Tips and advice

Planting up winter hanging baskets

6/9/2020

If you have never dared to plant up your own hanging baskets and planters, now is a great time to try, as the winter ones are simpler to do than the summer ones!

At the most basic end, two different packs of pansies and violas will fill a couple of baskets for very little money – one plant in the centre, then a mix of four or five around the edge.

Take it up a step with a normal pansy or viola in the centre, surrounded by a couple of trailing Ivy and two or three of the fantastic trailing ‘Cool Wave’ pansies.

You can add more interest by using an evergreen plant as the centrepiece – at Bridge Farm Plants we use young conifers, shrubs, grasses, herbs and heathers – which can all be planted out into the garden afterwards.

If you want to give yourself something to look forward to in the spring, add in a handful of dwarf daffodils or other low-growing bulbs under the planting!

At this time of year we are lightly trimming most of the plants we use to encourage them to bush out, for more flowers and better displays, as we do with our summer baskets.

If you leave doing your baskets till later in the season you are likely to need more plants as they will not grow much in the colder weather.

For healthy plants and helpful advice head to Bridge Farm Plants at Corn Craft, Monks Eleigh.
Open 10am-4pm Weds-Sun.
www.bridgefarmplants.co.uk

Order pre-planted hanging baskets for home delivery or collection at Bridge Farm Plants through supplier nursery Katie’s Garden Plant Centre

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Gardening advice from Bridge Farm Plants - pruning shrubs, perennials and roses

9/7/2020

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July is the month for pruning

SHRUBS
Early-summer flowering shrubs are due their annual prunes about now. Treat Deutzia, Philadelphus and Wiegela the same way: cut out the old flowering shoots (they will look quite ragged with side shoots) and leave the straight shoots: these are the ones that will bloom next year. If it has been a good flowering year you might want to leave some of the old shoots for bulk!

PERENNIALS
Sometimes it pays to be ruthless – if you cannot see any more buds on your Lupins, chop them back to the base now – leaves, stems and all – and you should be rewarded with extra flowers later on, as well as attractive fresh foliage.

Other perennials which will benefit from the ‘Hampton Hack’ (as opposed to the ‘Chelsea Chop’) are Polemonium (Jacob’s Ladder) and the soft herbaceous Salvias, such as Caradonna, East Friesland and May Night – the likes of Salvia Hot Lips are treated differently.

If you cannot see any more buds or flowers, other perennials that should be cut back to just above ground level include Delphiniums, Geraniums, Geums, Leucanthemums, Tanacetums and Veronicas, amongst others.

ROSES
Keep the blooms coming on your Roses by regularly cutting out old flowers.
You should cut to just above a leaf with five ‘leaflets’ – where you should see a small nub (where arrow is pointing in the photo) also known as a bud eye.
This will become the new shoot, so pick one that is facing away from other stems to avoid congestion.
If your Rose has clusters of flowers, like this pictured Anna Ford, you might need to cut out quite a chunk of growth, as pictured, if there are no more buds.

For healthy plants and helpful advice head to Bridge Farm Plants at Corn Craft, Monks Eleigh.
Open 10am-4pm Weds-Sun.
www.bridgefarmplants.co.uk

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Gardening advice from Bridge Farm Plants – fruit bushes, clematis and roses

2/3/2020

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Find a gap in the weather to get your garden prepared for spring.
If you haven’t done so already make sure you get out and give Roses, summer-flowering Clematis and fruit bushes their annual prune.

CLEMATIS
Clematis are divided into three groups based on how and when they should be pruned.

Ideally any cutting should be done just above where strong new shoots are appearing. This should speed up new growth and encourage multiple stems, meaning the plant will bush out, leading to more coverage and more blooms.
It is worth doing this with any young Clematis regardless of their pruning code – you want the bushiness to start low down!

Early-flowering varieties (April/May), including montanas, alpinas, macropetalas can be tidied after flowering if desired, or just leave them to it!

Summer-flowering Clematis (May-July) – the normal, large-flowered varieties – can be tidied February/March when they start to reshoot. It can be worth cutting them back to stimulate leaves and flowers lower down the plant if it has been bare in previous years.

Late-flowering varieties (July-Sept), such as delicate viticellas, texensis and tanguticas should be cut back hard in February/March, to as little as 1ft. You will be amazed how quickly they grow in a season!

ROSES
The aim of pruning is to have a clear, uncluttered centre, allowing air to circulate around the plant and reducing the chances of fungal diseases.

In your garden you will want to cut back your hybrid teas, floribundas and patio roses by roughly a third to a half, although they can be cut harder if they need rejuvenating.

First step is to remove any dead, damaged or weak stems.
If any stems are crossing, choose one to remove to avoid problems of stems rubbing against one another – this can damage the stems, leading to possible infection.

Next, look for strong new shoots and cut just above these.

New growth will be in the direction the new shoot is facing (demonstrated by arrows on photo), so always try to cut above outward facing buds: you are trying to keep the centre of the plant clear!

As a finishing touch treat your Rose to a feed of manure or other fertiliser.

FRUIT BUSHES
The clock is ticking to give fruit bushes their annual prune. Many of the principles are the same as rose pruning: cut out dead, dying, diseased and weak stems to base.

The aim is to have an uncluttered centre so other stems might need thinning out too.
Gooseberries, redcurrants and blackcurrants usually crop best on stems that are two or three years old, so anything older can be removed.

Autumn fruiting raspberries couldn’t be easier: just cut down everything to the ground. Summer raspberries are best cut after fruiting.

For healthy plants and helpful advice head to Bridge Farm Plants at Corn Craft, Monks Eleigh.
Open 10am-4pm Weds-Sun.
www.bridgefarmplants.co.uk

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GARDENING TIPS

Planting up winter hanging baskets

Gardening advice from Bridge Farm Plants - pruning shrubs, perennials and roses

Gardening advice from Bridge Farm Plants – fruit bushes, clematis and roses

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