WHAT DO TO IN LATE MARCH

WHAT DO TO IN LATE MARCH

Plant something special in your garden, Edgeworthia, Chrysantha distinctive yellow flowers with an exquisite scent known as the Forest Daphne.

In a less favourable site plant Viburnum bod. ‘Charles Lamont’ highly perfumed white buds turning to pink flowers.

It goes without saying if you don’t sow, you don’t reap and with the modern busy lifestyle it’s quite easy to miss the planting season. I find if you start in time you won’t be playing catch up, what I mean is it’s much easier to dig the soil now while it’s still soft. It will take twice as much effort and much longer to do the same amount of cultivation in three weeks. I consider an hour spent weeding in the garden now more productive than a whole day in a month’s time. The reason being weeds are at their weakest this time of the year and their roots don’t have a strong grip and are easily hoed out. If you equip yourself with a good quality hoe and confine your attention to the top ½ “ of soil, weeding this time of year is child’s play. Many shrubs are pruned this time of year (ones that flower after the longest day of the year) the sooner this pruning is done, the better the resulting flower. The same goes for fertilizer, applied now to trees, shrubs and hedging it will have maximum effect. Give roses their first spray for blackspot, prevention rather than cure.  Kill grass around fruit trees, you will increase the crops of fruit by 50%. The same goes for killing grass around hedges planted in the last couple of years. Feed hedges now and remove the grass 18” to 2 feet out from the stem, the resulting growth will be 50% better.  Roundup is an excellent spray for doing this, direct the spray away from your plants on a calm day, do it as soon as you can before the grass starts to grow.  When Roundup touches the soil is neutralized and does not poison the earth. For small shrubs or areas too difficult to spray, mix the Roundup in a bucket and use a paint brush or a roller. Traditionally St Patricks Day or thereabouts was considered early potato planting time, they are so easy to grow and they’re great as a first crop. Weeds can often be a problem when you dig a new area but by growing potatoes the first year, the farmyard manure you use will increase the soil fertility and improve the soil structure and weeds are no match for the overpowering potato stalks. One word of caution, we can still get frosty nights so it’s important to harden off soft plants before you plant them out. I use garden fleece, it protects the plants but doesn’t catch the wind or rain and if you forget to take it off for a day, your plants will not suffer. Never use plastic as it can do a lot of damage and remember all your good work can be ruined if you forget the slugs and snails, I use Neudorff Sluggo, it's organic and it won’t poison the birds.

January 17, 2021 — omearas gardencentre
Tags: March
TIPS FOR GARDENING IN MARCH

TIPS FOR GARDENING IN MARCH

  • Plant bare rooted hedging now, spring growth is on the way.
  • On dry days cultivate areas for planting.
  • Finish pruning fruit trees and bushes.
  • Cut the lawn at a high level.
  • Begin treatment for moss, use Osmo, your lawn won’t go black and you won’t have to rake it out.
  • Repot and feed houseplants that have been resting all winter.

High up in the Himalayas in one of the remotest places on earth there is a valley that stretches for hundreds of miles, this valley is inhabited by a nomadic people, nothing strange about that you might say, what is remarkable is the fact that these people have never seen a tree as no trees grow at high altitude. There are no trains, planes or roads so these people don’t travel the great distances that we take for granted.  Apart from anything else just imagine a world without trees.  For starters, the world as we know it wouldn’t exist as trees are the lungs of mother earth.  From a practical point of view, we have used the timber produced by trees in every conceivable way and of course, the fruit produced by trees is part of our natural diet and many of our medicines are derived from trees.  After all that, most people nowadays who plant trees plant them for less commercial reasons, the beauty of their flowers, leaf colour and shape, the texture and colour of their bark. 

Trees give us protection in winter and shade in summer, trees add a beauty to any landscape be it urban or rural and there are so many to choose from with new or unusual varieties becoming available every year.  There are trees to suit all locations , all soil types, they come in all shapes and sizes, most are very easy to grow and you can buy a seedling tree for as little as a euro.  Not that long ago our forefathers undertook perilous journeys to far-flung corners of the earth, returning with many of the species we know today.  These great adventures nowadays are for the very few but you can create your own mini-adventure this Plant a Tree Week by getting out to your local garden centre, choosing a tree that will add beauty to your home and maybe find out where the tree originated, perhaps its origins are in Tibet, china or south America or it could have good Irish sap running through its veins.

