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Our hints and tips for June Summer Bedding June is the month to plant out your bedding and other half-hardy plants. These plants can’t tolerate cold weather, so ask our staff for help and advice – and have some fleece handy to provide extra protection. If you've grown your own, make sure they’re hardened off first – that is, acclimatised to the cooler outdoor conditions – again, using fleece will help. And water the plants well before and after planting out. Remember to feed regularly for a summer display to be proud of. Take a look at our superb range of bedding, patio and container plants to ensure your garden is a riot of colour this summer. And don't forget that larger plants will provide instant impact.  A lot of our customers have asked for advice on planting out summer bedding. What help can we give them? Well firstly, most summer bedding and half-hardy patio plants won’t tolerate temperatures below 5 degrees Celsius. But the earlier you plant them out the sooner they’ll start flowering, so if a cold night is forecast it pays to just cover them over with something like fleece. Good advice Ken – and it’s also important to harden off the plants – that is, by gradually increasing their exposure to the cooler outdoor conditions for 10 to 14 days before planting out; a cold frame is good for this. The plants we sell are more or less hardened off already. And it’s important to water the plants well before planting as well as afterwards and during very dry spells. Once they’re planted it’s better to give them a good soak once a week rather than little and often as this ensures they’ll get their roots right down into the soil. Adding a water-retention gel to the soil or compost will also help during very dry spells. Yes Ken, and remember that feeding is also important. This can either be done regularly by watering on a liquid fertiliser or by adding a controlled-release fertiliser to the compost or soil at planting time. And finally always, dead-head plants as the flowers fade as this will encourage further flushes of flowers and ensure a riot of colour right through until autumn. Pond Care Green ‘pea soup’ water in ponds is often caused by a lack of aquatic plants. Make sure your pond is stocked with plenty of oxygenating plants and marginals, and cover at least a third of the water surface with floating plants – including waterlilies. Adding barley-straw or an algaecide to the water or installing a pump and filter might also help. Ask our experts if you need any advice – we’re here to help. Lots of customers are having problems with their ponds because the water is turning green. Why is that, and what can they do to prevent it Ken? Green 'pea soup' water in ponds is awful isn’t it? It’s caused by algal growth and is usually the result of a lack of aquatic plants – or the wrong balance of plants. Start by making sure the pond is stocked with plenty of oxygenating plants – usually one bunch for every 2 square meter of water surface is needed for the best results. I agree Ken, and other plants are also essential for healthy, clear water. For instance, add plenty of marginal plants around the edges and cover at least one-third of the water surface with floating plants – and that could include waterlilies. This will help keep the water cool and shade the water from sunlight – both of which will help prevent the algae from growing. And don’t forget that the build up of rotting vegetation and other material in the water will also promote algal growth, so always remove leaves and other plant debris that gets into the pond. And don’t overfeed your fish. You may also be able to improve the situation by adding barley-straw or an algaecide to the water. That’s right Rebbecca, but if all else fails, the best way of keeping the water clear is to install a pond pump and filter. Just ask our expert staff if you need any advice on this or any other pond topic – we're here to help. Furniture, BBQs If you haven’t seen your garden furniture or barbecue since last summer, now’s a good time to rescue them from the back of the shed and give them a good spruce up ready for plenty of outdoor entertaining. We stock a wide range of cleaning and renovating products. And if your furniture and barbecue are past their best then this is a good time to replace them. Come and have a look at our new ranges for 2006. Hanging Baskets/Containers Make the most of your hanging baskets and containers this year and ensure they provide a display to be proud of by using a controlled-release fertiliser and water-retention gel in the compost. Check that hanging basket brackets will hold the weight and replace any that are suspect. You could use self-lowering brackets or install a drip watering system to make watering easier. If you haven’t planted your containers and want instant results, take a look at our ready-planted ones.  We’re being asked how to make the most of hanging baskets and containers this year. How can we help? Well, first things first. Make sure you use fresh, good quality potting compost – old compost may have gone off and can certainly cause problems – and never use garden soil. Then before planting up, add some controlled-release fertiliser and water-retention gel to the compost. Now the fertiliser will help feed the plants all summer and the gel will prevent the compost drying out prematurely and so ensure strong, healthy growth and a colourful display. Mmm, and I find it’s always best to plant so the basket or container looks pretty full from the start. Use taller plants for height, trailers around the edge and then fill in with other plants. If you’re using mesh-sided hanging baskets pop a few plants through the side to help hide the basket and produce even more colour. And also remember that frequent watering is essential – the aim should be to keep the compost evenly moist. If you forget to water regularly, or you’re away from home for most of the day or you go away for weekends or holidays, watering can become more of a problem. But we’ve got products that can help you. Yes that’s right Ken, for instance installing a drip watering system and a timer will do the watering for you, and when used properly it helps conserve water too. And baskets that are high up can be difficult to water properly, so you could use self-lowering brackets. And feeding is still important. Even if you use a controlled-release fertiliser, flowering plants may benefit from extra feeding with a high potash liquid fertiliser throughout the summer months. And finally, don’t forget to dead head to keep plants flowering their heads off. Cuttings This is a good time to take cuttings of pansies, violas and pinks for a supply of young, vigorous plants for next year. You can strike six or seven cuttings in a 4 inch pot using a gritty cuttings compost, or make your own from equal parts peat or coir and sharp sand or vermiculite. Using hormone rooting liquid or powder will improve the results. Water Features Bring your garden to life with the gentle sound of water. There are lots of different types of water features, and we have something for everyone – so take a look at our range today. 
