Coneflower

This compact Rudbeckia was bred by Andre Viette, a nurseryman from Virginia USA.

It’s a smaller version of the standard Black-eyed Susan mature height is around 40cm with a 40cm spread.

It’s compact habit makes it ideal for todays smaller garden, its also good for containers and patio planters, makes a good late flowering display.

So when selecting subjects  for plant breeding you can see 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 if you have different selections of Rudbeckia growing in your garden its worth taking some seed from each, germinating these and growing on to see if you get anything different, imagine a shorter Rudbeckia with different colours, flower size etc.

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 Rudbeckia 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.

You must 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, recorded and stored if needed. 

OCTOBER GARDENING

Well  although the weather has now changed to cooler conditions at night and we have had some welcome rain, lawns are beginning to recover, the Daytime is still warm and now at the 2^nd week in October it has turned very dry again, welcome rain is forecast at the end of the week, if the skies are clear at night then frost is possible so watch out for tender plants, temperatures are forecast to be around 22°c ! mid-week this week.

We are only 2 weeks off the change from British Summer Time to GMT, incredible weather.

Plants to look for in October

Anemone (Japanese)

Aster

Dahlia

Geranium Rozanne®

Heliopsis

Helenium

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 but reduce amount of watering keeping them moist and not wet.

Time to plant autumn bedding, will last now until the spring, try mixing different plants, evergreen and flowering for interest.

Planting tulip bulbs, Daffodils, try some in tubs and patio plants mixed in with bedding to give early colour.

Apply liquid feed regularly once a week is ideal, but good to finish at the end of the month, I reduce rates as you do not want a lot of soft growth on hardy plants now.

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.

At the end of the month as the Dahlia finish it will be time to lift and store, more next month.

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, good idea to give all borders an autumn tidy.

Divide perennials and alpines looking tired and not flowering as well, like Crocosmia.

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.

Start winterising the garden insulating plants like Tree Ferns and Banana’s.

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

You can sow sweet pea seeds now for early flowers next year, sow more in spring for later flowering.

You can continue to trim evergreen hedges now.

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, remove all leaves underneath plants this will reduce fungal problems like blackspot and rust.

Start mulching borders.

Leaf clearing will start now as trees and shrubs start to turn and lose leaves.

Time of course to picking your apples and pears.

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

Scarify lawn and aerate by making lots of small holes

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.

Ideal time to lay new turf or turf to repair lawns, but you will need to keep it watered, especially given the temperatures at the moment and dry conditions.

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 still keep water circulating, using waterfalls and pumps, fountains etc. – day time temperatures are still quite high.

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, if you can put a net across to catch leaves.

Trim back marginal plants.

In the Greenhouse, open greenhouse on warm days.

You may still have tomatoes etc, but now is the time to start clearing out old plants growbags etc.

Keep greenhouse clean, time for a good clean up now.

Citrox is a good cleaning product.

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.

You can grow herbs over winter if you dig some up and move indoors, they will need good light, don’t overwater.

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 in evenings and warm enough 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.

This Achillea is bred by Har Stemkens, it has the same bright yellow flowers of Achillea Moonshine but with a compact habit, 30cm instead of 60cm, makes this plant ideal for todays smaller garden spaces and with the outdoor living space it also makes a great patio plant being great for containers. Flowers from May until September, plants will rebloom if cut back after first flowers have faded. The finely cut grey-green foliage makes a good back drop to the flowers.
I trialled the plant in the trial garden and my own patio area prior to it being introduced.
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 Achillea, 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.
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.

AUGUST GARDENING

Well the weather is now very dry and hot, in my area at my garden we have had no appreciable rain for most of June, July and now the start of August, we had a Thunderstorm at the end of July but now it’s turned very hot with record temperature likely..

Plants to look for in August.
Anthemis
Buddleja – all gardens should have one
Dahlia
Geranium
Heliopsis
Helenium
Penstemon
Salvia
Rudbeckia
Caryopteris
Hibiscus
Roses