January 17, 2021 — omearas gardencentre
Tags: March
WHAT TO DO IN MID MARCH

WHAT TO DO IN MID MARCH

  • Clean up garden pools, start feeding your fish
  • Now is the best time to plant trees and shrubs

You can easily guess what question I am asked most often at this time of year. Yes, you’re correct – how do I get rid of moss on lawns?  The first thing I would say is, you can control moss but you will never get rid of it for good.  It’s a problem that must be tackled on a yearly basis.  Moss has been growing on your lawn since October but you don’t really notice it until this time of year when you are giving it its first cut. 

Most people tackle the problem by going to the local store, getting whatever is available over the counter, applying it in a lot of cases incorrectly and ending up with a black mess that entails hours of raking and the lawn getting worse by the year.  There is an alternative to the above scenario, it’s called Pro Green Osmo Moss remover.  It’s relatively new in Ireland, it approaches the problem of moss control in a different manner to anything else I have found on the market. Very simply Osmo contains what grass likes and what moss dislikes, what’s new about this you may ask, let me explain.

Growing grass successfully entails knowing the type of fertilizer it likes and for the fertilizer to work properly your soil must have the correct PH level (PH is the technical term for the amount of lime in your soil). Grass likes a PH level of between 6 and 7 where moss is thriving the PH is much lower, that means if there’s moss in your lawn you need to bring up the PH. PH adjuster applied at this time of year does 2 things, it shocks the existing moss, releases the fertility that is applied to be taken up and used by the grass resulting in a green lawn. The ingenious bit about Osmo is that as well as containing fertilizer which is specially formulated to feed your lawn over the whole season, it also contains an enzyme which attacks the root of the moss thereby killing it and the remaining moss disintegrates slowly and actually turns into beneficial fertilizer. Osmo will not turn your lawn black or stain your patio and it’s organic so you don’t have to keep your pets off the lawn. Apply the PH adjuster first, it takes 2 weeks to work itself into the soil then apply the Osmo moss remover. The result is a super moss free lawn all season with no back-breaking raking needed.

One note of caution, Osmo is not a magic wand, it will not solve years of moss build up in one application.  I have been using it now for 4 years and I can honestly say moss is no longer a problem.

January 17, 2021 — omearas gardencentre
Tags: March
WHAT TO DO IN EARLY MARCH

WHAT TO DO IN EARLY MARCH

  • Now is the best time to plant trees and shrubs.
  • Give your lawn a light trim and apply a PH adjuster to bring up the level of lime in the soil.
  • In two weeks time, your lawn will then be ready for moss treatment.
  • Apply Hero to paths and patios now, no scrubbing is needed.
  • In next week’s article I will concentrate on getting your lawn back into shape.

I don’t know about you but I have been eagerly awaiting spring.  Last week’s snow may have put a damper on things but the rising temperatures of the last few days will leave even the most casual observer in no doubt that spring is here.  February the first maybe considered officially spring but I think nature has opted for the first of March.  The buds on the trees and the birds in the air are busy and after our winter recess gardeners find themselves looking at their watches after work and quickening their step with the realization that they will get a couple of hours done before dark.  The next couple of weeks are crucial, all bare rooted planting must be completed and any plants that need to be moved or divided should be attended to soon.  Fruit trees and roses should be pruned immediately.  Evergreen hedges or large shrubs that weren’t pruned in the autumn are best pruned now before birds start nesting.  When it comes to pruning shrubs in the garden the following rule of thumb will give you an indication, as with everything there are exceptions and if you are not sure, check in your gardening books or you can always bring me out a sample to the garden centre and I will be only too happy to advise you – Now here’s the rule of thumb.  Any shrub that flowers before the longest day of the year (21st June) should be pruned immediately after flowering, thereby giving those plants time from June to October to make flower buds for the following season.  Any plants that flower after the longest day should be pruned in early March thereby giving them ample time to produce flower buds.  Don’t over prune as to do so will result in an abundance of soft new growth at the expense of flower.  A little bit of pruning every year will give you best results but if a plant has outgrown its space by all means prune now, it will be more beneficial in the long run.  Most importantly all plants will reward you if you give them a feed now.  Use a good quality multipurpose fertilizer, the one I use is called PRO 8, it's brilliant and it comes in big bags that are more economical.  So get going spring won’t wait.

