greentapestry : Nipping It In The Bud

Monday 9 January 2012

Nipping It In The Bud

Yesterday looked as if it was going to be one of those January days ~ the morning dawned cool, dull and the fine drizzle developed into full scale rain. Definitely a write off for any outdoor activities or so I thought but it eventually brightened up. After lunch I decided to potter in the greenhouse and to make a quick inspection of the estate. In the greenhouse the sweet peas I sowed almost in the middle of November have made a fair bit of growth. These were sown much later than normal as I had such poor germination with the first batch. These second sowings have germinated well (not all of them but enough). I was worried that it may be too late to get them going but apart from the one snowfall in December, we have had hardly any really cold nights so far. Time then to nip off the growing points as recommended to make for more sturdy and floriferous plants.

My small tray of cuttings looks happy and healthy so far - the above photo was taken in the third week of November.  I did not take many cuttings last autumn - perhaps I had visions of another extremely cold winter which would involve wrapping myself and cuttings with infinite swathes of horticultural fleece. In the event I wish I taken more. However there are a few penstemons, a pretty little purple Swan River daisy, some pinks from my Mum's garden, lemon verbena which I delighted in stroking to release a whiff of delicious scent and some physocarpus opulifolius 'Diablo'There are also a few cuttings of an edible plant which will briefly remain a mystery as it merits a blog post of its own.

I got caught up with some general tidying up in the greenhouse and sowed some seed for Veg Plotting's 'The 52 Week Salad Challenge', so in the end not much time to look at what was happening in the garden. It was exciting though to  see that another three of my little named snowdrop collection may open this week - 'Wendys Gold', 'John Gray' and 'Faringdon Double'. No doubt I will be running out every day whatever the weather to check on their progress.

5 comments:

  1. So far it has been a good winter for cuttings/propagation. I sowed sweet pea seeds quite early (Oct/Nov) and they've all done well. I've been pinching them out regularly.
    I also took lavender cuttings (successful), box cuttings (not successful) and cornus stem cuttings (too early to tell). I wish for a bigger greenhouse...

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  2. I haven't taken any cuttings at all, nor have I started off any sweetpeas. I shall definitely make sure that the sweetpeas get sown in spring as I didn't have any last year and really missed them.

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  3. Hello,
    I enjoy reading your blog. Thanks for your visit and comment on my blog post - Scavenger Hunt Sunday. It is a lot of fun - please join us next week at Ashley Sisk's blog. We will be looking for Stacked Up, Winter Wonderland, Sweet, Hole, and Frozen.
    Hope you have a great week!
    Lea
    Mississippi, USA

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  4. I'm sowing some sweetpeas this week. I tried sowing them before in Autumn but have lost them from the damp. I don't have a greenhouse so I try to not get carried away with having things I need to overwinter. Although saying that I have a cold frame stuffed with hardy annuals. So far they haven't succumbed to Botrytis so fingers crossed.

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  5. I love taking cuttings and am nearly always successful, this year my lavender cuttings are doing well. I will be sowing my sweet peas soon - I couldn't possibly think of a summer garden without them. Your cuttings look really healthy and should give you some fine additions to your garden.

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All your comments are much appreciated and treasured. I wil try to reply to everyone who leaves a comment, but it may take me a few days, especially when I start spending more time in the garden and at the lottie. I know that you will understand :) I am sure that I will also visit your blog if I have not already done so. If you have any specific questions I will either reply to them here or you can email me at : thegreentapestry@gmail.com

Namasté

- Anna.