SATURDAY MAY 18 2013 WEST COUNTRY LIFE 17WCL-E01-S216 WEST COUNTRY LIFE SATURDAY MAY 18 2013 WCL-E01-S2

gardening gardening

A real Jack of alltrades for borders,tubs, baskets andeven ground cover

in the gardenAlan Down

Petunias have got it covered. Thereare Petunias for borders, baskets,tubs and even ground cover. And ifthat wasn’t enough there is everycolour of the rainbow to choosef ro m .

Petunias are the HorticulturalTrades Association’s Plant of theMonth for May so you can be sure tofind plenty now.

For borders look for the smallersingle flowered ‘m u l t i fl o r a ’ va r i e t i e sbut for window boxes, containers andpots go for the larger ‘g randiflora’ ordouble flowered types.

These latter two tend to get tatteredand mud splashed if planted in bor-ders and the smaller flowered typesare far better placed to cope witht h i s.

For trailing displays, in bothhanging baskets and window boxes,the Surfinia type still reign su-p re m e.

This incredibly prolific Petuniachanged the face of hanging basketswhen it was introduced around 20years ago but it now has a seriousrival in the form of trailing doubleflowered varieties.

These fully double varieties do notset seed and so carry on bloomingwithout the need to remove fadingblooms. Many of these, and a few of

the single-bloomed varieties, have de-licious scent too.

Closely related but technically nota true Petunia, we now have themarvellous Calibrachoa.

This is very Petunia-like to look atbut everything is on a much smallers c a l e.

The bell shaped blossoms are bornein great profusion and plants, like theSurfinia, will be completely coveredwith blooms all summer long.

Many of the warmer colours fromthe ‘hotter’ end of the colour spec-trum will be found here.

Calibrachoa are perhaps the idealplant for hanging baskets and con-t a i n e r s.

Both Petunia and Calibrachoa willtolerate a little shade but they per-form better in full sunlight. Just likeany summer bedding plant, theyshould be protected from frost andfrom slugs and snails immediatelyafter planting.

They will also perform better if fedregularly with a foliar or liquid feedsuch as Miracle Gro or Phostrogen.

Alan’s tips forthe weekend■ As all plants grow larger and daysget longer and hotter you will need toincrease the amount and frequency ofwater that you give them.■ Increase greenhouse ventilationon bright days. It may be necessary toopen vents very early in the morningand close late in the evening or evenleave them a little open at night.■ Apply shade (Coolglass or netting)to the roof of your greenhouse to keeptemperatures down.■ Plant marigolds or tagetes as ‘com-panion plants’ to encourage naturalpredators into your greenhouse tocontrol pests.■ Stake border perennial varietiesthat are tall growing and tend to flopover. Either use pea sticks (tree andshrub prunings are good) or use pur-pose-made support systems that wes t o ck .■ Hostas divide well this month. Liftclumps and split them up makingcertain that each shoot has plenty ofroot attached.■ Wait until spring flowering bulbleaves die back naturally before re-moving them.■ Buy and hang out pheromone trapsfor apple and plum maggots. This willreduce those annoying maggots inthe fruit.

Cleeve Nursery’s Alan Down can becontacted at the nursery on 01934832134. If you would like to ask AlanDown a gardening question, visitwww.cleevenursery.co.uk and click onthe Ask Us A Question tab. Alan cananswer only emailed questions. VisitAlan’s blog at cleevenursery.co.uk/blog.You can also follow Alan on Twitter: @AlanEDown

■ Earth up early potatoes and keep awatch out for late frosts; cover withhorticultural fleece if frost is likely.■ Check gooseberries – and So-l o m o n’s Seal – for sawfly larvae. Ifleft, they will strip the leaves in a fewdays. Use Provado Ultimate BugKiller or Westland Plant Rescue.■ Continue repeat sowings of lettuce,carrots, beetroot, spring onions andradish.■ Prune early flowering shrubs backnow so that they have time to makenew growth and flower buds for nextyear. Large Forsythia can be cut backhard, flowering currants trimmed alittle and Camellias can be trimmedto reshape them. Spirea arguta,

plot linesFi o n aSanderson

While we wait for May to rememberthat it is usually a mild month ofgentle quality, it is timely to set up aregular slug and snail patrol routine.More wet weather brings out theslimy brigade in increasing numbers,laying waste to any tender plants, soregular picking off and disposal paysd iv i d e n d s.

One very convenient method is tocut comfrey, and lay it around themargins of your growing beds, so thatthe emerging slugs and snails findthose wilting stems first, and don’tbother to look any further. I find thisworks well, because the comfrey istall enough to cut this month, andthere is therefore plenty of it to strewabout. Slugs and snails linger in theleaves, rather than heading back un-derground, so it’s easier to find them.I just pick up the comfrey and put itstraight it one of the dalek com-posters, then replenish the barrier bycutting some more. It is important toremove the comfrey once the slugshave found it, otherwise you are justgiving them more free food.

There are other barriers you canput in their way, depending on thesize of plot you are trying to preserve.Collars around individual plantswork well; I like the ‘flying saucer’shaped ones that require a lot of crawlwork to reach the plant. They are tooexpensive to use on more than a fewprized plants though, so on an allot-ment scale they’re not practical.From pellets, to oats, to coffeegrounds, or sharp sand, there are allsorts of other barriers you can trysprinkling around plants, but thechief problem here is that, once theyget wet, they are easier to cross, andlose their effectiveness.

