THE GARDEN

It's time for planting bare root roses and other plants in the garden. When the plants have been received check over the root system and snip off any dead or damaged roots, shoots or stems. Then soak the roots in a bucket of water for a few hours before planting. Dig a hole big enough to take the root system easily and dig in some Levington Rose, Tree & Shrub Compost into the base and mix some into the soil that you will fill the planting hole. This enriched compost is suitable for all trees and shrubs as well as with ericaceous plants. It contains enough nutrients to feed your new plant for the first season ensuring quick establishment and vigorous root activity. Firm in with your heal to obtain good contact between the roots and the new soil.

Finish planting spring bulbs with miniature iris, anemone blanda, crocus and tulips. At this time of the year your garden centre will probably offer bulbs at special prices, so get along there to pick up some bargains. Some people find that standard tulips that have stems that are over 45cm (18") tall can get blown about in the wind and snap off. If your garden is exposed to strong winds then plant sturdy varieties such as Lily flowered West Point (yellow), Jane Packer (signal red), Maytime (purple violet) and China Pink (rose flush). Tulips that fall within the Greigii group grow to about 30cm (12") and provide good colours such as Cape Cod (apricot orange edged with bright yellow) or Red Riding Hood (pillar box red). Even shorter are the waterlily tulips (Kaufmannia) which grow to only 25cm (10"). Look our for Stresa (golden yellow with fan shaped red markings) or Love Song (mandarin orange with yellow edges). As with all tulips underplanting with winter pansies, bellis, wallflowers or primroses will provide extra support in a very windy garden.

Tulips grow best in alkaline soils, although most soils are suitable as long as they are free-draining. To improve clay soils dig in generous amounts of garden compost or Levington Nature's Way Soil Improver & Mulch. The bulbs need to be planted fairly deeply so they have about 15 cm (6 inches) of soil above each bulb. Space each bulb 15cm (6in) apart.

Check any bulbs that are being forced and are growing in pots in cold, dark sheds or covered in bark or old compost. When hyacinths have developed a fat bud that is about 5cm (2") above the bulb remove from the dark. Gradually move into lighter conditions that are as cool as possible without danger of frost. Turning the pot every day will allow the foliage to become evenly green and the flower head to emerge straight. Remove daffodils when the foliage has grown to about 10cm (4") and grow on in a cool light position. When the plants are flowering indoors you will need to water regularly. By adding Miracle-Gro Houseplant Food to the water each week from flowering until it is planted out in the garden to complete its season of growth you will ensure that the bulb has sufficient energy to bloom outdoors next year.

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PATIO AND CONTAINERS

There doesn't have to be an empty gap between dying bedding plants and the resurgence of spring bulbs. Planting up tubs and window boxes with winter pansies, variegated ivy and purple flowering heather will provide colour and interest throughout the winter. A layer of shingle at the base of the pot will ensure good drainage and Levington Multi-Purpose Compost will ensure best results for root growth.

Many gardeners prefer to grow lilies in pots so that they can be put on display during the time when they are flowering and then hidden away discretely during the time they are just showing foliage. After 3 or 4 years growing in a pot they can become congested and flowering reduced. Re-potting the bulbs in better, rich compost will give the bulbs a new lease of life and allow you to grow the scores of bulblets that have formed in the compost into flowering-size plants.

Carefully lift the root ball and break open the compost to take out the large bulbs and check whether there are roots coming out of the stems as well as the base of the bulb. Repot 3 to a 30cm (12") pot. Most lilies are stem-rooting, producing roots both above and below the bulb. These should be placed on a 5cm (2") layer of fresh Levington Potting Compost covering the base of the pot. Gradually fill up the pot as the stem grows. The Basal-rooting types, such as Lillium candidum and L. canadens need to be positioned half way up the pot so that they are covered with just 5cm (2") of compost above the bulb.

Collect the small bulblets taken from the stem and plant 5cm (2") apart in deep trays or pans filled with fresh Levington Multi-Purpose Compost.

Weeds on patios, drives and paths can turn slippery and dangerous during winter and are best removed right now. On a bright frost-free day treat the whole area with Pathclear to kill existing weeds and prevent germination of seedlings for up to 3 months. A weed treatment now will ensure a clean start to spring.

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FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

VEGETABLES
Get digging any bare areas of soil while the soil is manageable and won't break your back. Before you dig one spadeful, spread a layer of organic matter onto the soil surface. You can use well-rotted garden compost, spent compost from summer pots, hanging baskets and growing bags or bags of Levington Farmyard Manure purchased from your local garden centre. The more you can dig in the better.

