Sunday, August 24, 2014

August Nursery notes

 August is the worst month for me as I have very little stock ready to take to market. When you grow a lot of perennials, grasses and sub-tropical style plants you play a waiting game until the weather warms up and these plants come back to life. I am not one for pampering plants by supplying the sub-tropicals with a warm glasshouse over winter so instead they have to tough it out with temperatures of 5C when they prefer a minimum of 10C. Hibiscus keep on flowering despite the cold though the petals fade to a pastel colour and the double flowered varieties fail to open properly.
 Winter flowering Hibiscus
 In a week or so I start to propagate grasses such as Miscanthus sinensis by division. This task is not one I look forward to as the sharp edged leaf blades invariably cut deeply into fingers however careful you are to avoid it happening It is only succulents which look terrific at this time of year as many such as Echeveria and Crassula respond to the cold weather by producing richer and or more vibrant colours.



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