This  series of Anemone is bred by Mr. Yoshihiro Kanazawa of Japan, this series of Anemone features four pink forms and one pure white, ‘Pretty Lady Julia’ has double flowers.  All in the series have good compact habits, 40cm high and 60cm spread, fully garden hardy they make ideal border plants for today’s smaller gardens also good for containers and patio. Flower from August until October.

So when selecting subjects  for plant breeding it’s important to select for colour and height and also take into account today’s market trends in plants.

Having a series that has variations in colour, flowering either singles and doubles is good and makes it easier to get a take up commercially if there are more to follow.

So now is the time to be busy looking at your flowering plants and those that are flowering from your selections and breeding work and making further crosses and selections.

As you can see from the picture above new cultivars can be created be from plant breeding and crossing. It’s a long process, its good to look at plants in your own garden, looking for improvements that may be possible.

You see with the Anemone, by getting a shorter flowering plant it makes the plant more fitting for todays market and also for growers more plants can be transported on a lorry in flower as its shorter so it’s a good growers plant.

Keep records of any crossings you make. Be critical when making a selection, be prepared to be strict when discarding plants.

Pictures are important so get the camera ready to take photos to record your work.

For developing your new plant breeding selection or new plant discovery I can offer full trialling and new plant development service more details available on my website.

Also pictures can be taken and stored if needed. 

SEPTEMBER GARDENING

Well the weather has now changed to cooler conditions and we have had some welcome rain, lawns are beginning to recover. Daytime is still warm though but temperatures at night

have been quite low down to around 7°centigrade and lower in some places here in UK.

Plants to look for in September

Anemone (Japanese)

Aster

Buddleja – all gardens should have one

Crocosmia

Dahlia

Geranium Rozanne®

Heliopsis

Helenium

Penstemon

Phlox paniculata

Rudbeckia

Salvia

Sedum

Verbena

Caryopteris

Hibiscus

Hydrangea arborescens

Roses

You will still need to keep all baskets and tubs watered and checked each day.

Start thinking about autumn bedding

Apply liquid feed regularly once a week is ideal

Look out  daily for slugs and snails check your local garden centre for best controls, an idea I have seen is to place an old roof tile on ground, snails go under here during daytime just turn over and pick them off each day.

Deadheading plants like Dahlia will prolong flowering.

Good time to plant new perennials they will establish before the winter and get a good start in the spring and be ready to have some resistance to drier conditions as they will be more established.

Perennials dying down or fading can be trimmed back to encourage growth before the winter.

Regular weeding  and hoeing whenever you can will keep weeds under control. If time is short pull off seed heads this will help to reduce seeded weeds.

Continue to take semi-ripe cuttings now.

Good time now for seed collection now, storage is important, remember cultivars will not come true to type.

You can continue to trim evergreen hedges now.

Look out for Aphids and other pests, black spot on Roses, check with local garden centre for best controls.

Look out for Vine Weevil damage, damage shows when plants start to wilt, on inspection roots will have been badly eaten you may also see white c shaped larvae, apply a biological control, plants in containers are unlikely to recover.

Sedums and Geraniums can be badly affected.

Prune climbing roses once flowering is finished.

Continue to mow lawn regularly, keep edges neat, still time to apply weed killer for perennial weeds, use a selective weed killer here.

Seeding and repairing of dead patches can continue now through the month, but you will need to water as weather can still be quite dry.

Apply a fertilizer but do not use summer feeds as these are too high in nitrogen fertilizer, slow release is best. Do not apply in drought conditions, if  using feed and weed avoid getting onto ornamental plantings as it will cause damage.

If you have wild flowers in lawn and want to keep them then do not use feed and weed.

During the dry period if you are watering the lawn do this at night when evaporation is low.

If you have a pond then keep water circulating, using waterfalls and pumps, fountains etc.

Clean filters as needed, remove blanket weed and skim off floating weeds such as duckweed, feed fish as needed.

Remove any debris leaves etc reduces toxin build up.

In the Greenhouse, open greenhouse and increase ventilation on sunny days, extra shading like shade paint applied to outside may be needed during hot periods, don’t let greenhouse get to hot.

Damp down the floor of the greenhouse on hot days this will control Red Spider mite.

You should be having some good tomatoes and cucumbers now.

Keep greenhouse clean and as crops come to an end remove and clean up,

Citrox is a good cleaning product.

Check for pests like Aphids, red spider mite, white fly, regularly, biological controls are available look online.

For vegetables there is still time to plant leeks from leek plants and onions from sets.

Time to plant broad beans, Garlic,  and spring cabbage plants if you can find them, look in local garden centre.

You can also set up new Asparagus beds,

Time to paint fences and sheds carry out any repairs, in the greenhouse replace any broken glass needed before winter, take advantage of the evenings while they are still light.

 

Take time to relax in garden at some time each day while it’s still light evenings for barbecues and generally  enjoying the fruits of you hard work.

The garden should be an extension of your house an extra room if you like and it will be looking good.