Plant of the Week: Salix caprea pendula
The Kilmarnock willow is perhaps the best-loved of small garden trees, a graceful little thing no taller than a person with arching branches cascading in a waterfall of fresh green foliage all summer. Its best season, though, is early spring when the 'pussy willow' catkins erupt from bare branches like furry golden dormice, so soft you won't be able to resist stroking them as you pass.
In the open garden, give your Kilmarnock willow a damp, sunny spot to show it off at its best: they are so architectural they make very fine specimen trees for the centre of a lawn. They're also very happy in large containers, though make sure you keep it well watered as willows never like to dry out.
Keep the tree's lovely waterfall shape with a little light pruning in winter, taking out any shoots growing in the wrong direction and spoiling its shape, plus any which are showing signs of disease or which have died back. Every few years, shorten new growth by about a third to encourage the tree to produce lots of new shoots and keep its dense curtain of foliage looking good.
Sometimes in veg-growing, as in life, the golden oldies are the best.
Older 'heritage' veg varieties aren't often found in the shops, as they aren't uniformly shaped, sometimes don't store or travel well, and are difficult to harvest mechanically. That means the only way to enjoy their…Read more »
If you haven't got a bed suitable for your strawberry plants, plan where you want to grow them ; a sunny, sheltered spot is ideal. Now mark the area out, remove turf if it's lawn, then dig the soil over adding well-rotted farm manure. If you are planting bare root strawberries soak the plants roots in water for about an hour before planting. Pot grown plants will be happy with a good watering. Set plants in the soil leaving 13-15in (33-38cm) between each plant in the rows and 30in (75cm) between each row. The crown of each plant should be at or slightly above ground level. Firm plants in then water them well. Lay straw or a weed suppressing mulch between the rows. This will help to prevent any mud splashing onto the fruits when it rains or when the plants are watered. It will also keep weeds down, which will mean less work in the long run. Hoe the bed or weed through by hand at least once a week in the growing season. <strong>Growing on </strong>When your strawberry plants have established they will start to produce runners. If you have new plants remove these runners as they appear. Year-old plants will need to put all their energy into establishing themselves and producing good-sized, tasty fruits. Pick the fruits as they ripen. If you leave them too long they will either rot or the birds will have them! <strong>Other ways of growing strawberries</strong> There are two other ways to grow your strawberries, which will be helpful to you if you don't have enough space to make a bed. 1 - Plant your strawberry plants in large pots or containers. Three strawberry plants will grow happily in a 20in (50cm) by 20in (50cm) pot filled with multipurpose compost. Because the plants aren't in the ground they will also need watering regularly and some nutrients added. Feed them once a week during the growing season with a high-potash liquid fertiliser such as Tomorite. 2 Strawberries will also grow in grow-bags. These are available from any garden centre. You can fit three strawberry plants in one bag. Just make sure they get watered and fed regularly, as I explained above. ;
A. Luff & Sons Ltd
Welcomes you to Ripley Nurseries - Garden Centre and Farm Shop we are located on the Old Portsmouth Road coaching route between Cobham and Guildford just 2 miles from RHS Wisley in the Village of Ripley. Our Farm Shop is full of fresh produce and local products with a dedicated Florist and Garden Sundries department. We have been serving the local community since 1895 see our history page and among our patrons we served Sir Winston Churchill at Chartwell and Wimbeldon Tennis grounds.