Amateur Gardening – 21 May 2019

11 MAY 2019AMATEUR GARDENING 13

Toughen up those plants

Prepareyourtenderplantsforlifeoutside,saysRuth

I

HAVEdelayedmovingourtender
plantsoutsideaswehada cold
starttoApril,butI amcracking
onwithit now.Becausetheplants
havespentseveralmonthsi th
warmthofa greenhouseor
conservatory,theshockof
thegarden’schangeable
conditionscouldstunt
developmentand even
killthemoff.
Tosurvive,theyneed
tobe‘hardenedoff’by
graduallyacclimatisingthem
tolifeoutsidebybeinglefto
forlongerperiodsovertwo
weeksuntiltheyarefullyhardy.This
processmakestheplants’leavesthicker
andmorewaxyso they can withstand
theelements.
Thereareseveralstagesin the
hardening-off process. Plants

overwinteredin a heatedenvironment

shouldfirstgotoanunheated

greenhousefora coupleof weeksand

thenintoa coldframe.Seedlingsin

h t d ropagatorsshouldbe

vedona dulldayto

ducetheriskof wilting

directsunlight.

Plantsin anunheated

greenhouseshouldgo

straightintoa coldframe,

withthelidopenedduring

e dayandclosedat night

hefirstweek.Thenleave

d open24/7untiltheplants

y togoin theground.

Plantsmovedtoanunheated

greenhousefromindoorscanfollow

a similarregime.If youdon’thavea cold

frame,a shelteredspotanda coupleof

layersof fleeceworkjustaswell.Read

page 16 for more hardening tips from Bob!

Lemonsflower

through winter

1

Graduallyacclimatiseplantstolife

outsidein a coldframe,leavingthe

lidopenduringthedayandclosing it

at night for the first two weeks.

How to harden off your plants

2

Fleeceis anexcellentalternative.

Setplantsin a shelteredspotand

coverthemwithfleeceduringthe

night for the first couple of weeks.

Usea coldframetoprepare

tender plants for moving outside

1

Keeplemontreesin shape

bypinchingofffast-growing

shootsfromthecrown and the

base of the trunk.

2

Forthebestresults,giveyour

citrustreesa high-nitrogen

summerfeedbetweennowand

October and irrigate with rainwater.

3

Ourpotteredoliveneeded

a boostafterwinter,soI

top-dressedit withfreshcompost

and fed with manure pellets.

4

Agenerouswateringhelped

perkit upandit willsoonbe

backonthepatioforsummer. I will

repot it next spring.

Plants of

the Med

Getting olives and lemons ready

Step

by step

Lemonandolivetrees

overwinteredundercover

canmovedtoa sunnypatio

oncefrostshavefinished.

Coverwithfleeceon

chilly nights.

Thegreenhousehasbeen

packed with tender plants