January 17, 2021 — omearas gardencentre
Tags: March
TAKING CARE OF YOUR GARDEN IN MARCH

TAKING CARE OF YOUR GARDEN IN MARCH

Pruning roses keep them in shape and encourages more flower growth and healthier plants. Cut weak shoots right back to promote stronger growth from the base. Remove dead shoots and the tips of stems showing die back. Look for crossing and badly placed branches and cut them out to form a good shape. Cut just above a bud pointing in the direction you want the new growth. Avoid spreading disease by always making sure your secateurs are clean and sharp.

  • Spread a layer of manure or compost around roses and shrubs.
  • Chit seed potatoes in trays in a bright, frost-free position.
  • Sow broad beans, carrots and hardy peas outside in soil warmed by cloches.
  • Prune summer-flowering clematis, cutting above a low pair of green buds.
  • Prune all stems of Hydrangea paniculata down to about three buds from soil level.
  • Carry on sowing seeds in pots or trays in the greenhouse, ready to transplant later, including Brussels sprouts, spring cabbage and onions.

It’s great to see the daffodils popping up their heads and the sight of baby lambs out in the fields is a sure sign that spring is here. Everything is coming to life and there is lots to be done in the garden, lots of prep work for this year’s crop and it’s the ideal time for planting trees and shrubs and anybody considering planting beech hedging which is normally sold bare rooted needs to do so in the next 3 weeks and for that matter any bare rooted plants must be planted soon. Plants grown in containers can be planted all year round but ones planted now will be much further advanced and if your soil is dry enough get planting now. If you are considering moving plants in the garden now is the time, most plants will move successfully if they haven’t been left there for years and years. When moving plants try and keep some soil on the roots and stake plants well after replanting, while I think of it after the storms of recent weeks you might check any plants that you have staked if the ties have loosened and the stem of the plant is constantly rubbing off the stake it can cause a lot of damage. The benefits of gardening are many I don’t need to preach to the converted but if you want to enjoy one of the tastiest fruits of your labour plant some raspberry canes now, it’s so simple and you will be amazed at how tasty fresh raspberries are. Raspberry canes are usually sold bare rooted so you must plant them soon. There are a number of varieties to choose from basically there are two main types summer fruiting and autumn fruiting varieties. The difference been summer fruiting varieties produce fruit on last  season growth and autumn fruiting varieties produce fruit on current seasons growth. The type you choose will dictate the way you grow it.  Summer fruiting varieties are grown between wires to support the canes at about 1.2metres high (4ft) and the canes are topped off in late summer at about 1.8 m (6ft) whereas autumn fruiting raspberries are cut back to ground level in early spring, no wires necessary and the new canes will produce fruit by autumn.  At this stage you would probably say autumn is the way to go, the drawback been that autumn raspberry canes only produce about half the amount of fruit as summer fruiting varieties so I would plant both and prolong the fruiting season. There is an autumn fruiting variety that produces yellow fruit called All Gold, you have never eaten anything like it. Raspberries are so easy to grow and once you plant them you have them for years.

January 17, 2021 — omearas gardencentre
Tags: March
MID MARCH GARDENING TIPS

MID MARCH GARDENING TIPS

  • Cut back overgrown honeysuckle stems close to their base, just above new shoots.
  • Be on the look out for slugs and snails, which will attack emerging shoots of perennials.
  • Plant Jerusalem artichokes in well-prepared soil.
  • Grow early-maturing potatoes in a bag of compost.
  • Fork compost into beds to prepare soil, for planting.
  • Chit potatoes by standing them in trays in a warm bright position until they develop small shoots.
  • Dig out problem weeds and emerging annual weeds.
  • Plant Jerusalem artichokes.
  • Cover rhubarb with forcing jars to encourage long, delicious pale stems.
  • Sow seeds of the following crops outside or under cloches: carrots, beetroot, broad beans, salad onions, cauliflower, cabbage, spinach, leeks, lettuce, rocket, coriander, mixed salad or stir fry leaves, radish, turnip, peas, lettuce and Swiss chard
  • In your greenhouse, you can sow summer bedding plants, such as petunias, geranium, verbena and busy Lizzie. In the vegetable world, you can sow seeds of cucumbers, tomatoes, aubergines and peppers to raise summer crops
  • Trim back old shoots of perennials left for winter interest, taking care not to damage emerging new growth

A Rosy outlook Now is the time to hit the garden armed in your toughest clothes and sharpened pruners for the annual task of cutting back the roses. While gardeners may share different insights on the art of rose pruning, one thing is certain: While roses’ winter dormancy persists, it’s time to prune, ensuring a prolific bloom and healthy plants in spring and summer. Pruning is regenerative. It stimulates new growth and can enhance and open up the form and shape of the plants, it also removes dying or diseased portions that can damage the overall health of a garden. Roses are sturdy and forgiving, and will be healthier plants because of it. While you may not prune perfectly every time, it’s always better to prune than not to prune. You can find a detailed, How to on our facebook page or find a leaflet in the garden centre.

