October 2006

It seems as though a warm October with strong winds will welcome the start of the gardening year. The garden scenery will soon change with herbaceous plants dying back as the leaves continue to colour and fall.

Traditionally, until the early 1960’s, nurseries grew their plants in the field then lifted and sold them during the winter as bare-rooted and root-balled plants. Containers then came along to prolong the planting season into late spring and early summer. However, as I wrote last month the best time to plant deciduous trees and shrubs is from autumn until early spring as the plants suffer from less stress. Plants will start to shut down for the winter, like most sensible hibernating animals, and begin their dormant stage where growth shoots have come to a standstill. There is little or no water loss at this time of the year; water loss is the biggest cause of failure at other times of the year. This is something we should remember, considering the extremely dry summer combined with the water restrictions that has just occurred. Deciduous plants will have a natural surge of root growth once their leaves have dropped hence this being the optimum time to plant.

Evergreen plants will shed leaves a few at a time, continuously throughout the year. Therefore, remember that in winter they will have some water loss but it is still the right time to plant or move them. They may need watering-in when planted if the weather conditions remain dry.

We have been very fortunate this year as the temperatures remain in the high teens and early twenties. This has kept the summer bedding plants very much alive but we should start to consider planting up outside containers for winter. Winter containers should be made of a frost-proof material, traditionally clay, stone or wood but now modern materials such as zinc and resin are available, all in various shapes and sizes. Whatever container is chosen, for the good of the plant there needs to be adequate drainage in the bottom by putting in a layer of ‘crocks’ or pebbles before the compost. It will also help the plants by raising the containers off the ground by using pot feet. More exotic plants such as olives and trachycarpus (palms) will survive in Britain in pots but the drainage needs to be good. It is not the low temperatures on the foliage which causes the problems, as my Italian counterparts tell me, as even in Pistoia (the plant growing region of Italy) the temperature drops to -10°C in winter! The problems start when the soil becomes wet and the roots freeze.

Choosing the right tree for your garden is important so go and seek help at your local plant centre. A few suggestions for a tree for a small garden are; Acer griseum with its amazing bark, Amelanchier species for their lovely bronze foliage turning red in autumn and delicate spring flowers. Cercidiphyllum and Cercis species are great attractions and the all year round interest of the Malus (crab apple) will keep an area interesting. Growers have been working very hard to please all garden situations by breeding dwarf, disease resistant or unusual varieties so there should be no excuse not to find the ideal tree!

In the fruit garden remember to harvest your apples. Varieties like ‘Spartan’ and ‘Sunset’ can be picked when ripe and sound and stored for two to three months. In the vegetable patch when the soil becomes bare it will be time to start the winter digging. Dig to a full depth of the spade and add manure and compost to the shallow trench. Don’t attempt to break the soil down, leave it in rough clods and let the rain and frost do their magic over of the winter.

Collect and compost leaves by using a rotary mower, it is quicker than raking and helps the leaves to break down more quickly.

Plants for October are; Cycalmen hederifolium, Anemone x hybrida and the autumn tints of the Sorbus (rowan) and Parthenocissus (Boston ivy).

Happy Gardening!

Contacts
The regular "In the Garden" features for Monkey Magazine are written and researched by Cat Wilkins. If you have a comment, or would like to make a suggestion for possible future topics, please feel free to email her by clicking on this link: Cat Wilkins