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Minnie's Gardeners' Question Time - help for the new gardeners

and here's one for gentlegreen. Don't know whether I put this up already and whether it was a suspected weed

DSC00468.JPG
 
So it's a trailing one ?

I sooo need a shot of tropical colour at head level, but I'm not sure how to make it "authentic" - mind you I'm falling a long way short all ready. My tree fern is just the top few feet of a much taller one.. and it probably doesn't grow in nature in association with a hop...

... plus that's a relatively small container I have to keep watered...

I swear my passion flowers deliberately do their flowering when I'm not looking. :p
 
gentlegreen said:
So it's a trailing one ?

I sooo need a shot of tropical colour at head level, but I'm not sure how to make it "authentic" - mind you I'm falling a long way short all ready. My tree fern is just the top few feet of a much taller one.. and it probably doesn't grow in nature in association with a hop...

... plus that's a relatively small container I have to keep watered...

I swear my passion flowers deliberately do their flowering when I'm not looking. :p
Click to expand...


No, not trailing. I'm positive it's Mirabilis Jalapa (Four o'clock plant) which I planted last year which never flowered.

I never bothered with passion flowers despite buying the seeds.

Today, I took apart a flower from my parrot to see if I could see a seed. I'm pretty sure that's not the way to do it, but I was curious :oops:
 
So protecting plants over winter - how do you know if you need to do it, how do you do it? especially if theyre not in pot but in the ground. can you just cover them with horticultural fleece or is there more to it
? :D
 
I'm not sure impatiens set seed very easily ..
the parrot is easy to make cuttings from. I have a little aquarium airstone in a jar wrapped in foil - up on my bathroom windowsill which I use for my brugmansias - it works for passionflowers too ..
 
Nothing that looks like a seed here :(

I've read a guy say they swell up and just explode the seed out, but I'm not sure how to know when that's going to happen. This one looked quite fat, but there's no seed there. :hmm:


DSC00485.JPG
 
Callie said:
So protecting plants over winter - how do you know if you need to do it, how do you do it? especially if theyre not in pot but in the ground. can you just cover them with horticultural fleece or is there more to it
? :D
Click to expand...
After losing my biggest tree fern and bananas in 2010, I use a lot of straw as well as the fleece.

I would heavily mulch the ground too - with bark or something - I might even use fleece too ..
 
Minnie_the_Minx said:
Nothing that looks like a seed here :(

I've read a guy say they swell up and just explode the seed out, but I'm not sure how to know when that's going to happen. This one looked quite fat, but there's no seed there. :hmm:
Click to expand...

It would have to get pollinated somehow...

Thinking about it, it's presumably closely related to Indian Balsam - now that one really does explode.

I think that's what "impatiens" means.



1 minute 50...
 
How big do fuscias get? I don't know the variety, they're standard pink jobs if that's any help.

My Mum likes to encourage me with my new garden, but completely ignores the fact that I keep telling her that the front garden is going to be purely tropical planting and the back will eventually be all Chinese and Japanese ornamentals.

Are parents the most annoying people in the world?

Anyway, she brought up 3 of these at the weekend and proceeded to plant them when I wasn't looking. Nice to have a bit of colour while I get everything else planned, bought and planted, but I don't want the place taken over and looking like her garden so if they're going to get massive and dominate I'm killing the fuckers. So, how big?
 
ringo said:
How big do fuscias get? I don't know the variety, they're standard pink jobs if that's any help.

My Mum likes to encourage me with my new garden, but completely ignores the fact that I keep telling her that the front garden is going to be purely tropical planting and the back will eventually be all Chinese and Japanese ornamentals.

Are parents the most annoying people in the world?

Anyway, she brought up 3 of these at the weekend and proceeded to plant them when I wasn't looking. Nice to have a bit of colour while I get everything else planned, bought and planted, but I don't want the place taken over and looking like her garden so if they're going to get massive and dominate I'm killing the fuckers. So, how big?
Click to expand...
It depends on the variety. Some are hardy, some aren't. The non-hardy ones won't be a problem as they won't survive the winter. Most hardy ones will die back to the ground over winter but if you're somewhere milder some will put on new growth from a previous year's growth so could be as much as six feet tall and a similar spread. Post up some photos and I'll try to identify them.
 
