Tag: plants

End of Summer Gardening Tips

We are well into September and Autumn is just around the corner. Now is an ideal time to get your garden in order. If you work your way through our useful checklist of essential gardening jobs, come Spring you’ll reap the benefits.

1. Whilst it’s still relatively dry, get the mower out. Autumn often brings increased rainfall, making mowing a challenge so it’s best to tick this one off on a dry day.

2. Controlling weeds in late Summer will help reduce their presence in the following Spring and Summer.

3. End of Summer cutting back and pruning is essential to your gardening list. Cut off faded blooms just above two or three leaves behind the flowers. Not only does this process clean up the plant’s appearance, but it also encourages your flowers and plants to continue to grow thicker and fuller than before.

4. Take cuttings from plants such as fuchsias, salvias and pelargoniums. They root quickly and if they are then kept indoors they’ll be ready for planting out next Summer.

5. Prepare to fill your garden with colour come Spring. Now is the perfect time to plant bulbs such as daffodils, crocuses and bluebells. When buying bulbs check they are as fresh as possible, or you could face disappointment.

6. Clear up any fallen leaves, try to do this job on a dry day as leaves are more easily picked up when they are crispy rather than wet, heavy and soggy.

7. Keep the colour in your garden by re filling your pots with Autumn/Winter flowers. Pansies are a favourite! They always look lovely and are also very hardy.

8. If you don’t already have one, consider a compost bin. Compost acts as a wonderful slow release organic fertiliser, but you must avoid putting diseased or infected plant material in your bin.

How To Look After Indoor Plants

With spring approaching and new plants, flourishing you may be thinking of adding extra things to your home to spruce it up. Well, why not get some indoor plants, they have so many benefits and make your home feel very cozy.

Benefits of indoor plants
  • Boost mood, productivity, concentration and creativity
  • Reduce stress, fatigue, sore throats and colds
  • Clean indoor air by absorbing toxins, increasing humidity and producing oxygen
  • Add life to a sterile office, give privacy and reduce noise levels
Succulents

These are very trendy and easy to find. Popular succulents are living stones, lithops, money plant and crassula ovata.

How to keep them alive
  • they need plenty of light but don’t let them get chilled or sunburned.
  • If your plant starts to stretch or get tall it is not getting enough light
  • Grow them in gritty free-draining compost and allow them to dry out completely between watering
  • Never let them stand in water
Cactus

There are so many different types of cactus. Bunny eared Opuntia cacti produces prickly pads and the Barrel Cactus with its bright yellow spines are perfect for growing on windowsills. Moon cactus are also popular and especially with children as they are fun and funky plants that have a small round top cactus, which can be red, orange of yellow, grafted on top of a taller green base specimen.

  • happiest in a sunny spot
  • Don’t overwater them
  • Place in gritty, free-draining compost and water with tepid rainwater
  • Wait till the compost has dried before watering again
Fern

These come in different varieties but not all make good houseplants. Maidenhair, asparagus and sword ferns will grow in cool shady spots like the bathroom or kitchen.

  • grow best in bright light with some shaded spots midday
  • Poor light can be tolerated for short periods
  • The plant will die if room temp is below 10 degrees
  • Keep the compost permanently moist
  • In hot dry air mist those leaves to prevent browning and drying to a crisp
  • Throughout spring and summer give ferns some dilute liquid feed every couple of weeks.
Geranium

The best ones to grow inside are those with scented leaves. Some popular choices are the rose-scented pelargonium capitatum and lemon-scented pelargonium citronellum.

  • grow them in a sunny position but not in a spot hit by the full midday sun
  • Water moderately during spring and summer
  • Avoid the compost becoming too wet
  • Feed plants every 10- 14 days with high nitrogen fertilizer in spring
  • Pinch out the shoot tips in late winter to encourage growth
  • Once flowers start to form switch to a high potassium fertilizer such as tomato feed.

 

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