Tuber time... but blooms persist (From Gazette & Herald)

Tuber time... but blooms persist

10:20am Saturday 5th November 2011 in Gardening By Gina Parkinson

Autumn is definitely into its stride and the dahlias need lifting. But GINA PARKINSON finds that a new Echinacea is still providing an uplifting splash of colour.

THE ARRIVAL of the penultimate month of the year has been gentle with mild temperatures for the garden as it continues its slow fall into dormancy.

There is no doubt, however, that autumn is well into its stride despite the blue skies and sunshine we have been lucky to have, and a walk in the garden soon confirms this.

Although we have had balmy days, the night temperatures have been cold enough to blacken the foliage and stems on dahlias. They aren’t dead but the tubers need to be lifted as soon as possible so that they can be stored for the winter.

This is done by cutting back the dead stems and foliage to just above ground level. Then lift the whole plant up and away from the soil with a fork, taking care not to pierce the tuber with the tines. Brush off as much soil as possible; then leave the tuber to dry in a cool garage or shed for a few days, until the remaining soil has dried enough to be completely removed.

The tuber then needs be stored in a box of sand or dry compost, or even a brown paper bag, somewhere frost free and dry.

In February, the cycle begins again when the wizened tubers are brought back out. Some may already be starting to shoot by then, and should be potted up and watered. Before long they will have grown into sturdy young plants ready to be hardened off and planted into the garden once the frosts have passed.

In November, the flower beds are a sorry sight, but among the rotting leaves one or two herbaceous perennials still manage to open a flower or two. These flowers shine out, distracting the eye for a moment with a colour that glows softly in the low November sun.

An Echinacea planted in our garden in July is at this stage. Still a young plant, it has nevertheless managed to produce a succession of blooms for months, only a couple at any one time this year, but with the promise of many more next summer. It is growing with Verbena Edith Edelmann, which has shocking-pink flowers that contrast, or perhaps clash, with the colour of the Echinacea.

The plants have grown together nicely this year. Both being young, they may have been lost as individuals, but the contrast of the flower shapes and the blending of the pink shades have produced an interesting clump even in their first year in the garden.

The verbena is a short lived hardy perennial but by the time it needs replacing the Echinacea will be big enough to make its own impact.

Weekend catch-up

HOSTAS have filled the garden with clumps of big leaves since April, but they are a soggy mess now with yellowed, collapsed foliage.

This happens so suddenly. They decorate the beds for months, gradually turning to gold; overnight they lose all strength and before long the leaves lay translucent and damp over other plants or onto the lawn.

Now it the time to cut them back taking off all the leaves back to the base of the plant, which will stay dormant until next spring when new shoots will begin to appear through the soil.

In the veg patch

THERE is still time to plant winter-hardy broad beans, especially if there are a few seeds left from this year’s spring planting.

The seeds can be sown directly into the ground or, if hungry mice are a problem, started off in pots of compost and planted out when they are 15cm/6ins or so high.

If the weather turns very cold, the young plants can be protected by cloches or a plastic tunnel. With luck they will get through the winter and produce an early crop of sweet young beans perfect for early summer salads and risottos.

Gardening TV and Radio

Tomorrow

8am, BBC Radio Humberside, The Great Outdoors. With Blair Jacobs and Doug Stewart.

9am, BBC Radio Leeds, Tim Crowther and Joe Maiden.

2pm, BBC R4, Gardeners’ Question Time. Eric Robson is in the chair for a postbag edition of the programme from Sparsholt College in Hampshire. Kate Bradbury looks at caring for a garden pond in winter and the gardening weather forecast is at 2.40pm. (Repeated from Friday).

Friday

3pm, BBC R4, Gardeners’ Question Time. Eric Robson and his team of experts help gardeners from Melrose in the Scottish Borders with their horticultural problems. Bunny Guinness visits Priorwood Dried Flower garden in Melrose and the gardening weather forecast is at 3.40pm. (Repeated on Sunday at 2pm).

Saturday, November 12

7am, BBC Radio York, Julia Booth. Julia and gardening expert Nigel Harrison hold their weekly plant surgery.