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Tips, curiosities, news to improve your garden and take care of your plants.
When and How to Plant Daffodils: Autumn Bulb Planting Guide (UK)
One of the best reasons to plant daffodils is that they’re among the first flowers to brighten up your garden next year, blooming from March through to June. Daffodils (Narcissus) are autumn bulbs that should be planted between October and December, ready to bloom the following spring.
Daffodils are easy to grow both in pots and directly in the garden, and they’re hardier than many other bulbs, able to withstand the colder British weather. Unlike some other bulb plants, daffodil bulbs don’t need to be dug up and stored over winter. Left in the ground, they’ll produce additional bulbils, increasing the number of flowers you’ll enjoy year after year.
Daffodils come in more colours than just white – there are many hybrid varieties, offering a range of shapes and shades. The more delicate botanical varieties have smaller flowers, while large-cupped daffodils can grow up to 45 cm tall.
Planting Daffodils in Pots and Gardens
Before planting daffodil bulbs, it’s important to prepare the soil. In the garden, loosen the soil with a spade to ensure it’s soft and well-draining, as bulbs dislike sitting in waterlogged conditions. Incorporating a granular fertiliser designed for flowering plants at this stage will help give your bulbs a nutrient boost. After about a week, plant the bulbs with the pointed end facing upwards, at a depth twice their diameter.
For planting daffodils in pots, use compost suitable for flowering plants and place a layer of expanded clay pellets or gravel at the bottom of the pot to improve drainage. The nutrients in potting compost can deplete over time, so to keep your daffodils blooming beautifully, use a liquid fertiliser for flowering plants, mixed with water, every 15 days from February to April.
Daffodils thrive in sunny locations but can also do well in partial shade.
Water regularly, especially...
The range of vegetables you can grow in autumn is expanding, partly due to warmer temperatures. If the weather stays mild, especially in the south of the UK, you can continue harvesting crops like Tomatoes, Peppers, and Aubergines into October! Some summer vegetables, such as Swiss Chard, Green Beans, Pumpkins, and Courgettes, will also keep producing if the conditions are right.
If you can protect your garden with a greenhouse or polytunnel, your growing season can be extended even further. With these, you can create a more controlled and warmer climate, allowing you to grow a wider variety of crops, even those not typically suited for autumn in the UK.
For a productive autumn garden, it’s a great idea to focus on winter-cycle vegetables. Here are 10 vegetable varieties perfect for autumn planting in the UK!
1. Autumn Cabbage
Cabbages, Brussels Sprouts, Broccoli, and Savoy Cabbage can be harvested right into late winter, provided they were sown during the summer. Autumn Cabbage (Brassica oleracea capitata) can withstand cold temperatures down to 8°C. Early varieties are sown from August to October for harvests between March and June.
2. Onion Sets
In autumn, you can also plant onion sets for harvesting from March onwards. There are plenty of onion varieties to choose from, with some planted in spring for summer harvests and others in autumn for spring harvest. For example, planting autumn onion sets in September ensures a spring harvest.
3. Broad Beans
Broad Beans are an easy-to-grow, highly productive legume. They can be sown at different times depending on your location. In southern parts of the UK, they can be sown outdoors until October, while further north, it’s better to wait until February or March.
During the summer, lawns endure greater stress and wear. By utilizing advanced products and following some simple practices, we can maintain the health and appearance of our grass while promoting its resilience.
The range of new variegations and sizes is continuously expanding, offering the right variety for every situation. For example:
Ivy is also known for its medicinal properties. The leaves and young branches are used in herbal remedies for coughs and bronchitis, often combined with thyme to help thin mucus.
Growing Tips for IvyIvy requires low maintenance and tolerates shade but prefers bright positions without direct sunlight. In low light, the leaves may lose their variegation. It withstands cold down to -2°C but suffers in excessive heat, so in summer, it needs ample watering once or twice a week, while in winter, watering every 15 days is sufficient.
Resilient and hardy, ivy adapts to any soil as long as it is fertile, well-drained, and always slightly moist. From April to September, it is recommended to add a liquid fertilizer for green plants to the watering every 15 days.
