Amateur Gardening – 24 August 2019

4 AMATEURGARDENING 24 AUGUST 2019

Time to revamp and revive

W

Earein thattwilightzone
ofsummerwhenmany
plantsarepasttheir
firstflourishbutcanbe
broughtbackbysome timely cutting
backandfeeding.
Containerstoomayhavepeakedand
caneitherbereplacedor
energisedbysomejudic
plantreplacement.If you
areconscientiouswith
yourcareyoucankeep
themgoingwell
intoautumn.
Deadheading
regularly,wateringdaily
(twicein prolongedhot,
dryconditions)andfeedi
weeklywitha high-potas
tomatofertiliserwillkeep
goingrightuptothefirstfrost.Don’t
neglectyourpest-controlduties.either;
snails,slugsandvineweevilscan
destroya containerarrangement in a
triceif youaren’tvigilant.
Ihavespentmuchof thisweek
tidyingcontainersandcreatingspace
in theareasof borderswherecrowded
plants are falling into each other’s space,

whichstuntstheirfullpotentialand

alsocreateshideawaysforpestsand

idealconditionsforproblems such as

powderymildew.

Largespreadingperennialssuch

ashardygeraniumandmasterwort

(Astrantiamaor) canbeshearedback

emtidyandhopefully

agesecondblooms.

ut backcollapsedand

shedShastadaisies,

o – if you’reluckyyou

ayfinda moundof

ealthynewgrowth

elowthatwillgrow

d flowerformonths

ome(lastyearoneof

lantsflowered right

h winter).

vampeda permanent

containerplantedarounda central

standardceanothus,startingby

deadheadingthe shrub and removing

anyweeds.

Somedwarfwhitehelleboreswere

leftin placeforearlyspringflowering,

butI havefilledthegapswitha selection

of autumnalbeddingplants to brighten

the next few months.

See out the summer with some added colour, saysRuth

Afterdeadheadingtheceanothusandadding

new plants, there’s life in the old pot yet

1

Cutoffspentblossomheads

fromyourshrubandremoveany

branchesthatlookdead, damaged,

diseased or feeble.

2

Checkthehealthof

underplantings,removing

weeds, old blooms and tatty leaves.

3

Removethetop2in(5cm)of

compostandreplacewith

fresh.Don’tdothisafterthismonth

asit mayprovokenewgrowththat

may be damaged by winter’s cold.

4

Plantnewvarietiesaroundthe

basetoprovidelastingcolour

between now and the first frost.

Revamping

a fading

container

Add new and revitalise old plants

Step

by step

Keepdeadheading

container annuals

Shearbackclump-

formingperennials

after fl owering

Petuniashavebeen

a hit this year