October Newsletter

Let the Joy of Roses Enter your World Here we are heading towards the bleak days of winter and all the cold winds that October can throw at us. Well stop thinking that way and get positive! Just close your eyes and imagine you are sitting out in your garden in July surrounded by a lovely rose bed awash with an abundance of colour and producing the sweetest of perfumes. Autumn is the traditional time for planting bare root and pot-grown roses, as the roses are dormant they settle into their new homes better. Remember….Gardening is all about forward planning, plant now for colour tomorrow. Horky's tip: When planting new roses always prepare the planting area thoroughly, by digging in about a bucket full of Westland Farmyard Manure per m2. Taking the time to do this will help create the ideal growing medium for your new roses to thrive, and produce lots of strong growth in the spring. Before planting always water your roses thoroughly by soaking the root ball or pot in a bucket of water before planting. The ideal planting hole is circular, wider than the root spread and about a foot deep. Scarify the sides of the hole with a fork, to break up the side walls. This enables better root penetration into the surrounding soil. Remember for all your gardening questions we are only a phone call away on 071 38870 or the click of a mouse away on www.gardencentre.ie and you can e mail us on sligo@gardencentre.ie We look forward to hearing from you. Horky Says: Here in the West of Ireland it is important that you select good strong proven varieties. The Roses that you read about in magazines, may work brilliantly in a sheltered garden in London but try doing the same here and you are into a different game altogether. Roses with proven track records here in the West that are available for planting now include some wonderful compact, climbing and scented roses. 'Trumpeter' roses are fantastic plants which seem to produce an impossible amount of flowers at any one time (between 50 - 60), the strong scarlet red flowers can be contrasted superbly by planting 'Korresia' as it's neighbour. This is also a free-flowering rose, with compact shape and growth with strong yellow coloured blooms. To introduce some fantastic aroma around the front door, underneath windows, beside seating areas or indeed anywhere around the garden try planting roses from our 'Fragrant Collection' these again are tried and tested roses, ideal for growing here in the West of Ireland. 'Sexy Rexy' is a fabulous rose that produces a mass of double pink flowers all summer long. 'Margaret Merill' is another rose with a super compact shape that produces a mass of white fragrant blooms right throughout the summer. 'Silver Jubilee' is an alternative super free flowering border rose, which as well as having great disease resistance, also produces large fragrant blooms. A rose that is ideal for containers is the super compact 'Sweet Dream', this rose provides a super show of colour all summer, with its abundance of fragrant pink blooms. Also just in stock we have a fabulous selection of tried and tested Climbing Roses. Climbing roses are perfect for introducing colour to walls, garden outbuildings and providing a lush coverage to archways and pergolas. 'Compassion' is a very fragrant free flowering rose, producing an exciting display of double apricot flowers that are highly scented and produce the most wonderful of perfumes. To introduce some luxuriant and romantic red roses onto a trellis try planting 'Dublin Bay', this is a very vigorous, red climbing rose with superb disease resistance. This is a rose ideal for the conditions here in the West of Ireland and one, which I highly recommend. 'Golden Showers' is a super partner rose for 'Dublin Bay' the wonderful contrast of the highly scented yellow blooms with the strong red blooms of 'Dublin Bay' creates a striking display. Horky's tip: Try planting climbing roses with summer flowering 'Clematis' for an extra-exubirant display of wonderful colours throughout the summer. Autumn is also the ideal time for giving your existing roses some Tender Loving Care. Now is the ideal time to winter prune large or overgrown roses to prevent them suffering wind-rock damage. This pruning does not have to be exact or precise, precise pruning can be done in spring. Horky Says: Spray all roses with Armillatox* in the autumn to kill all pests and diseases that may over-winter on your plants, and in the surrounding soil, this spraying prevents the new growth in spring suffering from Blackspot and other fungal diseases. Also during autumn, roses and all existing plants, benefit from the application of mulch. Mulch is a layer of organic material placed on the soil surface around plants. When placed around Roses and shrubs it provides key distinct benefits; The soil is kept moist during the dry spells in autumn. Soil structure is improved as humus is added to the soil Plant foods are provided by some mulching materials Frost penetration into the soil is reduced during winter Suppresses Weeds!! Moist peat, good garden compost such as Westland Nursery Stock Compost and well rotted Farmyard manure are all ideal for this job. Horky says: Success depends on preparing the soil surface before applying your mulch - remove debris and weeds and then water the surface if dry. Then spread a 2 - 3" layer around the stems. *Armillatox A completely natural product that enhances the soil and is completely biodegradable. It is made from the phenols of growing plants and it is these phenols, which give plants their natural resistance to pests or disease. Armillatox is used for the treatment of prevention of Clubroot, Control of Vine Weevil, Honey Fungus, Fairy Rings on lawns, Winter washing of Fruit Trees, Ant control, Black spot on Roses, Moss on hard surfaces, the control of moss on Lawns and Greenhouse/Polythene Tunnel Cleaning. With its huge amount of uses, Armillatox certainly is a trustworthy friend that no gardener should be without. Planting Spring Bulbs 1. Dig a hole.. You want to bury your bulbs in soil to a depth that is roughly two times the height of the bulb. Little crocus, rest beneath a shallow covering of soil. Bigger bulbs, like daffodils or alliums, need to go deeper. If your soil is loose, a trowel will work well for digging planting holes. You can also use a dibber (for small bulbs like grape hyacinth or scilla) or a bulb planter. Try a soil augur for planting lots of bulbs from a standing position. Now is the ideal time to plant all your spring flowering bulbs. 2. Don't forget to fertilize. It's important to give bulbs a boost of food at planting time. Mix Fish blood and bonemeal or a hand full of growemore fertilizer to the soil in the base of the planting hole. This fertilizer will stimulate root growth. 3. Tuck bulbs into soil. . Arrange bulbs in the planting hole with the root-end down and the shoot-end up. It's easy to tell on most bulbs which end is up. The end that's a little more point goes up. When planting bulbs, arrange them in odd-numbered clusters to create little drifts of color in the garden. It's best to avoid planting bulbs in soldier-straight lines. For bulbs that multiply freely in soil, like daffodils, crocus, grape hyacinth, anemone, or scilla plant the bulbs in a naturalizing fashion. 4. Water and mulch. . After the bulbs are in place, push soil over their tips, tamping down lightly. Water well. Apply a light layer of mulch to keep the bulbs from being pushed up and out of the soil as it freezes and thaws during winter warm-ups. Add a plant marker so you won't forget where you planted the bulbs. If shoots emerge during winter, don't panic. New shoots and flowers will emerge in spring. Spring Bulbs Competition For the month of October we have a Free competition Prizes are as follows: 105 Mixed garden Tulip bulbs 10kg Golden Trumpet Daffodils 20 lt Bulb fiber 2.5 kg Fish blood and bone fertilizer Simply answer the following two questions below 1. Name 3 spring flowering bulbs 2. Do you need to feed spring bulbs E-mail your answers to horkans@gardencentre.ie Remember for all your gardening questions we are only a click of the mouse away on www.gardencentre.ie and you can E-mail us on horkans@gardencentre.ie. We look forward to hearing from you. Top           June's Newsletter           May's Newsletter