Amateur Gardening – 24 August 2019

24 AUGUST 2019AMATEUR GARDENING 7

Truegrit!Bulbshateheavy,wetsoil

solightenclaybydiggingin lotsof

grit or manure before planting.

Time to plant colchicums

W

HILEwearestilla few

weeksawayfromplanting

nextyear’sspring

bulbs,thisis

perfecttimetocarry

outsomeplantingfor

autumncolour.

Colchicumsarebest

plantednow.Theirpinkor

whitebloomswillburst

forthin Septemberand

Octoberwithoutany

foliage(oneof thereasons

theircommonnameis ‘nak

ladies’)andthendie back a

a fewweeks.

Theleavesflourishin springand

returnenergytothebulbwhenthey

wither and die, providing food for next

year’sflowers.Thebulbscanlastfor

yearssotheyarea wiseandbeautiful

investmentforthegarden.

y willdobestin sunny,

-drainingsoilthathas

enenrichedwithlotsof

ell-rottedcompostor

manure.Plantthebulbs

round4in(10cm)apart

o theirtipsarejust

elowthesurface,infill,

aterwellandyou’llbe

ardedwitha glorious

d of colour in about

Thisis alsoa goodweekforsalvaging

anyoldspringbulbsthatyouwantto

move,suchasthosegrowingin pots

that you fancy using for something else.

Start them now and they will flower this year, saysRuth

Stunningcolchicumscanbeplantedin

late summer for fl owers in a few weeks’ time

1

Clearthesowingareaofweeds

anddebris,raketoa fine,

crumbly tilth and water generously.

2

Scattertheseedsthinlyover

thepreparedsoil.If theyfall

tooclosetogether you can thin

seedlings later.

3

Carefullyrakea littlesoilover

theseedsandlabelthem.

Protectthemfromcats and hungry

birds and rodents.

Sow free

poppies

Thisweek’s

freeseeds

arefora

wonderful

newvariety

of poppy.

‘American

Legion’

bloomshave

glorious

scarletpetals

withdiscreet

whitecrosses

in theircentre.

Thesehardyannualscanbesown

directnowandtheseedlings cloched

during very cold weather.

Step

by step

Plantcolchicumsnow

for autumn colour

1

Emptycontainerbulbsintoa

wheelbarroworontoplastic

sheetingandsortthroughthebulbs,

discarding any that are rotten or soft.

Salvaging container spring bulbs

Colchicumscanbe

planted in lawns

2

Placethebulbsin a trayandstore

themsomewherewarmanddry

sotheyarereadytoplantelsewhere

in September and October.

Alamy