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Plough
Field Allotments at Amerton
Gardening
Tips
By Mrs FM
Hartley.
Unusual
& Old
Fashioned Fruit
Trees.
Unusual
Vegetables,
Herbs & Other
Edible Plants.
Environmental
Issues And Going Green.
Vines
And Other Climbing Plants.
Fish
Ponds
Books
By
Alan J Hartley
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Exotics.
This year, January and the
start of February were quite a bit colder than we have been used to in
recent years and one or two of the nights in particular proved a bit too
cold for some things like my Australian Callistemon, or Bottle Brush as
it is commonly called, which had its tips badly burnt by the frosts.
The
tips have been damaged in previous years and it re-shot so I am hoping
it will shoot again, further down the stems, this time as well. Many
members of the Myrtle Family, to which it belongs, are slightly tender,
however, unlike other tender things such as Bay Trees, it won’t shoot
from its roots if it is badly cut down. In fact many plants that have
suffered in the extreme cold will shoot again like this and often from
seemingly dead stems. To help prevent winter problems though, Bottle
Brushes, like Bays, Olives and a lot of other plants will benefit from a
well drained spot. Olives in particular suffer from wet Winters and mine
on my Allotment has dropped a lot of its leaves the same as it did last
Winter, but like then, I am hopeful that it will recover. My Feijoa, or
Pineapple Guava on the Allotment has had its leaves badly burnt by the
frosts, but the one in my Garden, has only been lightly touched. It’s
the difference between being in a town garden and being in the open, on
a hillside, just half a mile away. Like the Callistemon, they have been
caught in the past, but they recovered then, so
they should be OK. Some varieties of Hebes can be a bit delicate as well
including the lovely multicoloured one in my back garden that has been
so badly damaged by the frost it may not even survive. On the other hand
my lovely Variegated Myrtle that is in my Front Garden, doesn’t seem to
have suffered at all this time.
I suppose I could have wrapped my more tender plants in horticultural
fleece which would have given them a lot more protection, but I forgot
this year. Some Exotics, like the Callistemon, are perhaps better suited
to a Conservatory though anyway. The Callistemon makes a small evergreen
tree or bush that usually has very pretty, soft, bottle brush like,
bright red flowers, or sometimes pale yellow or cream ones. They are
occasionally offered for sale at Garden Centres in the Summer along with
other semi exotics like the Mimosa. This is a fast growing yellow
flowered, small leaved tree that is even more tender than the
Callistemon. Mimosas can be put out for the warmer, summer, months like
some Bananas and Palms, but do really need the warmth of a Greenhouse or
Conservatory, although they grow quickly and often get too big, and
straggly, to be inside.
These days many people like to buy plants in the Summer months when
things are in full growth and if they are pot grown this is OK, but even
so things are better planted when they are dormant and the weather is
cool and damp rather than hot and dry. As we go into March and things
start to warm up, it is still a good time to plant bare root trees and
bushes, but it should be done before the buds on them really start to
burst forth. Indeed over the next few weeks some retailers may start
making offers on them before it is too late to plant. Most plants sold
these days are potted and not many traditional retailers sell bare root
plants with most being sold “On Line,” but some Garden Centres still
sell a few “Bare Root,” hedging plants. Here again though most hedging
plants are actually sold roughly potted with 5 or 6 in a pot at about £2
each plant. However, even though they are potted they still need to be
treated as if they are “Bare Root,” because they will not have a proper
“Root Ball,” on their roots and they will be in a very delicate state
needing extra care.
I haven’t bought any bigger fruit trees this year, but I have bought 2
tiny Loquat Plants (Eriobotrya Japonica) by mail order/online. When I
was hunting for them on the Net I found that not many places even
offered them for sale and most of the plants available to buy were very
expensive, so eventually I settled on buying 2 x 6 inch high, rooted
cuttings. I intend to grow them on for a few years in pots until they
get a bit bigger, but they are fairly slow growing so it will be some
time before they are ready to go out. The Loquat is a smallish tree, or
large bush, anyway, so they should be happy enough in pots. Coming
originally from China it is commonly called the Chinese Peach as its
fruit is reminiscent of a small peach, but another name given to it is
the Japanese Medlar because its large, evergreen leaves are very like
those of our Medlar tree. The Loquat is quite popular in southern Europe
grown both for its fruit and as an ornamental because of its exotically
scented, attractive, over wintering, white flowers. My mother used to
have a mature Loquat in her garden that flowered well and was quite
hardy, although occasionally a few leaves might get damaged by hard
frosts. However, we never had any fruit on it which always disappointed
me.
When recently browsing round my local Garden Centre looking for
inspiration, I saw a couple of large tubs containing another semi exotic
and those were Eucalyptus Balls. There were 3 trees in each tub that had
been cut down hard and then clipped into a single ball shape as they had
re-grown. They did look very nice with their evergreen leaves, but the
trees looked like the common Gunnii variety that is very quick growing
so how on earth you could manage to keep their growth restricted I don’t
know. I know that large specimen plants in tubs on patios and yards is,
“The thing,” at the moment and growers are always trying new ideas, but
I think that this is a step too far with wholly unsuitable plants.
On my trip to the Garden Centre I also saw a stack of Mushroom Kits
which I had not seen on sale for some time. My own kit, which I received
as a late Christmas present, is doing quite nicely at the moment and is
sitting in a tray, on a table, by the window of my spare bedroom. After
following the instructions to chill it for a couple of days after the
mycelium formed, it has started to fruit and is throwing up beautiful,
white Mushrooms. It looks as though I am going to get a nice little crop
from it. I think next year I will try the outdoor kits on my Allotment.
At various times of the year and especially after wet spells, I often
get a few Mushrooms growing both on the Logs in my garden at home and
even in the Wood Chip Paths on my Allotment, but I have no idea as to
what is edible and what is not, so I have not taken to picking them.
 
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