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Wellington Fields Allotments - Hixon.

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Spring Planting of Flowers.

Autumn is the time most people think about planting flowering bulbs, because that is when Daffodil and Tulip bulbs are everywhere. However, most places will have cleared out of these Autumn planting bulbs by now, although it also seems to be the trend to sell many of these bulbs in the Spring, “In the green,” and actually shooting, in small pots and at exorbitant prices. But there are other dry and loose bulbs available now that can be planted now for summer/autumn flowering and the shops are full of them at the moment. They have been on sale for a week, or two already in some places, as they have been put on display to replace the Christmas stocks. Some bulbs are the same as those that were available in the Autumn such as; Anemones, Ranunculus, Gladiola, Dutch Iris and Nerines, but other such as Crocosmia and Ixias, (I decided to plant some after all) are only available at this time of year. Also on sale at the moment are many tender bulbs such as Begonias, Dahlias, Liliums, Freesias and Calla’s. These can be planted for bedding displays and cut flowers, but will have to be removed before the next Winter sets in. The Allotment isn’t really the place for these, although I have tried Dahlias without much success. As with the Autumn sales displays there are some Herbaceous plants available bagged up along with the bulbs that include things such as; Echinacea, or Cone Flower and Astrantia that are both good for cutting and will go into my Allotment. Agapanthus, Lilly Of The Valley, Hostas and Lupins are other plants that are frequently seen. The only problem with buying Herbaceous plants like this is that they don’t last long in the packets, unlike bulbs, so you have to be a bit more careful about picking healthy and viable ones from the displays. Some vegetables like Asparagus, Globe Artichokes and Rhubarb are often sold in packets as well. 

The Astrantia and Echinacea, as well some Pyrethrums and Achillea are going to replace my little patch of Monarda that I am giving up with. The Monarda are very nice, but have a tendency to revert and also they are very prone to Mildew which is a real problem on my patch.
Some of my other flowers did quite well on the whole with an especially nice patch of Crocosmia that were originally self-sets. The flowers are a bit sprawling, but look nice and bright, so I cut no end of them to mix in the vases with other flowers. I always do well with Gladiola that I remove for the Winter. However, the Chrysanthemums were infected and very poor this year, so I am going to order fresh rooted cuttings from a specialist grower in the Spring. Growers can be found easily on the Internet with the very old firm of Woolmans being one of the better ones.

On the subject of making fresh plants by rooting them, the “Air Layered,” cuttings on my Variegated Fig have rooted well again and 2 out of 3 branches have started to root on the Red Leafed Hazel Tree, but the Mulberry branches are showing no signs yet, so may take a bit longer.

In my propagators, 3 batches of tree seeds have started to germinate, but the other seeds are now coming up more slowly. However, with this apparent success I decided to put some of my own seeds in taken from some ripe Medlar fruits and seeds from the fruits on my Strawberry Tree, or Arbutus Unedo, to give it its proper name. One thing that I have realised with tree seeds is that many will take, not weeks to germinate, but months. A few years ago I tried a few packets of tree seeds from a specialist supplier and lost patience with them chucking out most of the pots after just a few had germinated. However, this time I will treasure the pots through into the Summer and beyond. After all, it will be worth it, as each fruit tree that grows and matures might cost upwards of £20, or £30 if you had to buy it! The few pounds spent on the packets of seeds represent a heck of an investment for the future.