If you are going to divide an existing parent plant, you can do it very easily at multiple points throughout the year. You have the option of taking your divisions and transplanting them immediately, or hanging onto them and transplanting them at a later date. When should you divide Astilbes? You can successfully divide your Astilbe in the autumn or at the beginning of spring. As is the case with most perennials the latter is…
While most palm trees need tropical temperatures there are a few that are suitable for planting outdoors in the UK. One of our personal favourites is the Trachycarpus forunei but Phoenix canariensis is also a popular choice and can often be seen in many gardens throughout the UK. These palm trees can add a lot of structure to your garden and really give it that tropical feel. Where can you grow hardy palm trees? Hardy…
Growing fruit trees in a container is not nearly as difficult as you would think and it actually brings with it some advantages. A smaller fruit tree in a container is much easier to move around your patio or garden to take advantage of the sun and the shade patterns throughout the day or throughout the seasons. If you don’t have soil or a position that is well-suited to a particular type of fruit, maybe…
Yucca plants produce sword-like leaves with tall flowering spikes. They are native to desert climates but have become quite popular for landscaping in gardens around the UK. If you have a Yucca plant growing outside and it’s grown too large for its space there is a great way that you can cut it back while still maintaining the architectural effect for which they are well known. Undertaking this method also means you get the added…
The Yucca plant can be an evergreen shrub, a small tree and some more tender varieties can be houseplants. With so many options available, you can choose between the dense or the loose rosettes of sword-shaped leaves, often variegated and bell-shaped flowers. The larger forms will lose a lot of the leaves at the lower part of the trunk with time, which means as your Yucca plant matures it exposes the trunk, much like a…
The New Zealand flax is a great evergreen shrub that can add a lot of shape and decoration to your garden. It’s a lovely plant that gives you architectural shape and colour all year round. It does get quite large and this is why regular pruning is important to maintain its shape and remove spent flowers and damaged foliage. However, if you let it get too big for the space provided it will start to…
The Phormium mealybug is a pest that originates from New Zealand and is able to thrive in the UK outside, even in the winter, which is unusual because all other types of mealybugs you will usually find in greenhouses because they need a warm temperature, but not the Phormium mealybug. Most mealybugs are a problem because they remove the sap from your plant, this can affect their growth rate and then they excrete excess sugar…
If you have a Cornus, commonly known as Dogwood, and it’s growing successfully and you now want to plant more of them in your garden, you can always propagate them by taking hardwood cuttings. Hardwood cuttings get their name because they are taken from the hard wood of the plant later in the season. When should you take Cornus cuttings? Hardwood cuttings are taken later in the season, usually in autumn but you can take…
Dogwood is a very popular ornamental tree that is known for its elegant foliage and bright red fruit. You also get the Cornus varieties such as Cornus alba and Cornus sanguinea that are grown for their brightly coloured winter stems and need to be pruned back hard in spring. Cornus is very strong but one downside to this shrub is the host of diseases that can infest a Dogwood tree and cause some serious problems,…
Dogwoods are known for having colourful stems all winter long and they require very little maintenance. If you want to enjoy vibrant colours throughout the winter you need to make sure you prune your tree properly, which means giving them a hard prune at the right time of year. When should you prune them? First off, you need to make sure you prune them at the right time of the year. This is either at…