Two very good ways to prevent slugdamage cost nothing, but require achange in gardening style thatd o e s n’t suit everyone. The first is togrow more perennial plants, thatd o n’t go through the same vulnerablecycle of growing from a seed eachyear. Many salad plants can be grownin this way, as well as leafy greens,multiplier onions and unusualtubers. The other way is to learn tothink like a slug. Remove any debristhat might be a slug haven. Don’t letweeds in, as they are hiding placesand snack zones that can also makebridges to the tender higher growthon your plants. Dig around thewooden edges of raised beds, and thepegs that hold the planks in position,as this seems to be where these pestsaccumulate and lay eggs. Be tidier.

I don’t think any one method willbe effective on its own, despite claimsby companies trying to sell you theirp ro d u c t . Nothing works better thanthe laborious and tedious process ofpicking them off by hand. That’s notsomething that everybody wants tohear, but, alas, it happens to be true.

damage the building. The one I amgoing to suggest is not technicallyevergreen in every winter (in really hardwinters, the leaves come off). However,it is very vigorous and succeeds wheremany fussier plants, such as Clematisarmandii, struggles. I would suggestAkebia quinata for its tremendousvigour and yet its undamagingproperties. You might also consider thewinter flowering Clematis cirrhosa (andvarieties of it]). You should take carethat the climber does not grow underthe roof and cause damage that way.

Alan’s plantof the weekHostasThe Japanese eat them but we Britishgardeners just love to grow them andhostas look at their very best rightn ow.

I am constantly amazed by thenumber of varieties that there are ofthis very hardy herbaceous perennialplant but, when you get them side byside, you quickly see that only anexpert can see the difference betweenmany of them. Nevertheless there isgreat variety here in both leaf andfl owe r.

Hostas grow best where the soil ismoist and rich – in fact they will evengrow as a marginal pond plant withthe lower parts of their roots con-stantly submerged.

Leaf colour is crisper and moredramatic if plants receive some shadefrom the hottest sun of midday.

To slugs and snails these are thecaviar of the garden so seriousthought has to be given to how toprotect them.

Many have success with growing inpots stood in saucers filled with water(slugs and snails are not good swim-mers).

Others use barriers to protect theluscious leaves from these pests andthe Vitax Slug Gone Wool Pellets looklike a very promising addition to themany options available.

Of course, beer traps, broken eggshells, sharp grit, copper tape andmany others measures can be used tokeep leaves from being noshed.

Generally speaking the grey-blueleaf varieties are less attractive toslugs and snails.

While this is a good time to buy newHostas and plant them it is also anexcellent time to lift and divide largeclumps too.

RHS Chelsea CentenaryFlower ShowNext week is Chelsea Flower Show.It’s quite a few years since CleeveNursery was directly involved withthis, the greatest flower show onearth. In fact it is more than ten yearssince we, so close to the opening, wereon our knees adjusting leaves, bloomsand picking up bits that had fallen offthe trees above.

So with this experience and re-sponsibility for looking after theplants for the great Hillier Nurseriesstand for almost ten years in the late1970s, I have a bit of an idea of thepressure that all those exhibitors areunder today.

The show opens on Tuesday but itwill be the Monday judging that mostwill be thinking of.

But my little experience pales intoinsignificance when compared tothat of several West Country nurser-ies. Blackmore and Langdon Nurseryand Kelways Nursery have been therefrom the very beginning.

Alan says that hostas, top,look at their very bestright now. Akebia quinata,pictured second from thetop, may provide theanswer for those searchingfor a vigorous climber tocover a roof. This week,check gooseberries – andSolomon’s Seal, picturedthird from top – for sawflylarvae. Akebia quinataoffers good coveringpotential

Chaenomeles, winter jasmine,Kerria, Choisya and Viburnum tinuswill benefit from careful pruning andstill have plenty of time to set flowerbuds for next year.

ask AlanQUESTION We’re looking for avigorous, evergreen climber to cover anugly roof that backs on to our tinygarden. We need something that willcover the eyesore quickly withoutdamaging the roof. I’ve beenresearching Russian vine (too invasivefor our small garden), Boston ivy andVirginia creeper (would these damagethe structure?) or clematis armandii(slower and a bit too small?). Please canyou advise as to suitable climbing plantsyou have that would work here andwhether you have any larger,established plants to give us a headstart?From R Moore

ANSWER Several of the suggestionsthat you have researched are notactually evergreen and most would

One of the many thought-provokinggarden designs to be found at the ChelseaFlower Show each year

Petunia Easy Wave provides a welcomepatchwork of vibrant colour in your garden

Petunias can provide a riot of colour, manyfrom the ‘hot end’ of the spectrum

Alan knows what it’slike to be a Chelseaexhibitor, such asDiarmuid Gavin,preparing showgardens anddisplays for thebig event this week

ForGoodAdvice&Excellent HomeGrown Plants

visit your local nursery!

Cleeve Nursery138 Main Road, Cleeve, BS49 4PW

01934 832134www.cleevenursery.co.uk