Ivy grown on walls should be pruned in February-March and again in summer to shorten branches that have grown too long. It is easy to transplant and propagates...
Scabiosa plants, known for their colourful blooms, are perfect for creating a garden space that attracts bees and butterflies, which are drawn to the plant's pollen and nectar. Scabiosa is a perennial herbaceous plant celebrated for its long flowering period, which extends from June to October.
Varieties and Appearance
Scabiosa stems can reach a height of 40-50 cm, making them excellent for brightening up flower beds and borders. They also serve well as cut flowers
Ideal Growing ConditionsScabiosa plants are sensitive to frost below -5°C and may lose their leaves and aerial parts...
Climbing Hydrangea (Hydrangea petiolaris)The Climbing Hydrangea (Hydrangea petiolaris) is a robust and vigorous climbing plant, ideal for adding autumn charm to your garden. It thrives in shaded areas and can withstand temperatures as low as -20°C without special care.
In June, its stunning cream-colored flowers bloom in flat corymbs about 20 cm wide. The plant's deep green, heart-shaped leaves turn a brilliant yellow in autumn, contrasting beautifully with its dark red branches.
Cultivation Tips for Climbing HydrangeaThis plant excels on walls, tree trunks, and trellises, forming a lush, ornamental curtain of foliage that can reach up to 10 meters in height. It also serves as an effective ground cover for large trees. Thanks to its aerial roots, which securely grip any surface, it doesn't require additional supports, making it an excellent alternative to ivy for quickly covering shaded walls.
Climbing Hydrangea can be grown in large pots on a terrace or directly in the garden. It prefers locations shielded from direct sunlight to prevent soil from drying out and leaves from getting damaged. This plant is resilient to both cold and intense heat and thrives in slightly acidic, well-drained soil.
During spring and summer, keep the substrate consistently moist with regular watering. In winter, reduce watering to prevent waterlogging. Regular pruning of spent flowers and spring fertilization with organic fertilizer, repeated in autumn, will promote prolonged blooming.
An interesting aspect of Climbing Hydrangea is its ease of propagation by cuttings. At the end of summer, take a 7 cm cutting from the lateral shoots, root it in a mixture of peat and sand, and then plant it in a new pot.
"Why is my Orchid losing its buds?" is a common question we receive on our blog and social media pages. Today, we'll explain how to address this issue!
Identifying the Cause
When your orchid is losing buds or has drooping leaves instead of being firm and turgid, the first step is to rule out the presence of parasites or fungal diseases.
Benefits of Low-Water Plants
Not only do these plants help conserve water, but they also require less maintenance, making them ideal for those with limited time for gardening. The plants we’ve selected thrive with minimal intervention, some even producing beautiful blooms.
Establishing Plants for Low-Water Gardening
For these plants to grow almost self-sufficiently, they must be well established in your garden soil. Consider your soil type: avoid growing acid-loving plants in basic soil and vice versa. Young plants need regular watering and fertilizing initially to develop a solid root system that can access deep moisture. Once established, they will require less care.
10 Plants That Require Little Water
Step 1: Inspect the Plant
Step 2: Addressing Pests
Step 3: Checking for Fungal Diseases
Step 4: Repotting the Orchid
Eliminating mealybugs from Dipladenia is crucial, as these pests can ultimately kill the plant. The lush, glossy leaves of Dipladenia are a tempting meal for various insects, especially the voracious cochineal.
Cochineals are tiny insects, about a millimetre in size, covered with a waxy shield that varies in colour from brown to greyish or white, depending on the species. Due to their small size, they are hard to detect, but their presence becomes apparent through the damage they cause - brown spots on the leaves and overall plant withering. Cochineals typically settle along the veins or branches, where they sting the plant to suck its sap. This feeding process slows the plant's growth, weakens it, and can lead to its death.
The mealybugs' metabolism retains the necessary proteins from the sap and excretes the excess sugars as a dense substance called honeydew. This honeydew attracts ants and can foster the growth of fungi, creating additional threats to the plant.
