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Canberra Today 15°/18° | Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Time to trim hedges and get busy with bulbs

BULB-planting time is at its peak. At the Floriade site, the scene is a hive of activity.

Here are a few hints for your own garden:

  • DO not plant all one variety at the same time. For example, when planting daffodils, plant a group each week over the next few weeks, this will give a longer display.
  • PLANT the bulb the same depth as the bulb is thick. If a daffodil is 7cm thick, plant it 7cm deep. Ranunculus that are only 3cm thick, plant 3cm deep with the claws facing down. For a random planting of daffodils and larger bulbs, if you have the space, throw a handful up in the air and plant where they fall.
  • PLANT bulbs in full sun. Bulbs can be planted under deciduous trees, as they will be leafless until after the bulbs have finished flowering in spring. This allows the spring sunshine to penetrate and warm the soil. Bulbs are some of the most drought-resistant plants in existence, coming from the hottest parts of the globe. The old song “Tulips from Amsterdam” should not be taken literally, as in reality they are indigenous to Iraq and Turkey. Bulbs store their water requirements and, if there is no rain at the appropriate time, they will simply stay in hibernation until the following year.
  • IT is essential they have good drainage. If planted in a wet and boggy spot they will rot. Where does one find a spot in the garden at present that is not wet and boggy you may well ask? It is a good idea to plant the bulbs on a handful of washed river sand to aid good drainage. Even with the ground as wet as it is at present, water the bulbs immediately after planting to eliminate any air pockets.
  • DO not water at all until flowering time, unless the weather dries out completely before the first leaves appear.

NOW to hedges and a well-clipped hedge is a sight to behold with two examples shown here, one in Wakefield Avenue, possibly one of the best-maintained hedges in Canberra, and the other in a Bathurst Open Garden.

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March and October are the traditional times to trim hedges and in particular conifer hedges. March, for new growth to harden off before the advent of frost and in October, when the new, soft growth does not get summer sun scorch.

In the 1920s, front hedges were encouraged in Canberra. This is still in evidence in the older suburbs of Red Hill and Forrest. In those days the Government parks and gardens department clipped front hedges at no charge!

Two important points, make sure the hedge does not bulge out at the top, preferably narrower at the top and wider at the base. This enables sunlight to reach all parts of the hedge.

Even more importantly with conifer hedges, do not cut back too hard into the old wood. Most varieties of conifers will not regrow from the old wood and this could literally severely damage or even kill the hedge.

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This week…

  • Keep off the garden while it is wet and boggy. Digging at present will cause more damage than good.
  • Divide and replant tall, bearded iris rhizomes for flowering in October/November.
  • To keep earwigs out of dahlias place a litre milk carton upsidedown on a stake near the plants and empty daily.
  • March/April is an excellent time to plant evergreen shrubs.
  • Take cuttings of pelagoniums and geraniums.
  • Take cuttings and/or divide salvias and penstemons.
  • Sow, seed or plant seedlings of winter lettuce.[/box]

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Cedric Bryant

Cedric Bryant

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