Amateur Gardening – 29 June 2019

8 AMATEUR GARDENING 29 JUNE 2019

Looking after citruses

These plants will appreciate a summer outside, says Ruth

O

UR container lemon tree is
now out on the patio and
thriving in the warmth. It had
started to look a little under
par during the last few weeks of its
greenhouse confinement, but with
feeding, watering and vine weevil
treatment it is now bouncing back.
Luckily, citruses are robust plants, and
with light, warmth and care they usually
recover well from any setbacks, even
when they look almost dead.
Summer is when citruses come
into their own. They are self-fertile
and produce their first flush of flowers
in May, with repeat bloomings
throughout the summer that can
potentially set fruit each time.
They are easy to keep in shape by
simply pinching out fast-developing
shoots growing at the wrong angle.
Lemons in particular will fruit heavily,
and you may need to remove some fruits
as they develop to stop the branches
from snapping under their weight when
they start to mature.
If kept somewhere reliably warm and
dry, like a conservatory or greenhouse,

you may need to water your citrus every

day – check its compost first so you

don’t overwater it.

Use rainwater to keep compost damp

It’s time to consider a wildlife meadow

Create a grassland haven for insects and other wildlife – and cut down on the mowing!

O

UR wildflower meadow is
getting more magnificent
and interesting with each
passing year, and attracting an
increasing number of insects that in turn
bring in birds, bats and other wildlife.

This spring the unmowed area was

transformed into a dazzling splash of

golden buttercups. These are almost

over now and are being replaced by

ox-eye daisies, red and white clover, and

pretty pink wild peas. Later in the

summer the long grasses will be

dotted with wild geraniums

and scabious, and the area

will be a haven for many

types of butterflies,

moths, beetles and

grasshoppers.

There are several

ways to create a

meadow in your

garden. The easiest

is to simply choose a

patch somewhere sunny

and stop mowing it. It will soon

start to look a little untidy, but will

be sprinkled with clover, daisies and

other flowers that the bees and other

pollinators will love.

The option we chose was to wait until

September and then sow the grass with

yellow rattle (Rhinanthus minor). This is a

very pretty hemiparasitic plant that

grows among grasses and weakens

their root systems, making it easier

for wildflowers to grow through.

Don’t feed the area of lawn

you are planning to rewild

because wild plants do

best on poor soils.

You can then buy

a wildflower seed

mix, either from a

commercial retailer or a

specialist outlet such as

 wildflower.co.uk or

 meadowmania.co.uk.

These companies will

provide specific mixes of

flowers and grasses for your

location and soil type. Many of the seeds

are perennial and may take a couple of

years to establish, but once they do you

will have a fabulous meadow lawn that is

rich in colour and natural interest.

Wildfl ower and grass

mixes are widely

available from

commercial and

specialist retailers

Meadows are rich in

plants and animal life

Keep your citrus

in good shape

by pinching out

fast-growing

wayward shoots

you may need to water your citrus every without saturating the container, and

feed with a summer citrus fertiliser that

is high in nitrogen. Misting the leaves

regularly will also help fruits to set.

Feed with high-

nitrogen fertiliser

Foliar feeds

help plants thrive