3: Gardening Diaries ...

[alp]

I have now this dilemma - this dahlia is too common to be kept

and so is this one

And I am running out of room for the plants that I want to keep. Should I rip them up or let them stay in the ground for next year please?

I really don't want these flowers.

So pleased with this salvia uglinosa. Bog sage doing very well in desert! LOL!

Salvia amistad is such a glorious plant with big, bold and unique colour!

Love this aster or Sy???

Might go for more of these aster. Very nice colour this time of the year!

Love this antler cacti dahlia

Mambo in various stages of maturity

A very dwarf dinner plate

Princess Diana

 

[alp]

Want to know how awful 2018 gardening has been for me?

Just look at my fuchsias today at 22c

No flowers, just buds

And a proper Teesbrooke Audrey

And mine

I had to think hard why I planted such a banal dahlia!

Luckily, I have pasa doblé

And this colour-saturated Rajman Firecracker

And this cacti dahlia is about 5 to 6 inches across.

 

[Perki]

I want it and I want it now! Just wonder how old you are? A millennial like my son?

You should have known better. I was thinking of applying my After Cut 3 days. After reading the instruction,decided against it - apply between Feb to September. Or the frost will get it. Think you'd better get a fleece over them or effort wasted.

I didn't think I was classed as a millennial, always thought millennials were born in 2000, google tells me I am classed as a millennial.

 

[alp]

But google spread fake news!

I don't want to be a millennial, I just want to enjoy grandparent's duty, like Zenj ! Might find him a surrogate! At this rate, the prospect is zilch!

Sometimes I also suffer from I want it and I want it now syndrome, millennial or not. Do you think I should rip up my dahlias - the first two please? @Zenj Would you do that?

 

[Perki]

I was put off rambling roses a while back due to many flowering once but there is quite a few very nice repeat flowering variety's. I just don't have anywhere to put one for now . I always want more plants what can I say . I have to think multiple times before buying anything but plants , it more like here take my money when buy plants

 

[alp]

Best is to key in Rambling rose AGM as well as list some must-haves

colour?
fragrance?
flowering period?
repeat flower?

We are adding to a £1 frame bought from B&Q and I will train a Montana Alba clematis, a grape and a wisteria round the frame to make my front look more cottagy. Might have to use some plastic tendril to cover the empty frame LOL! But £1 and some extension to make a frame is easy!

Suddenly, I have become very tired and just wanted to sleep, so son is cooking poisonous but fast noodles for a change. I can't face up to it. Just very tired suddenly. From what I can see, there are plenty of lovely flowers in your garden. I hope you will fleece your lawn .. The weather forecast is ominous. But if it rains, it might be OK.

My elderly neighbour had his Christmas tree removed, so the air can go faster unimpeded. The man also had sawn off the stump of my yew. Now it looks very neat. Was removing the swing, but the heat made me come in. I was sweating and just tired. I was expecting violet rain patch for tomorrow, now the BBC and Met Office have both reduced the big fat round mass to a thin ribbon with holes and the hole on East London where I live! Very annoying and very unreliable white elephant!

 

[Upsy Daisy]

You know what my advice would be in reference to your Dahlia dilemma @alp
I just think that all plants are beautiful

 

[Upsy Daisy]

Having said that .....I'm now seeking advice about pulling mine up

Mine are only plain ones ,but I like them. However I thought I would have another go at trying to over wintering the tubers. Some are looking very tatty and don't have anymore buds, but I heard that they have to be hit by the first frost before digging them up......why?? and is it really a necessity ??

Thanks in advance for any advice offered....all will be gratefully excepted

 

[Zenj]

You know what my advice would be in reference to your Dahlia dilemma @alp
I just think that all plants are beautiful

Yep I agree they will do a lot better next year keep them.

 

[Upsy Daisy]

Evening @Zenj .......any advice for my Dahlia query please?

 

[alp]

Yep I agree they will do a lot better next year keep them.

Only the Teesbrooke Audrey! No, I can't keep them all. Limited space. Not to say I have five more pots.

GW was very good, especially the Croft in Devon! Don't like the over the top Japanese hut though! Otherwise, everything else was beautiful!

 

[Zenj]

Just what the rhs says
Overwintering
Cut plants to the ground after the first frosts have blackened the foliage. In mild regions and on well-drained soils, leave the tubers in the ground and cover with a 7.5-15cm (3-6in) deep layer of bark chips or garden compost to protect them from frost. In colder areas or on heavy soils, lift and store the tubers (see below) and replant the following spring.

Lifting and storage

1. Cut down foliage and use a fork to carefully prise plants out of the soil
2. Dry off naturally and then clean away any soil clinging to the tubers. Trim stems to 15-20cm (6-8in). If the tubers have been washed, position them upside down in a cool place for a few weeks to dry off
3. Trim off any fine roots
4. Place tubers in shallow wooden boxes or open trays and pack with a peat-free compost or dry sand, just covering the tubers but leaving the crown exposed
5. Store in a dry, cool, frost-free place. If stored in a garden shed cover with newspaper if a hard frost is predicted
6. Inspect tubers regularly during winter for rotting and discard any that are unhealthy

 

[Upsy Daisy]

Thanks @Zenj

I will leave them be until we get our 1st frost then . As they are in pots I can move them somewhere I can't see them.... they really don't look good now!

 

[alp]

Thanks @Zenj

I will leave them be until we get our 1st frost then . As they are in pots I can move them somewhere I can't see them.... they really don't look good now!

@Zenj Such useful info.

I have left mine in the ground last year and the Beast from the East have left them OK. Mine you, I do have quite a bit of artificial heat in early morning like 5am nearly every day. I think if you leave them in a west facing and south facing border where the sunshine lingers the longest, your dahlias could really get away with it. Mine can any way as I don't have a lot of rain. In fact, I'm pining for rain today. But if you live in a wet area like @Perki or @Zenj , best is to store them or mulch them Even Sarah Raven mulches them to a foot tall of compost. No laughing matter and she has her garden in Surrey!

@Zenj You're quite right. The Teesbrooke Audrey was raised from seeds very, very late in the summer. When I stumbled upon them today, I asked myself, "What is this latest monstrosity?" Worse still, they are next to the bright yellow double one, I then realised that I was very, very lucky to see it flower as I raised them from my own seeds from last year. Another thing is that My Bishop of Llanduff is still playing truant and it has all the leaves, but NO flowers.

Agree, Dahlias have come in their own now and so are my Cosmos cupcake, @Upsy Daisy , apart from the naughty Bishop!

Met Office prediction

BBC weather

 

[Upsy Daisy]

Morning!!
Isn't it dark this morning
Our forecast is very similar to yours @alp, rain should start about 10am. At the moment it's just very misty out there.

Think it will end up being a housework day somehow

Have a great day