116 August 2019 http://www.yourhomemagazine.co.uk
Christmas may seem like a long way away
but if you want to grow Prepared hyacinths
for your home, then now is the time to order
the bulbs for planting from the end of the
month onwards. Why not also grow some
as presents for friends and family, everybody
appreciates the time and effort lovingly
invested in a homemade gift.
When handling Prepared hyacinths wear
gloves as they can cause skin irritations. Bulb
fibre is the best medium to grow the bulbs in
because it is free draining and not too rich in
nutrients. Cover the base of the container you
Going underground
ImagesTaylors Bulbsare using with
a layer of bulb
fibre, place
the bulbs on
top, close
together but
not touching,
and then fill
in the gaps
with more
fibre, leaving
just the noses
of the bulbs
showing at
the surface.
Water the
compost so
it becomes
moist but not overly soaked.
To force the bulbs into flower for Christmas,
they need to be kept in a cool, dark, frost-free
place to encourage root development. A dark
corner of the garage, cellar or cupboard in a
cool room would work well.
After roughly eight weeks, or when the
shoots have reached 4-5cm in height, they
can be brought out of the dark and placed in
a cool, light room. After a few more weeks
place them in the warmth to flower in time
for Christmas.
Other lovely bulbs to grow for Christmas
displays include ‘Paper White’ Narcissi (left)
and Amaryllis (Hippeastrum, right).what to do in the fruit garden
Towards the end of August, when the
last of the summer fruiting raspberries
have been picked, prune the spent canes
down to ground level, leaving just the new
fresh green soft canes that will carry next
year’s fruit.
If you want a continuous crop of fruit,
then grow autumn fruiting raspberries
too but keep the two groups separate as they✓
✓
✓require a different pruning regime. Autumn
fruiting raspberries produce fruit on the current
seasons new growth so all old canes need be
cut to ground level after fruiting at some point
during winter.
As soon as strawberries start growing
actively they will begin to send out several
new little plantlets. These are formed on the end
of very long stems and referred to as runners.
Strawberry plants are
productive for a limited period,
usually around three years,
and should be discarded after
that so propagate some of the
runners to use as replacements
for old plants. This is a simple
process, just lift the runner and
peg the little plantlet into a
small pot of compost and keep
in situ, (right) remembering to
water it regularly. At the end
of the season cut the plantlet
free from the mother plant as
it will have formed its own rootImageRHSsystem. Remove any unused runners because
the plant will produce a poorer crop if it is
putting all its energy into the formation of
too many new plants.