Gardening columnist JACKIE WARBURTON says flowering trees are coming into their own right now and she’s also got some tips about growing a healthy, thick hedge.
Flowering trees are coming into their own this month and, if planted in a sheltered spot, a dogwood (Cornus florida) will flower for a few weeks and put on a real display.
There are slow-growing pink-flowering and white-flowering deciduous dogwoods that are worth the wait. Their foliage has autumnal tones and red fruits are on display.
They need good compost soil and good drainage to grow well, with the branches in the sun and their feet in the cool. It’s a graceful plant for a courtyard or it can be grown in a pot.
There is an evergreen dogwood called Cornus capitatas, which has beautiful, buttery-coloured flowers. It’s almost a small tree – growing to six metres – and needs room.
ANOTHER plant that’s looking spectacular at the moment is the snowball tree (Virburnum opulus). In some old gardens this shrub has lived up to 20 years or so.
It will respond to any type of hacking back or prune after flowering and is drought hardy when established.
Other viburnum to try are V. japonicum, with glossy evergreen leaves and fragrant flowers that grows to two metres and V. macrocephalum, which has flowers similar to the snowball tree, but are hydrangea sized.
GARDEN hedges are now showing new growth and pruning – little but often – will get a quick-growing, thick hedge in no time.
Pruning once it’s grown to the required height leads only to a sparse, weak, unsightly hedge because all the growth will be at the top. But the more you trim, the thicker the hedge will become and support itself.
The smaller the leaf, the more formal the hedge can be.
Planting a hedge can be done from now, but soil preparation is the key.
Turn over the soil and avoid digging singular holes. Backfill with good organic compost and keep it moist until planting.
Spacing plants is also important. The general rule is 70 centimetres apart for a hedge to grow a metre tall, one metre apart for anything higher.
The roots should not compete with each other for space in the soil, so prevent overplanting for a healthy, long-lived hedge.
THE vegetable garden should be in full swing now. Watering in the cool of the day with long soaking is more beneficial than short waterings.
Liquid feed all plants coming into flower, including vegetable gardens. Mulch garden beds to keep the moisture in the soil and keep weeds from growing and self-seeding. One year of seed is seven years of weeds!
Jottings
- Don’t overwater garlic as it comes up for harvesting next month.
- Keep picking broad beans to promote new growth.
- Continue to sow more summer-flowering plants such as cosmos and zinnias.
- Net all fruit trees after flowering.
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