Plant a tree week has come and gone, nearly the best kept secret, of the year. The horticultural industry and I include myself in this should really do more to promote the planting of trees, as we all know they are the lungs of this fragile earth we live on. They provide us with food, shelter and of course their beauty. From the majestic redwoods to the humble spindle tree, no garden should be without a tree. Space shouldn’t be an issue as there are even dwarf varieties that are quite happy in a large pot on a balcony or patio. When choosing a tree there are a number of questions you should consider. The first and most important, what eventual height you would like your tree? This is very important as large trees should not be planted too near buildings. When you look at trees in the garden centre most of them appear to be the same size this can be deceptive because, with age, there is a vast difference. One such tree is the majestic oak which takes hundreds of years to mature and is fantastic given enough space. Oak is quite easy to grow and is even tolerant of damp heavy soil. There are a number of varieties well worth seeking out, Quercus coccinea (Scarlet Oak) has fiery red leaves in autumn, as the common names suggests, and Quercus ilex the evergreen oak is one of the few broad-leaved evergreens that can successfully grow in Ireland. For the smaller garden, there is a vast choice, my top choice, however, are Magnolias and Malus. Both will give you flowers in spring and splendid autumn colour and in the case of the Malus family many produce fruit which, persist into the winter. For flower, foliage, interesting bark or just somewhere to sit under on a hot summer’s day, plant a tree.

January 17, 2021 — omearas gardencentre
Tags: March
LATE MARCH IN YOUR GARDEN

LATE MARCH IN YOUR GARDEN

  • Feed Beech hedging with Growmore granules 
  • Spray fruit trees and bushes with a fungicide
  • Feed Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Pieris and Camellias with ericaceous (acidic) plant food
  • Prune forsythia and flowering currants as soon as the flowers have faded
  • Sow seeds of dwarf and climbing beans in deep pots
  • Remove forcing jars from rhubarb plants and let them grow uncovered
  • If you have a greenhouse you can sow herbs, including basil, chives, fennel, borage, parsley and coriander into pots or trays
  • Plant out some groups of gladioli in borders to add extra colour and height
  • Spread a compost mulch around border plants to suppress weeds
  • Put pond pumps and fountains back into pools, thoroughly cleaning filters first
  • Clean out bird baths and bird feeders
  • Check tree ties are not too tight or cutting into bark, and loosen if necessary
  • Now is a good time to cut back any overgrown ivy
  • You can plant new asparagus beds or try growing the asparagus pea, lovely flavour without all the hassle!
  • Continue planting potatoes, shallots and onion sets and feed spring cabbage with a high-nitrogen fertiliser
  • Cornflowers and other wildflowers appear between narrow blades of native grasses in meadows and cornfields. It's easy to recreate this effect in your garden and the plants can be raised from seed, directly where they are to grow, in March and April. If you don’t have the room to plant an area of your garden with a Wild Flower meadow. A container planted up and placed on your patio will attract bees and butterflies to your garden.

