New Year, New Plant!

Good Morning!

In today's post I thought I'd share with you a recent purchase for the garden.

Camellia x williamsii 'Jury's Yellow'

A compact evergreen shrub with green leathery leaves that produces medium sized, anemone-form white flowers with a yellow centre early in the year. 

Prefers a sheltered position out of strong winds and early morning sun, the emerging buds and flowers can be damaged from cold, strong winds and frost. Hardy down to -10 in the UK. 

The ultimate growing height of this plant in 10-20 years is 2.5-4 metres.

The pot is also a new addition as well ... Camellia's are acid loving plants so unfortunately this plant wouldn't do very well if it was planted into the ground in my garden. 

In brief, each garden has a soil ph level. Some will be Acidic, Neutral and some more Alkaline which means certain plants will either thrive or struggle in a particular condition. It's pretty simple to find out what you have by using a Soil Ph Test (available online or in Garden Centre's) and it's always worth knowing what you have.

Camellia's along with Rhododendrons and Heathers are Acid loving plants and my soil is Alkaline, however all is not lost! I can simply grow these plants in Containers using Ericaceous Compost. 

I made sure that I found a pot that was larger than the container the plant came in, added some crocks (broken up pots) to the bottom to aid drainage, then filled it 2 thirds high with the correct compost along with adding some slow release fertiliser. 

It's essential that you give container plants some extra feed due to them not being able to get as many nutrients compared to being planted in the ground. Slow release fertiliser will provide food for 6 months in the compost after which you can then switch to a liquid feed when appropriate.

I finished off by adding a layer of grit to the top of the compost, this helps to keep moisture in and reduces weed seedlings growing on the surface.

TIP - When selecting Plants from a Garden Centre ALWAYS check them over for any signs of Pests, Damage or Grey Mould. Also, tip the plant out of the container to check for healthy root growth and that there isn't any sign of Vine Weevil (see page tab 'Plant Pests for more info). If the plant you like is showing signs of these then it's best not to buy it at that moment in time.

The last thing you want is to introduce any pests or diseases to your garden which will not only reduce the quality of your new plant, often resulting in poor quality of growth and/or death. But they could also affect plants that you already have in your garden.

Photo of the Camellia Flower taken from the internet, I can't wait for the first one to bloom on the plant I purchased!

Thanks for stopping by,

HAPPY GARDENING!

Weekly Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!
Apologies for not posting sooner, the past week or so has been pretty busy.

Here are just a few suggestions that you could be getting on with this week ...

1.Hanging Baskets - Plant up Summer Hanging Baskets indoors to get them established before going outside. I like to add some Slow Release Feed and Water Crystals to help reduce the chance of them drying out in the Summer. As you can see I have planted 4 main basket plants in each 14" Basket. There is a Diascia in centre surrounded by Nepeta, Surfinia Petunia and either a Trailing Fuchsia or Begonia. Make sure you plant your main plants in the gaps between chains. I will also be adding some fillers such as Lobelia in the spaces inbetween ... I just need to get some!

2. Pot On Seedlings - Keep potting on seedlings that you've sown. You can also start to slowly harden them off in the coming weeks by placing them somewhere sheltered outside during the day, then bringing back under cover on a night.

3. Prune - Now is the time to prune Spring Flowering Shrubs such as Ribes once they have finished flowering. This is also the time to go out and buy some! I recently treated myself to a Ribes which I have planted in a large pot.

4. Feed - Once your Spring bulbs have finished flowering and you've dead headed them, they'll benefit from a liquid feed.

5. Tomatoes - Pot up your Tomato plants into their final pots, I like to stand mine on a tray of gravel and water. You can also add their growing supports and tie them in. However as you can see the tomato I sowed myself last month is a little while off it's final pot! lol

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

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX