“ It never rains , but it pours ” is an English locution which think of that when bother come , they all occur together . This week the musical phrase might have been go for literally to the flood we experienced in East Kent . striking thunder storms on Monday night were followed by almost 24 hour of persistent , but very welcome rain . windowpane box and containers that were teetotal and wilting on Sunday rapidly became impregnate , which must have amount as quite a shock to the parched plants growing within .
There are four consequence of heavy pelting come after a period of drouth in summer : the speedy emergence of cache of maraud molluscs ; a Wehrmacht of pot follow on behind ; flattening of plants that have savor too much of the undecomposed life story ; and furious rates of growth . I ignore the prognosis on Sunday and pressed in front with watering , which equate to five hours of my animation that I will never get back . Mollusc - wise I come off lightly . Snails and slugs cause much less scathe to mature plants , and will often fill themselves with leaves and peak that have decrease to the primer coat . Years of picking off and ‘ relocating ’ the trivial blighters has cut , but not eliminated , the problem in my garden . The conjuration is to never give in .
Weeds , however , have a stealthy mode of appear a few days after the rain when one ’s safeguard is down , quickly colonise any patches of bare earth . I make a wont of not creating such chance , but where I have recently planted a long row of pinks there is already an ominous slip of pellitory of the wall ( Parietaria judaica ) . I lie with I should love all plants , but in this one it is hard to find any virtue . It is persistent , finds its path into any corner or cranny , is weedkiller resistent ( one might tame it after three or four attempts ) , is beloved by molluscs as a concealing place , has extremely irritating pollen and disseminate like wildfire . One year ’s seeds most definitely equates to seven years ’ seeds in this case .
It is tempting not to stake or affiliation - in plants when they come along to be indorse themselves adequately , but this is usually a misapprehension , peculiarly if you live on in an queer locating as I do . Plants that have done most of their grow during all right weather may not have developed sufficient strength in their bow to detain upright in idle words and rainwater . As in world , the tough specimen are often brought up in the most challenging status . When it fall to provide financial support , bar is always better than cure . Do n’t leave it until you have to go out in a storm and wriggle with a wet , writhing tree that ’s already at a 45º angle . I ’ve been there , and it ’s not funny . As well as deadheading , do keep on top of debris that ’s dropped to the ground as it can turn into a harbour for pests and diseases .
When it ’s warm and humid most plants will mature like topsy if on a regular basis waterered , peculiarly those from subtropical climate . My ginger , dahlias and fuchsia have respond as if they ’ve been yield steroids , producing boastful , lusher leaves and lots of bud . I watch out for any that are becoming top heavy or at risk of collapsing under their own weight . It does not hurt to trim leave , stems and branches that are making a constitution unbalanced . I do this regularly to prevent the most ambitious plants take over .
Two days later I translate a public press passing suggesting we are in for a hose ban . If that come to pass I will be unphased , as I tend to water using a can rather than a hosepipe . Many works have already reach their optimum size so do n’t need to be promote to acquire further . With Lord’s Day and warmth come flowers , and with flowers come odour and smiles . Wishing you a lovely weekend ahead . TFG .
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Categories : Container horticulture , Flowers , Foliage , Musings , Our Coastal Garden , plant , Practical Advice , Uncategorized , Weather
Posted by The Frustrated Gardener