Adding organic matter in the winter will gradually improve soil structure, increase the millions of microbes in the soil and help the soil to retain moisture and nutrients next year so that you can grow better crops. Anyone who just feeds plants and doesn't grow good soil is only doing half a job. Adding organic matter regularly to the soil is vital. So too is a compost heap where all garden and kitchen waste can be rotted down to provide humus for your soil. Making natural, organic garden compost really is the epitome of domestic recycling. You dispose of all potato peelings and other uncooked vegetable waste at the site of production and it goes back into the soil without being artificially processed, moved in lorry or car or generally mucked about with. If I was Prime Minister I would make it an offence for garden owners to pass grass clippings or any other raw vegetable material into the domestic waste system. Owning and using a compost heap should be compulsory.

Enough of that. Get on with your digging. Dress warmly and dig a small area at a time, coming back to complete the job over several days if necessary. Remove any roots of perennial weeds as you come across them and dispose of them either by burning or in the dustbin.

Dig a few parsnips and leave these on the surface to catch the first winter frosts that sweeten these vegetables and improve their flavour no end.

Pot up small clumps of chives and place in the greenhouse or on the kitchen windowsill. If you use a rich compost such as Levington Potting then the nutrients in the compost will encourage new growth that can be trimmed back and used in cooking.

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FRUIT
Plant bare root fruit trees and bushes before the ground freezes solid. You can buy raspberry canes that fruit either in the summer or in the autumn. The autumn types can be grown with very little support and generally have a good flavour. However, they do not produce the weight of crop produced by modern summer fruiting varieties that are watered well and fed regularly with Miracle-Gro Water-Soluble Plant Food. Select plants that are certified to be virus-free and improve the soil with Levington Rose, Tree and Shrub Compost to encourage a strong root system.

After the leaves of gooseberry plants have fallen, remove the low growing branches and reduce the leading shoots by one third. In the case of blackcurrants cut out completely two or three of the oldest branches at ground level and cut out any branches that are crossing or damaged.

IN THE GREENHOUSE AND CONSERVATORY

Water sparingly plants such as fuchsias that are being overwintered in the greenhouse. The compost should not be kept permanently wet, but on the other hand it shouldn't be allowed to dry out completely.

Check for whitefly infestations and where these sap-sucking pests are spotted spray decorative plants with a greenhouse and conservatory insecticide called Polysect Ready to Use. Wash down the greenhouse glazing inside and out, scrub staging, framework and floors with a solution of disinfectant.

TOPICAL TIP

SUPPORT THE WEBSITE AND SHOP ON LINE

THE LAWN

Don't neglect the lawn through autumn. The grass may still need a cut to keep it looking even, although it shouldn't be cut too short. At this time of the year cut the average lawn down to only 3cm or fine-leaved lawns down to 2-2.5cm. The edges definitely need to be trimmed to give a crisp sharpness and any fallen leaves should be raked up to prevent bare patches.

If you have energy to spare, rake out the thatch that gathers on the soil surface and spike lawns that are growing on heavy clay soils. This will improve the amount of air getting to the grass roots and improve root activity.

It's not too late to dress the lawn with a treatment to help it through the winter. When the grass leaves are dry, spread EverGreen Autumn over the whole area. For lawns up to 100 sq. metres in size EverGreen Autumn comes in a handy spreader that is simple and quick to use. Just walk up and down the lawn covering the area with the granules. They soon get to work feeding the roots and encouraging a thicker, greener finish that will last until next spring.

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ALWAYS READ THE LABEL. USE PESTICIDES SAFELY
BugClear™ and BugClear Gun!™ contain bifenthrin. FungusClear™ and FungusClear Gun!™ contain penconazole. RoundupGC, Roundup Ultra 3000, Roundup Tough Weedkiller Ready to Use and Tumbleweed Original Extra Strong Gel contain glyphosate. Roseclear® 2 contains bupirimate, pirimicarb and triforine. RoseClear® Gun!™ contains bifenthrin and flutriafol. SlugClear™ Mini Pellets contain metaldehyde. Spotless® contains carbendazim. Verdone® Extra contains fluroxypyr, clopyralid and MCPA. Weedol® contains diquat and paraquat. Weedol® Gun!™ contains diquat.

®, ™, Miracle-Gro, and Scotts are trade marks of The Scotts Company or its affiliates. Roundup is the registered Trade Mark of Monsanto Company.

GARDENING INFORMATION FROM The Scotts Company (UK) Limited

WRITTEN BY JOHN CLOWES

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