You will need to keep all baskets and tubs watered and checked each day.
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.
Coleus plants make ideal patio plants there are many new varieties with many different leaf colour combinations.
Combination planting in containers is becoming popular look out for them in your local garden centre, look for some last minute bargains to fill up spaces in the garden and rejuvenate tubs and baskets.
Ideal plant for container planting is Geranium Rozanne.
When planting containers use a gel in the compost this will help retain and save water, always water in late evening even better is to use trickle/drip irrigation on a timer.
Regular weeding and hoeing whenever you can will keep weeds under control.
Dead heading will help to prolong flowering, and for some plants like Aquilegia cut back after flowering to prevent seeding in garden, otherwise they tend to take over.
Cut back Digitalis and Verbascum, can encourage some re-flowering.
Take semi-ripe cuttings now.
Fill any gaps in borders with last minute offers from the garden centre or online.
You can trim evergreen hedges now, but avoid during the very hot weather.
Look out for Aphids and other pests, black spot on Roses, check with local garden centre for best controls.
If you grow Lilies pick off any Lilly beetle seen.
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.
Mow lawn regularly, mulch clippings or recycle, keep edges neat, don’t mow to short as we are now in dry period, don’t worry to much about brown lawns they will soon come back at the first rain.
I suspect your lawn is like mine very dry and mostly brown, don’t cut it leave until there has been a good rain the grass will come back.
Apply summer fertilizer, follow instructions, 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.
Use a selective weed killer to kill weeds not grass, better than using feed and weed most professionals do it this way.
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, better still don’t, the lawn will come back use water wisely.
If you have a pond then keep water circulating, if you have a fountain or water fall keep running during night during hot periods to keep oxygen levels up, 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.
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.
Tomatoes will need tying in as they grow and remove the side shoots that grow from leaf joints, when flowering you may need to give plants a little shake to help will pollination.
Give plants space as they grow.
You should be starting to see fruit forming now, important to ventilate well during hot sunny days.
Tie in roses and other climbers.
Check for pests like Aphids, red spider mite, white fly, regularly, biological controls are available look online.
Pick off any dead leaves, keep floor and pathways free of plant debris this will assist with pest and disease control.
In the vegetable garden continue weekly sowings of lettuce, radish, peas etc to get a continuity of crops
Potatoes should be well underway, continue to harvest as needed.
Support peas as needed.
Harvest Rhubarb, but leave 2 thirds to grow on.
You may need to cover some plants to protect against bird damage , fleece is ideal.
Cover carrots to control carrot fly
Plant out leeks and cabbages.
Take time to relax in garden at some time each day time for barbecues and enjoying the fruits of you hard work.
The garden should be an extension of your house an extra room if you like and now it will be looking at its best.

During this hot dry weather any watering should be carried out late in the evening, pointless to try watering the lawn unless you have the luxury of an irrigation system and your own borehole!

This Verbascum is bred by Claire Wilson and Vic Johnstone, it has EU Plant Breeders rights and produces flowers of a dusky red a unique colour in Verbascum.

It show what can be created by plant breeding and simple selection.
I trialled the plant prior to it being introduced.

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 from plant breeding and crossing.

Keep records of any crossings you make.

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.

JUNE GARDENING

Well the weather has now turned very dry and hot, in my area at my garden we have had no appreciable rain for most of June.

Plants to look for in June.
Anthemis
Astrantia
Delphinium
Geranium
Lupin
Papaver
Viola
Deutzia
Hebe
Philadelphus
Roses

All bedding should be planted out and you will need to keep all baskets and tubs watered and checked each day.

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.

Pot up any plug plants, that have come in or still left, water in well. Will need regular checking for watering each day.

Coleus plants make ideal patio plants there are many new varieties with many different leaf colour combinations.

Combination planting in containers is becoming popular look out for them in your local garden centre
Ideal plant for container planting is Geranium Rozanne.

When planting containers use a gel in the compost this will help retain and save water, always water in late evening even better is to use trickle/drip irrigation on a timer.

Regular weeding and hoeing whenever you can will keep weeds under control.

Dead heading will help to prolong flowering, and for some plants like Aquilegia cut back after flowering to prevent seeding in garden, otherwise they tend to take over.

You can take still take softwood cuttings.

Fill any gaps in borders with summer like Pelagonium.

Cut back spring flowering plants like Helleborus, Pulmonaria encourages fresh foliage.

You can trim evergreen hedges now, but beware of birds nesting you must not disturb.

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

If you grow Lilies pick off any Lilly beetle seen.

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.

Mow lawn regularly, mulch clippings or recycle, keep edges neat, don’t mow to short as we are now in dry period, don’t worry to much about brown lawns they will soon come back at the first rain.

Apply summer fertilizer, follow instructions, 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.

Use a selective weed killer to kill weeds not grass, better than using feed and weed most professionals do it this way.

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, better still don’t, the lawn will come back use water wisely.

If you have a pond then keep water circulating, if you have a fountain or water fall keep running during night during hot periods to keep oxygen levels up, 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.

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.

Tomatoes will need tying in as they grow and remove the side shoots that grow from leaf joints, when flowering you may need to give plants a little shake to help will pollination.

Give plants space as they grow.

Tie in roses and other climbers.

Remove large clumps of forget me nots as they can get out of hand and take over large areas.

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

Pick off any dead leaves, keep floor and pathways free of plant debris this will assist with pest and disease control.

In the vegetable garden continue weekly sowings of lettuce, radish, peas etc to get a continuity of crops
Continue to earth up potatoes as they shoot through soil.
Support peas as needed.

Harvest Rhubarb, but leave 2 thirds to grow on.

You may need to cover some plants to protect against bird damage , fleece is ideal.

Cover carrots to control carrot fly
Plant out leeks and cabbages.

Take time to relax in garden at some time each day time for barbecues and enjoying the fruits of you hard work.

The garden should be an extension of your house an extra room if you like and now it will be looking at its best.