Cheers, she said they'd die back in the winter but come back in the spring so looks like they're a hardy variety. I'll leave them for now as I haven't got much else in that bed (just a new corkscrew hazel) only just cut it as the garden was all grass before. I can always move them when I've decided what to put there as I'm concentrating on the bigger shrubs/trees/bamboo in other areas at the moment.

Black bamboo arrived yesterday, Prunus Mume Beni-Chidori (Flowering Japanese Apricot) on the way :cool:
 
ringo said:
Cheers, she said they'd die back in the winter but come back in the spring so looks like they're a hardy variety. I'll leave them for now as I haven't got much else in that bed (just a new corkscrew hazel) only just cut it as the garden was all grass before. I can always move them when I've decided what to put there as I'm concentrating on the bigger shrubs/trees/bamboo in other areas at the moment.

Black bamboo arrived yesterday, Prunus Mume Beni-Chidori (Flowering Japanese Apricot) on the way :cool:
Click to expand...
I've always wanted a corkscrew hazel! :cool:

I should add that you can keep even the most hardy fuchsias in check by pruning them back in the spring. I have a Fuchsia Magellanica and another called Mrs W P Wood and I prune them back in the spring. They both grow very vigorously and if I didn't prune them they'd both be over six feet tall.
 
Leafster said:
I've always wanted a corkscrew hazel! :cool:
Click to expand...

I saw one outside a house in West Norwood and had to find one. They do look a bit shabby with leaves on, and are not strictly in keeping with my oriental theme, but it's my garden so I'll have what I like :D
 
ringo said:
How big do fuscias get? I don't know the variety, they're standard pink jobs if that's any help.

My Mum likes to encourage me with my new garden, but completely ignores the fact that I keep telling her that the front garden is going to be purely tropical planting and the back will eventually be all Chinese and Japanese ornamentals.

Are parents the most annoying people in the world?

Anyway, she brought up 3 of these at the weekend and proceeded to plant them when I wasn't looking. Nice to have a bit of colour while I get everything else planned, bought and planted, but I don't want the place taken over and looking like her garden so if they're going to get massive and dominate I'm killing the fuckers. So, how big?
Click to expand...

I went past a huge one yesterday but that was that pink and purple small flowered type.

As for flowers, you can get nice big ones like this, and I've no idea how big it would get if I took it out of the container

DSC00466.JPG
 
My Mum brought me two hanging baskets which i ignored and have died down. I might put the fuscias in them next year and hang them from my porch, that way she won't be offended and I can keep my garden the way I'm planning it :)
 
ringo said:
I saw one outside a house in West Norwood and had to find one. They do look a bit shabby with leaves on, and are not strictly in keeping with my oriental theme, but it's my garden so I'll have what I like :D
Click to expand...
I see there's a red/purple variety. I share the garden with my neighbour and we've just removed a 40 year old conifer and she wanted "something red" in its place so I'm tempted to buy one.
 
ringo said:
My Mum brought me two hanging baskets which i ignored and have died down. I might put the fuscias in them next year and hang them from my porch, that way she won't be offended and I can keep my garden the way I'm planning it :)
Click to expand...

I have another fuchsia (the small purple and white one) in a basket. Doesn't really do anything for me. May get rid of it as could really do with a spare basket to put one of my begonias in.

I have too many begonias now and nowhere to put them :facepalm:
 
Minnie_the_Minx said:
You got black bamboo?! :cool:

I'm jealous
Click to expand...

£30 off Ebay for a 5L container, it's about 60cm high at the moment, looks nice and healthy. I'm going to plant it tonight.

I've got a back wall at the end of the garden which is falling down a bit and just an overgrown garden and the side of a house the other side of it I want to screen off. I'm going to get a couple more clumping varieties, a gold and maybe a proper fat girth one, and make a hold the wall up/screen/hedge right across the back.
 
ringo said:
£30 off Ebay for a 5L container, it's about 60cm high at the moment, looks nice and healthy. I'm going to plant it tonight.

I've got a back wall at the end of the garden which is falling down a bit and just an overgrown garden and the side of a house the other side of it I want to screen off. I'm going to get a couple more clumping varieties, a gold and maybe a proper fat girth one, and make a hold the wall up/screen/hedge right across the back.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've seen that prices. That's why I haven't got any :D
 
I guess any other large plants/bamboo should go in soon, before autumn hits, otherwise they might not have a chance to root before the weather gets crap, yes?
 
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