Vegetables

Cripes…Look at the calendar! In spite of my best intentions, I still haven’t put anything into the ground. It’s a pity, but working for an income has to take precedence.

If you're in the same boat, I am sure we will manage to get something done. We may be too late for some crops, but we should be able to sow lettuce and other salad leaves; peas should still be alright and dwarf beans should be worth a go. Of course, we will also be able to plant tomato, pepper, cucumber, melon, courgette and aubergine plants, as they appear in the shops.

Work that I have been doing involves preparing various gardens in readiness for the summer. Other than the regular mowing and weeding tasks, this generally has involved the heavy pruning of hedges and shrubs. This is a good time for this type of work because, as the weather warms up, the plants soon put on sufficient new growth to cover any bareness. A plant that is pruned heavily at the start of winter can look pretty bare for a long time.

Apart from clearing pathways and sightlines, many plants benefit from a regular pruning to help them keep their shape. Some plants can soon get "leggy" with bare bases or centres. Correct pruning can also encourage more flowers/fruits (of course, incorrect pruning can reduce them). The cannas in the picture are an example of a herbaceous perennial that benefits from having all the dead growth cut right away in the spring.

Different types of plants produce flowers on different types of wood. Generally speaking, if a plant produces flowers on new wood (growth that it has been made that season) heavy pruning encourages lots of new wood and, therefore, flowers. Similarly, plants grown for thief foliage will produce lots of bright, new leaves.

 
 On the other hand, if a plant flowers on older wood, a heavy pruning will remove most of the flower producing wood. This type of plant is generally best if it is more selectively pruned with just one or two older branches completely removed to encourage regeneration. Of course, if you must heavily prune this type of plant, expect a spectacular show the following year.

As a general rule, always prune to just above a bud, prune away all dead and damaged wood and try to remove all inward growing branches to allow as much light and air as possible to reach the centre of the plant.

Flowering Now

As I write this column, I am waiting in anticipation for my Pride of Madeira plant to flower. Echium candicans comes from Madeira, and is a quick growing shrub that can become more than two metres in height. Not all shops will stock the plant because it soon outgrows its pot and begins to look stunted. I came across mine in a garden centre last spring and bought it even though I didn’t have a ready spot in the garden. True to form, it soon started to look a little sad in its pot but, when it was finally put into the ground, it put on masses of new growth. The base of the plant should eventually become woody and, it should throw up spikes of mauve flowers starting in March. After flowering it will need to be heavily pruned so as to keep its shape.