This small leaved Brunnera is ideal for today’s small garden and containers. It was selected by Adrian Bloom from seedlings in his garden.

I trialed the plant prior to it being introduced it has US Plant Patent and EU Plant Breeders rights.

So now is the time to be busy with seed sowing of seed from your plant breeding projects, and pricking out those seedlings for trials later.

As you can see from the picture above new cultivars can be found from seedlings.

Keep records of what you sow and where its from. If you a making a new crossing check to see that there is not a similar one already in cultivation.

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.

MAY GARDENING

Well the weather has certainly changed this month with some high daytime temperature and dry weather, although frost is still possible and we have had a couple of

quite cold nights here in Norfolk temperatures down to 4°c.

Plants to look for in May

Delphinium

Brunnera

Viburnum

Geranium

Apple Trees

Geranium pheum

Peonies

Convallaria

Anemone

Prunus

Cornus

Forsythia

 

Hardy annuals can still be sown now, can sow direct into borders to fill gaps.

Prick out those seedlings and pot on those pricked out earlier last month.

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.

Pot up plug plants, water in well but allow to dry a little between watering. Will need regular checking for watering.

Plant out bedding now, it’s arriving in bulk now at the garden centre. Just be aware that frost is still possible you may need to have some fleece at hand at short notice.

Time to plant up baskets and tubs.

I find that grasses such as Hakonechloa macra Aureola make really spectacular patio plants.

Remove old spring bedding to make way for summer.

Regular watering of containers is needed now, fortnightly feeding will improve flowering and quality.

Regular weeding whenever you can will keep weeds under control.

Plant out or pot up Cannas and Dahlia.

Divide up Primula now flowering is over.

Dead head tulips and Daffodils.

You can take cuttings softwood cuttings now.

Cut back sub-shrubs and tender shrubs such as  Fuchsia, Penstemon and Caryopteris.

You can trim evergreen hedges now, but beware of birds nesting you must not disturb.

Prune Pyrancantha by  shortening new growth.

Any new planting of trees and shrubs should not be allowed to dry out, loosen tree ties if needed.

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

If you grow Lilies pick off any Lilly beetle seen.

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.

Mow lawn regularly, mulch clippings or recycle, keep edges neat.

Apply summer fertilizer, follow instructions, 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.

If you have a pond then keep water circulating,  clean filters as needed, you can divide and reduce any plants in pond possible to still plant up new bog gardens.

Iris Ensata is a good plant for bog garden and near ponds.

Remove blanket weed and skim off floating weeds such as duckweed.

Open greenhouse and increase ventilation on sunny days, extra shading like shade paint applied to outside may be needed.

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

Give plants space as they grow.

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

Pick off any dead leaves, keep floor and pathways free of plant debris this will assist with  pest and disease control.

In the vegetable garden continue weekly sowings of lettuce, radish, peas etc to get a continuity of crops

Earth up potatoes as they shoot through soil.

If you grow asparagus then you need to harvest at no more than 45cm max.

Harden off plant sowings like Tomatoes ready for planting.

Support peas as needed.

Harvest Rhubarb, but leave 2 thirds to grow on.

You may need to cover some plants to protect against bird damage , fleece is ideal.

Cover carrots to control carrot fly

 

At the end of the day on fine days get out the barbecue light up the heater and enjoy the garden.

Take time to relax in garden at some time each day.

The garden should be an extension of your house an extra room if you like.

If you love plants and wish to get more knowledge about the ways to breed and develop your plants, then it is always a wise idea to choose the services offered by a professional plant breeder. If you wish to get bets tips on the development of new plants that you have then this plant specialist can guide you through it. With decades of expertise in dealing with a variety of plants, you can easily get advice for seasonal and non seasonal plants, the ways to tend them, their irrigation methods, breeding, grafting etc.

Why do you need plant development services?

As an individual who has immense interest in plants, you will agree that some plants grow well in a particular region while some might need special care to bloom well.

• This is because the condition of the soil, the right kind of nutrition, manure and the changes in the environment can affect the plant growth in a drastic way.

• Hence availing the plant development services would help many planters, farmers and gardeners get lots of useful information about plant care.

• This would help them get better yield every year and enable their crops and plants stay healthy throughout the year.

• Even if you have any concerns or doubts regarding plant growth, yield or disease, you can ask the development services for plants to find help at the right time.

• Be it anything related to new plant types or its development, plant patents queries or processes requirements, promoting the plants in your nursery or farms or protecting it.

• All these activities can be taken care by plant development Suffolk to make sure that you feel proud about the plants you own and the response you receive from the rest plant lovers across the world.

• Even if you are planning to grow a few plant varieties that are very rare and needs expert attention round the lock, these experts would offer you timely advice about how to take care of them effectively.

• Even if you have developed a brand new type of plant and wish to apply for patent or sell it to others then plant promotion services would help you by taking care of it effectively.

These services fully realize the potential value such rare plants hold and take every measure to prevent it from becoming extinct.