowers first appear in November. It is lovely for cutting and brining indoors.
Another added feature is that in autumn the leaves often turn a rich red and bronze. I prefer the white form but Prunus x subhirtella ‘Autumnalis Rosea’ has rose pink blossom while ‘Fukubana’ has the most colourful deep rose coloured flowers.