March sees the emergence of new shoots on trees and shrubs and it also heralds the beginning of a new gardening season, when people step out into their garden again and there are the usual tasks to greet them, lawn care (now is the time to tackle moss with Osmo moss remover), pruning, and re- planting areas lacking in colour. Over the last number of years there is a problem coming to light with leylandii hedging, anyone who has leylandii wishes they hadn’t. The dilemma is what to plant instead of it. Thirty years ago when I started out it  was the most popular hedging plant but times have changed and people are looking for a little bit more than just a screen. If you are looking for a straight forward fast growing evergreen hedge not that’s not as unruly as leylandii, I recommend Thuja ‘Brabrant’ and there is one called Thuja ‘Smargad’ which grows reasonably quickly with a nice trim shape which means little trimming. Laurel is still a very popular evergreen hedge and there is a new variety called ‘Movita’ which has a smaller leaf and a darker green colour all year round. Portuguese laurel would be my choice as it has a glossy green leaf smaller than normal laurel with a compact growth habit and it is also extremely hardy. If you are living in the countryside a Beech looks perfect with the surroundings, the secret to getting a great looking hedging is to buy the best quality, Beech you can find with a good root system, this paramount to its success. Copper beech even though it is slightly more expensive makes a superb showpiece hedge making it perfect, in town or country gardens. You can, of course, form a very interesting informal screen by using a mix of species such as holly, beech, rugosa roses, cotoneaster, spindle, hazel and wild cherry and this will give you a different effect, far from the manicured trimmed hedge. Take care though not to over mix the species. Whatever you decide now is probably the best time to do it; you have about three weeks left to plant bare-root plants like Beech. Prepare your soil well, consider your choice carefully (is it shady? is it wet soil? How high do you want it to grow?) and get planting! 

January 15, 2021 — omearasgardencentre Admin
Tags: March
WHAT TO DO IN THE MIDDLE OF MARCH

WHAT TO DO IN THE MIDDLE OF MARCH

  • Plant Tree and carpet lily bulbs in pots for colourful summer displays.
  • Prune shrub roses to low new shoots.
  • Be on the look out for slugs and snails, which will attack emerging shoots of perennials.
  • Plant Jerusalem artichokes in well-prepared soil.
  • Grow early-maturing potatoes in a bag of compost.
  • Fork compost into beds to prepare soil for planting.
  • Chit potatoes by standing them in trays in a warm bright position until they develop small shoots.
  • Dig out problem weeds and emerging annual weeds.
  • Plant Jerusalem artichokes.
  • Cover rhubarb with forcing jars to encourage long, delicious pale stems.
  • Sow seeds of the following crops outside or under cloches: carrots, beetroot, broad beans, salad onions, cauliflower, cabbage, spinach, leeks, lettuce, rocket, coriander, mixed salad or stir fry leaves, radish, turnip, peas, lettuce and Swiss chard.
  • In your greenhouse, you can sow summer bedding plants, such as petunias, geranium, verbena and busy Lizzie. In the vegetable world, you can sow seeds of cucumbers, tomatoes, aubergines and peppers to raise summer crops.
  • Trim back old shoots of perennials left for winter interest, taking care not to damage emerging new growth.
  • Prune tall, leggy mahonia by cutting off the leafy rosette at the top of stems to encourage branches to develop below.

Give it a try… Chilli plants will thrive on a sunny window sill or in a greenhouse. They have a long cropping season, so you could still be harvesting fresh chillies in December. You will need just two small pots to sow your chilli seeds. It’s important to use a good quality seed compost. Fill up your pots almost to the top with compost; you should water before you add the seed to make sure the compost is nice and moist. Spread out 4 or 5 seeds per pot and then sprinkle over some more compost or perlite if you have it. Cover the pot with cling film to create your own mini tunnel and then pop on a sunny windowsill. It’s very important to keep them in a bright place to ensure they germinate.  When your seeds have germinated take off your cling film and leave on the windowsill. Keep them nice and moist, not too wet and not too dry! Voila in 7/8 weeks you should have a pot filled with chilli plants waiting to be separated and potted into their own pots. Keep on your sunniest windowsill and your chilli plants will reward you with spicy meals for many months to come.

March is the perfect planting time for a wide range of garden plants. It’s a particularly good time to plant roses. To get the best from these long-lived garden plants it's worth paying attention to the soil ahead of planting. Roses prefer a site rich in organic matter, so on sandy or heavy clay soils mix in some compost, at least two spades deep if possible. To plant, dig a hole twice as wide as the container the rose is growing in, but only 5-10cm deeper. Fork over the soil in the bottom of the hole, and add a 5-10cm layer of compost. Set the rootball centrally in the hole .To further boost the soil, mix in Osmo Rose Food to the excavated planting soil. This pelleted mix is enriched with horse manure – well-loved by roses - and will set plants off to the best start this spring. Set the soil back around the rootball, firming down with your heel as you go to knock out any air gaps. Water the rose in, then apply a mulch of compost around the base of the plant to help retain moisture and reduce weed growth. You can look forward to the beautiful roses of the future.

January 15, 2021 — omearasgardencentre Admin
Tags: March