It could be that the size of the flowers are too large for the stem. If that’s the case feed the plant on potash to encourage growth and flowering.
Read full articleIt's the age-old question, do I need to chill my bulbs or not? We put this question to Paul Hoek from NZ Bulbs who says only tulips and hyacinths require any chilling.
And, if your winter has at least five or six frosts you don’t even need to chill them before planting. Don’t start chilling till late March – too early and you will stunt the flower bud development. Chill the bulbs for four to eight weeks in a paper bag in the fridge – not the freezer! And try to keep fruit out of the fridge when you’re chilling bulbs as ripening fruit releases a gas called ethylene which can damage the developing flower bud in the bulb. For more details about chilling, check out this helpful fact sheet from NZ Bulbs
Read full articleTry removing old summer leaves and side dress with Nitrophoska Blue mixed with Gypsum
Read full articleInstead of groundcover I would recommend using peastraw. Peastraw is great for roses because they feed off the surface and the peastraw produces nitrogen. Simply use a hoe to dig up the existing weeds and then spread the peastraw onto the soil. Reapply it the following year. It will keep the moisture in during summer and provide fertiliser the rest of the year. Or you could try growing Catmint (Nepeta) among your roses.
Read full articleBecause the soil will be dry and hard I would recommend conditioning your soil. Dig a soil conditioner, peat, compost and gypsum (all available from garden centres) through your soil to improve its structure. The plants will grow a lot better if they have a kick start of nutrients. Plants that love the shade and would be suitable for these conditions include astellias, clivias, acanthus, ligularia, day lilies and stachys. They also all have a great range of contrasting leaves.
Read full articleClivia is a bit like agapanthus. Unless the actual crown is quite thick or large it won’t flower. Keep doing what you’re doing and yours will flower in a year or two when they mature.
Read full articleDaphnes can take a couple of years to flower. If you have the odd yellow leaf on your daphne this could be caused by the position of the plant in your garden. Ensure the daphne has sun but partly shaded in cool soil high in humus, ph 5.5 to 6.5 and consistently moist.
Read full articleYes, definitely. Removing dead flower heads from your dahlias will keep new flowers coming. It also prevents the plant from wasting energy with seed production, which allows the tuber to concentrate on growing as much as possible for next season.
Paul Hoek, NZ Bulbs
Read full articleFertiliser wont help so I'd suggest waiting until its finished flowering and give it a light trim.
Read full articleUse a slow release fertiliser such as Debco Green Jacket and keep the plant root bound.
Read full articleDepending on the time of year, we have several varieties of lavender seedlings and plants available to purchase.
Lady lavender (first pic) and the two bandera varieties pink (second pic) and purple (third pic) are all perfect for growing in pots as they only grow to around 20cm high. They will also grow well as edging or in low hedges.
The bandera lavenders (also known as Spanish lavender) produce flowers with beautiful flags (bracts) on top in their respective colours.
Hidcote (fourth pic) grows to around 35cm tall and, along with lady lavender, has a deep purple colouring.
Munstead (fifth pic) grows a little taller at 50cm high and is often grown in borders or garden beds.
French (dentata) (sixth pic) is the perfect lavender for creating a hedge as it grows to 100cm or more tall and can be trimmed easily with a hedge trimmer to make a uniformed-looking hedge. French has a similar flower to the bandera varieties but the colour is closest to munstead which we would describe as a ‘lavender’ purple.
They all produce a lovely lavender fragrance and all are loved by bees.
Read full article
