Notes for February Part 1

The new crop of Wisterias appear on our new availability list – we have just grafted them and they will be ready for May despatch in a one litre pot. Potted under protection they will make saleable plants for next spring. We have concentrated on the two most popular varieties:
Macrobotrys has long pale blue flowers which can reach over 1m, while
Black Dragon is double and most effective as the buds open when the effect is very intense violet.
We also have other shades of lilac and blue, plus pinks and white as well. Ask for the full cribsheet if you want to know more or download it from our website http://www.jackdawsfield.co.uk/ where it will appear shortly.

We also graft Campsis (Mme Galen, red, and Flava, yellow) which may seem perverse when they are quicker, easier and cheaper to grow form cuttings. However as take our scion wood form flowering plants the result is young plants that flower in the first year (unlike cutting raised) on the ends of the new growth in mid-summer, thus giving a good sales opportunity.

We have a ridiculously wide range of Dieramas available and without exception they are charming in flower, although unfortunately shy to start flowering. The trick is to grow some to flowering size and use this as living labels to sell younger ones. Again a cribsheet will shortly be available on request or on line. They can be grown outside in summer but I think they need protection from winter wet without which they will not survive the cold, but don’t dry them out too much as they can go dormant.

Another aid available is a hardiness chart linking minimum temperatures, USDA hardiness zones and RHS AGM hardiness ratings. As our winters change many plants rated as hardy to –5o C (USDA Zone 9, RHS H3) are proving hardy over a much wider area and its is a shame not to try some. I will be using USDA numbers with reference to plants that are new to our list.

We have an extensive range of Bearded Irises available and in addition to those listed we have the following available in one litre pots (trays of 8) at £1.25 each. At this size they are almost certain to flower.
95 Vonnies Wedding Iris – classic pale blue, tall.
50 Pink Lavender – mauve pink lavender self, tall ( I didn’t coin that phrase).
130 English Cottage – violet plicata on white, medium, repeat flowering, tall.
170 Dancer’s Veil – ruffled white with violet-blue markings.
171 Azap – cobalt blue – short.

Notes for June part 2

More varieties of Fuchsias are appearing on the list now and we do have a handy crib sheet available. We have chosen these either because they have newly received the AGM or because they were recommended to us as a result of the RHS trial. All are ‘hardy’ varieties and it will be interesting to see over the course of time if any can challenge the supremacy of Mrs Popple, Tom Thumb and the like. We will supply 5 per variety at 50p each if you want to try new ones.

At the risk of teaching the sucking of eggs we have had a number of comments about leaf problems on Phormiums – damage starts as streaks that develop into unsightly holes. The problem is fungal, but can be largely prevented by attention to keeping the leaves as dry as possible – if you are not using sub-irrigation then make sure you water early in the day and that, under protection, there is adequate ventilation to reduce the humidity.

Over-wintering outside is risky, and under cover make sure the plants are not being dripped on. We use Octave if we think a problem might be developing.

There has been a rapid increase in the ease of plastic recycling and because we can now only use a certain amount of used pots we would prefer not to take pots back unless you find you cannot get them recycled (we can give you a good contact). However we do like to have our marketing trays returned if possible.