on its way…

Beware of sharps frosts in March and April that will spoil vulnerable plants and soft shoots – have some fleece handy and check the weather forecasts, if we’re likely to get a frost put the fleece over the tops of plants to protect them.

Dead head spring flowering bulbs as they finish, particularly daffodils, leaving the green foliage on and top dress with fertilizer, they’ll send the food back to the bulb and you’ll get a better display of flowers next year. Snowdrops can be split at this time of year into smaller clumps.

Remember to dead head spring flowering bedding plants as well to encourage more flowers. Pansies in particular are a cold weather plant and the mild wet weather during the last few weeks of December did them no favours. Black spots on the leaves are a symptom of this mild weather. Remove as much as possible and keep plants on the dry side if you can. As the spores can lie dormant in the ground avoid planting pansies/violas in the same position for 12 months. Plants can be sprayed with systemic fungicide to discourage disease spread. Many of the summer flowering bulbs and tubers can be planted outside as the weather warms up – Lilies and Gladioli. Always plant lily bulbs on their side so that water doesn’t lie in the scales and cause them to rot. Lilies, especially Tree Lilies benefit from being started off in pots and planted outside once growing strongly. They don’t reach their full potential in height for a couple of years but are well worth the wait. Dahlias can be started off in pots inside, then planted out once the danger of frosts has receded. Begonias should be pressed gently into potting compost, curved side down – never completely covered, water and keep on a light sunny windowsill or in a heated greenhouse.

Rose pruning should be finished now, once the new growth has several sets of complete leaves open start spraying them fortnightly against black spot, mildew and aphids, best control is achieved by using two different products alternatively, so pests don’t build up a resistance to one particular chemical.

With so much damp weather over the last few months there’s going to be plenty of moss in lawns. We have in stock MO Bacter which is a slow release organic fertiliser for lawns. This feeds the lawn over a 12 week period and contains bacteria which are naturally found in the soil and which when added to fertiliser will consume material like thatch and moss, making it unnecessary to rake or scarify after treatment.

Annual herbs can be sown now – fennel, parsley, savoury, dill all need replenishing every year. Perennial herb varieties can also be planted, remember to water and feed regularly so you can keep cropping throughout the year.

Watch out for late frosts if you’ve got potatoes in tubs with plenty of leaf growth – always protect at night. Plant your first and second early potatoes followed by maincrops, again watching out for late frosts once the foliage appears.

Lealans Garden Centre

01902 700 209 enquiries@lealansgradencentre.co.uk www.lealansgardencentre.co.uk