Watering You don’t need to regularly water all the plants in your garden, but all recently planted plants – especially bedding – and plants in containers and baskets will appreciate a good soak to keep them growing strongly. Watering little and often isn’t the best way as it encourages surface rooting and makes the plants more susceptible to drought. Feeding is also important. Either apply a liquid fertiliser regularly or add a long-lasting, once a year controlled-release fertiliser to the soil or compost. We stock a wide range of watering and feeding products – just ask if you need any help.  A lot of customers are concerned about watering their plants this summer. What advice can we give? Well luckily Ken, it isn’t necessary to regularly water all the plants in your garden – those that are well established shouldn’t need watering at all except in the very driest of situations. But remember shallow-rooted plants like hydrangeas, rhododendrons and camellias are some of the first to suffer in dry weather so these should be kept moist. On the other hand Geoff, anything planted last autumn or this year will benefit from watering. Bedding plants and young vegetable plants especially will need water until they’re well established and during prolonged dry periods. Yes that’s right, and remember that plants growing in containers and baskets will appreciate daily watering – the aim is to keep the compost moist at all times. And adding a water-retention gel to the compost will certainly help. When you do water, give them a good, long soaking rather than a quick, ‘little and often’ approach. This can be worse than not watering at all as the roots stay close to the surface and are more vulnerable to drought. In a hosepipe ban area you may have to use a watering can or an irrigation system based on stored water. But in other areas, beds, borders, containers and greenhouses can be fitted with tap operated drip or spray irrigation systems – they’re great, all you do is turn on the tap. Or, better still, add a water timer that turns the water on and off for you. These are indispensable if you don’t have much time to water or are away from home a lot. And finally, we’d really recommend taking the time to mulch the soil or those containers with a thick layer of bark or similar mulching material. This will keep the soil cool and help maintain moisture levels, so reducing the need to water even further. But only do this when your borders or containers are wet – never when they’re dry. Strawberries Strawberries need pampering if you want to enjoy the juiciest of fruits this summer. Water regularly – especially plants in pots or strawberry towers – and feed weekly with a high potash liquid fertiliser. Also watch out for slugs and birds who love the fruit as much as we do. The easiest way to deter birds is to cover the plants with netting. Pest Watch During the warm days of summer, pests like red spider mite, aphids and whitefly, and diseases like mildew, rust and blackspot can really take hold and get out of control. Check your plants regularly for signs of trouble and deal with it quickly to keep them strong and healthy. Slugs and snails can also be a problem, so make sure you stock up with your favourite control methods. Some plants, such as roses, need to be checked very regularly. If your plants have a problem just ask one of our staff to help you choose a suitable product to deal with it. Aftercare for rhododendrons, azaleas and camellias If the leaves of your camellias, azaleas and rhododendrons have a black, sooty deposit on them, then scale insects – or a similar pest – are probably attacking them. Treat now with a suitable insecticide. Because these plants are shallow rooted they need plenty of regular watering so that they don’t dry out; mulching the soil with composted bark or ericaceous compost will help, too. If they do dry out it can seriously reduce flowering next year. When you water, give them a feed of a rhododendron fertiliser at the same time. Seed Sowing If you need quick growing climbers to hide eyesores or provide summer colour, then try annual climbers. These include morning glory (ipomoea), canary creeper (Tropaeolum perigrinum) and the exotic purple bells of rhodochiton. Don’t forget that the plants will need trellis or a similar support to climb up. And tie in the stems regularly to prevent them becoming tangled and damaged.  Greenhouse Care As summer temperatures rise, make sure the plants in your greenhouse are looking their best. Shading the glass with Bio Coolglass or shade netting will help keep temperatures at a bearable level. Automatic vent openers are another worthwhile purchase, as they work even when you’re not at home. Damping down floors and surfaces will keep humidity high and help deter red spider mite and mildew disease. Plants of the Month Brighten up your garden with our Plants of the Month. During the summer there’s so much to choose from for instant colour, including: roses, buddleia, cistus, deutzia, hebes, philadelphus, lilacs and weigela together with: aquilegia, delphiniums, hardy geraniums, irises and lupins. Hints & Tips produced curtesy of Garden Radio |
