Plant of the Month ... Rhododendron 'Dreamland'

Good Morning!

I started this series last month and today I am back with the next instalment.

The PLANT OF THE MONTH for May is ... RHODODENDRON 'Dreamland'!

'Dreamland' is a hardy compact evergreen Rhododendron with dark foliage and trusses of pale pink flowers which have deep pink buds before opening.
These shrubs are from the Ericaceae family and prefer to be planted on Acidic soil.
Don't worry if your soil isn't acidic though as they can also be grown in a pot of Ericaceous compost ... just like mine!

CULTIVATION 

You can plant this particular variety of Rhododendron in full sun or partial shade in a South or East facing aspect. They also prefer a slightly sheltered position in a moist but well drained soil. When planting make sure that they are planted shallowly as they do not tolerate being planted deeply.
If growing in a pot re-potting into fresh compost every other year is recommended along with replacing the top 5cm of soil in the year between.

Make sure that they receive adequate water throughout the year (especially if in a pot) as failure to do so can affect flowering the following Spring.
Watering with Rain water is preferred as tap water can reduce the acidity around their roots however it can be tolerated for a month or so during Summer if rain water runs out.
Feed the plant in Spring with an Ericaceous fertiliser or a 5-7cm mulch of leaf mould around the base.
The only Pruning needed is to remove dead wood and faded flowers.

PROBLEMS

- Rhododendron 'Dreamland' may be attacked by Pests such as Vine Weevil & Aphids along with suffering from Diseases such as Powdery Mildew along with Rhododendron specific diseases.

- Flower buds may fail to form or open in Spring if the plant hasn't received sufficient watering in late Summer the year before. Mulching and watering thoroughly from July can prevent this from happening.

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!
Here's a few things that you can be getting on with today in the garden ...

1. Tidy up  - If you've got some Heucheras in your garden and they are looking a little worse for wear after the recent months then now is the time to give them a little tidy up! Remove any dead or damaged foliage along with any faded flower stems that are still on the plant.

Heucheras aren't the only plants needing a little tidy up, if you've got any Penstemons growing now is the time to cut the old stems down to the fresh shoots at the bottom. The reason we don't do this after flowering is so that the old stems can help protect the shoots from severe frost in bad weather.

Potted Heuchera

2. Veggies - The soil is starting to warm up so if you'd like to get some veggies sown such as Carrots, Beetroot, Salad Crops, Radishes and Spring Onion then now is the time to get started!

3. Extra Plants - If you go into Garden Centres at this time you should see some pots of Sempervivums for sale, quite a few of them will have more than 1 rosette and each of these can give you an extra plant! I found a pack of 6 for £10 earlier in the week and I've managed to get 30 plants from these 6 pots! All you need to do is remove each rosette and pot on into some gritty compost.

 

 

4. Climbing Plants - Climbing plants such as Clematis and Honeysuckle will be putting on new growth quickly and will need tying in to their supports as soon as possible. 

5. Faded Flowers - Deadhead the faded flowers from Azaleas, Rhododendrons and Camellias but be careful not to damage the newly developing leaves. 

6. Weeds - It's one of the least enjoyable jobs for some people but it is one of the most important! Dig out as many weeds possible now and they will be much more controllable throughout the rest of the year. They soon multiply so it's best to get on top of them!

Thanks for stopping by, don't forget you can find all the previous Checklists on the page tab above.

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Weekly Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!
It's time again for my Weekly Garden Checklist, let's get started!

1.Poppies- Once Poppies have finished flowering, if you don't like how they look and would rather not have the seed spread around the garden, then you can cut them back to the ground. This will encourage fresh foliage so that you will still have ground cover. However I like to keep the seed heads intact as it's adds some interest to my garden.

2. Delphiniums - Along with Poppies you can also dead head Delphiniums and Foxgloves once they have finished flowering. For example with the white Delphinium below the middle spike will finish fist, so I will cut that out to allow the plant to focus it's energy on the two smaller spikes either side. Once these are over I will cut the who plant back down to the ground, this will encourage another flush of flowers later in the year.

3. Acid Loving Plants- Plants such as Rhodoendrons, Azaleas and Camelia's would benefit from a feed and a good soak right now, specially with all this warm weather we've been having. All I do is mix some Liquid Feed specially for these plants in a watering can with Rainwater, then give the plants a water. 

4. Apples- If you have Apple Trees, Pears or Plums and they are starting to set fruit then it's a good idea to decrease the number of fruit in each crop to two or three to increase the size and quality of the fruit. Unfortunately my Apple Trees did not flower & fruit this year but this can happen if they are only young plants. 

5. Baskets & Pots - Lastly don't forget to keep up with the Weekly feeds for Hanging Baskets and Pots. A solution of Liquid Seaweed or Tomato Feed encourages more blooms and tops up the soil with nutrients which can be lost when watering.

Thanks for stopping by, don't forget you can find all the previous Checklists on the page tab above.

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Weekly Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!

It's Monday so it is time for another Weekly Garden Checklist. 

Incase you missed it last week I have added a page tab below the blog banner where I will add each Checklist so you can find them in one place for future reference. 

Let's get started!

1. Dead - head Rhododendrons - This isn't the easiest thing to do if you have a large mature plant due to the size, but if you have one in a pot like me then it's pretty straightforward. Simply cut back the flower heads to the base where they meet the leaves.

Of course if there is still one bloom in good condition then of course you can leave it on for a few more days!

2. Cut back Aquilega's - Although they are pretty not everybody wants a garden full of Aquilega's. Once the flowers start to fade they produce seed heads which can spread around the garden. This is great if you have a new garden and wouldn't mind 2 or 3 more plants popping up the next year, but if you don't now is the time to cut them back to the foliage.

3. Prick - out seed sown Winter Bedding - Not all of the bedding types will be ready yet, but if like me you have sown some Wallflower seeds in the past 2 weeks you will have noticed how big they have gotten. Prick them out from the Seed tray into some cell trays. 

TIP - Prick out by gently teasing each seedling apart with a dibber / plant label to avoid damaging the plants.

You will also notice once you have done this that you have a lot more plants than you think. How many would you say are here? 20? 30?

Well it turns out there were 80! 

Whether they all turn into healthy young pants however we shall have to wait and see!

4. Keep cutting Sweet Pea's - By now your Sweet Pea plant should be producing lot's of lovely flowers.

Make sure that you keep cutting them every few days otherwise the plant will start to set seed pods, which results in it failing to produce flowers as it thinks it has finished flowering. 

5. Tie - In Climbers - At this time of year climbers are putting on lots of fresh new growth. Some of which, such as Clematis, can get a bit unruly. Ensure that they are tied in to their supports and have enough supports. You can use items such canes or stretched string for instant support.

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I hope you have found this Checklist helpful!
Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX