Thursday, May29,2014 www.clitheroeadvertiser.co.uk CLITHEROEADVERTISER&TIM ' ■ ’:} VALLEY GARDENING i - - DOOR Chrysanthemum Monoysgcklo w aBmvfsSxsm


ennials growing to the skies, now’s the time to take charge and give this method of prun­ ing perennials a go! You always think about


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pruning shrubs and pruning perennials down at the end of theyear, but pruning perenni­ als mid-season is a great way to get flowers on a more compact stempluslateron.Youcan’tdo it with all perennials;you need astern with alternateleaves all the way up like Border Phlox and Heleniums. Plants like Geraniums and Astrantias, with leaves coming from the base, will not respond the same. It is called the “Chelsea


Chop” because this is the time to do it in relation to Chelsea


Spotlight


re you ready for the “Chelsea Chop”? With the- Chelsea flower show behind us


and most of our border per­ I


Flower Show. However, in a late year like last year it be­ comes more like early June. The pruning is simple; just take the secateurs to the clump, cutting it back by half, subsequently reducing the growth rate because at this


time of year plant growth ex­ plodes. It can only be those plants


with leaves all the way up the stems as it is these leaves that have dormant buds tucked away in the node (leaf joint) and the removal ofthegrowth tip stops auxins being pro­


duced. Auxinstelltheplant to get as big as it can and reduce


any lateral growth. Their re­ moval causes a surge ofgrowth lower down, resulting in a compact plant. The plant will also still


flower, but later on as it needs time to adjust. The key thing with the Chelsea Chop is to al­ so make sure your plants are fed. Either give a feed with to­ mato feed to give a short sharp burst of potash, or use Vitax Q4 sprinkled around the base to give more a prolonged feed. This then ensures the plant


has the energy to produce not just one flower but up to four flowers for each removed stem!


If you plan it cleverly you


can really make the Chelsea Chop work foryou. After time you may have the same vari­ ety of say Phlox in a few parts


Jobs to do.... 1 -


of the garden. Leave some clumps to flower normally and cut others back by half now. This way the untouched ’ ones will flower like normal, then when they’ve finished the cut back ones will start.


■ This way instead of four weeks ofcolouryou will have eight!


So give it a go, but remem­


ber, make sure it’s a plant with alternate leaves all the way up the stems (Monardas, Phlox, Helenium, Helianthus, Veron- icastrums, Sedums etc.) and make sure it’s got the food to giveittheenergytogrowanew head in a matter of weeks!


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Sharpen your secateurs then head for the jungle... chop, chop!


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ES 29


Q&A


HERE YOU CAN SEND IN AND FIND OUTTHE ANSWERS TO ANY GARDENING PROBLEMS


Can I prune my Rhododendron? The only types of Rhododen­ drons that can be pruned are the deciduous Azaleas which drop their leaves in the Autumn. These can be pruned back hard after flowering, and feed well to ensure lots of flower. With ever-,, green varieties pruning can only-' go as far back as the leaves and do this straight after flowering, but with all evergreen varieties make sure to buy the rightsize oneforyourspace.


Do I need to deadhead my Rho­ dodendron? Dead heading isn't necessary,


Plant out bedding After our flush of warm weather


it's a great time to get bedding plants out in the garden. Waiting until June 1st is best, as the chances of the frosts have gone by then. Feed with tomato feed to ensure show stopping displays 2 -


Clip box hedging After their flush of new growth,


trim any hedges or topiary to help keep its shape. Remember to feed with a pellet-based fertilizer to main­ tain a rich green colour to the leaves. 3 - Re-pot rooted cuttings. Having now established a root sys­


tem, potting them on will help encour­ age them to grow bigger. On some cuttings remove the main shoot to help encourage shoots from the bot-


IT’STIMETOGET


OUTIN THEGARDEN AND GET CRACKING WITH THOSE MUST- DO JOBS... BUT


WHICH ONES? HERE JOHN FOLEY SETS OUT WHAT NEEDS


DOING AND WHEN, AND HOW TO GO ABOUT IT


tom and a better shaped plant, don't place in direct sunlight as this can put too much strain on their young roots


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One of the best plants for filling the “Green Gap", they flower throughout until mid-Summer with stunning displays of scarlet flowers on upright stems..


Growing to two feet high, they are ideal in sun or par­ tial shade, great for plant­ ing amongst Geraniums to give a beautiful colour combination!


www.holdencloughnursery.com 4 - Vegetablefeeding With new plants just having been


planted out, give a liquid feed with tomato feed to help encourage com­ pact growth and plenty of flowers to encourage a good crop 5 -


With early flowering varieties,


after flowering tie in new shoots or re­ move strong growth buds to maintain a bushier plant. This encourages more flowers lower down the plant next year for a better looking specimen. 6 -


Trim Brooms Trim any young Brooms (Cyti- sus) back by half to ensure compact


growth from the base. With older va­ rieties you can only cut back to where the young green stems are.


as after the flowers have fin- - 4*- ished they put on a profusion of growth which pushes through the old flowers and opens up above, covering them up. So at the moment you may be looking at old flowers, but in a couple of ® weeks these will be hidden so don'tspendany time removing the old flowers because they also reluctantly produce seed, so


Tidy up Spring Clematis


there is no energy wasted here either.


Whatshouldlpotmybedding -jo-- plants into? For bedding plants a good multi-


. purpose compost is perfectly suitable for this job. Just remem- a


bertoensurethatyoufeedthem W as well, as this compost only has


fourweeks of food. You can ei­ ther use Vitax Q4 as a top dress­


ing or mix in some five-month Slow release niillnts u/hMiyn. i


work into the compost. These will feed the plants for the sea-


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