Iain Pentney for the Perennial Society, June's meeting

 Our presentation in June was by Iain Pentney for the Perennial Society.  The society is a charity Dedicated To Helping Everyone Who Works In Horticulture.  Iain told us that he left school at 16 and worked in a number of jobs but now works at ‘Classiflora’ who specialise in trees, shrubs and topiary.  The nursery sells to the nurseries and garden centres where we buy our plants.  Iain showed as some amazing pictures of the topiary which they have created.  Classiflora import their plants from across Europe for which they have to have a license because of diseases like Oak Processionary Moth.

Iain talked about the harsh winter we have just experienced and that the main shrubs which have suffered are Hebe’s, pittosporums, and myrtle.  He explained that it was not the cold itself that killed the plants, but the fact that we had a mild and wet autumn so the plants were full of moisture when the cold arrived overnight and the roots and branches froze.  (Of course tender plants will have also suffered).

A few other interesting facts Iain gave us: The Mediterranean often have the same weather as the UK, but a much longer summer season.  Wisteria takes years to flower because it takes that long for the wood to mature. Pot grown means the plant was grown in the pot, pot pressed means it was grown in the ground dug up and repotted into a pot for sale.  Grape vines have a 15 year lifespan when they are productive.  In the Med, Viburnums have smaller leaves as they adapted to the climate.  Olives can be pollarded which shocks them to regenerate and regrow.  There are modern varieties of Red Robbin which are smaller and more suited to smaller gardens.

 

 

From the rainforest to your living room, Nick Dobson May's meeting

 In May we had one of our popular speakers, Nick Dobson, return to give us not one but two presentations on garden topics.

 The first was titled From the rainforest to your living room. This was a talk all about plants that grow in the rainforests around the world, mainly the Amazon (in South America) and the Daintree (in Australia), but have now become popular as house plants in the UK where our climate generally does not provide suitable conditions for the plants to grow outside.

The Amazon rainforest got its name from the Amazonian tribe people. Some plants, which we would recognize from the Amazon, are the Rubber tree, which is used in hundreds of everyday products and Bromeliads, which produce bright flowers and are part of the pineapple family. Some bromeliads are also carnivorous (which means they eat meat (usually flies). Also the Passion Flower, which we can grow outside but requires moist soil, the Bougainvillea, which has mases of bright flowers and can go outside in the summer but must be brought into a heated greenhouse or conservatory for the winter, and Begonias, which are both house plants and used for summer bedding.

From the Daintree Tropical rainforest, we have such plants as the Phalaenopsis Orchid, which we grow as a popular houseplant and will flower for months if looked after well. It lives on trees, which is why when you get one it is not in soil but in bark chips. They need good light levels and an east or west-facing windowsill. There is the Idiot Fruit Tree (aka Dinosaur tree), which was thought to have died out but rediscovered in the Queensland Forest. These still contain original properties from the Dinosaur age, and tree ferns, which also date back to the dinosaur times.

 Our second talk was Through The Seasons and gave us some useful tips on growing plants in our gardens starting with early shrubs, followed by spring bulbs and then into summer bedding. The Petunia is related to the tobacco plant. When Alstroemerias have flowered, pull out the flowering stem rather than cutting it off as this promotes them to make more flower stems. Plant Gladioli 8 inches deep, as this will provide more support and require less staking. Don’t deadhead Canna Lilies as new flowers come from the dead flower.

 Bromeiads, 2nd/4th Pic. 4 x Orchids and Bougainvillea.

 

Paula Dyason from Strictly Daylilies April's meeting

In April, we had a wonderful talk and presentation by Paula Dyason from Strictly Daylilies. Daylilies proper name is Hemerocallis. In fact Hemerocallis are not lilies at all and were misnamed but it stuck. The talk was accompanied by some wonderful pictures and a selection of daylilies to purchase. (https://strictlydaylilies.com)

Paula told us her history, how she came from America when she married her English husband and started growing daylilies in their garden. She was then contacted by a nursery that was closing and bought all their stock. Paula now holds the national collection of British daylilies.

Paula told us that you could eat the petals and the buds just like courgette flowers, if that takes your fancy.

Paula told us how she hybridizes (propagates) new varieties. This is a 3-year process. Selecting the best ones in year 1, discarding the rest, and then selecting the best ones in year 2 and discarding the rest. Again in year 3 until the best have been selected for beauty, hardiness and longevity of flowering.

They are easy perennials to care for.

 Sun or part shade. They flower better in full sun but do require a moist soil, so water them.

 PH – not fussy.

 Low feeders so don’t generally need feeding unless you have very poor soil.

 Dead head to save wasted energy for the plant.

 Pests – They can get ‘Gall Midge’. This causes the buds to deform and fail to open. If you see this, pick them off and put in your black bin or burn. Don’t put in the green waste. The earlier varieties are more prone to the midge.

 The leaves tend to go messy once the plant has flowered, but you can cut them off without harming the plant. In fact, it will regrow and may reflower.

 To propagate, dig up the clump; rinse off the soil so you can see the crown; cut the foliage down to 2-3 inches, split the clump and then replant.