[Help] Gardeners Question Time.

[vegster]

That's a fantastic idea, really like that Could it be that the stones you are using are coming from cultivars and may be difficult to germinate? I know more about trees than I did a year ago but my knowledge is still basic! I tried several different methods mainly with hazel last year and my conclusion is that if they want to germinate they will. I left some in a tub of sand and they mostly germinated and are 2 ft tall now.

I bought a couple of kilos from a greengrocer and hoped the seeds would be viable. I think that there is not much hybridization in the world of Damsons so will try again next year. I have bought and planted a Damson tree on my plot and I will try with the seeds from them in a few years when I get a crop.

Damsons are a bit funny, you need to chill them in the fridge for a few months then soak them and plant them in order to break their dormancy and spark germination.

 

[mikeyjh]

I bought a couple of kilos from a greengrocer and hoped the seeds would be viable. I think that there is not much hybridization in the world of Damsons so will try again next year. I have bought and planted a Damson tree on my plot and I will try with the seeds from them in a few years when I get a crop.

Damsons are a bit funny, you need to chill them in the fridge for a few months then soak them and plant them in order to break their dormancy and spark germination.

Yeah, most tree seeds need that process (stratification) in some way or other. A few months sounds extreme, although some seeds (Hawthorn for instance) needs 2 seasons so cold, warm, cold, maybe Damson is similar?

 

[The Grockle]

Not only have all my hydrangeas started sprouting now my Acer Katsura is starting to pop.....no frost forecast but far too early this year

 

[Stat Brother]

Last Autumn I dug an old tired budleija (sp) out of my front garden that was acting as a nice barrier between me and the outside world.
When asking for a replacement I was told Orange Blossom.
None of the GC's I went too had OB, but the label attached to a Tamarisk twig said 'this is what you need'.

Only after planting did I realise what it was and I don't want that.
I don't want a low bushy thing I want a tree.

With that in mind is now the time to cut away everything except the main stem and keep doing it until it's bent to my will?

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

We had a box hedge in the tiny front garden that had been there 30 years. Destroyed by that caterpillar bastard a year ago. I dug it and the topsoil out and found thick London clay. Topsoil now in back garden. We decided to tank it (with breathable material) fill it full of Scottish pebbles, and put in some pots. Just about done. This is North facing so we chose plants that apparently like a mix of sun and shade. We get full sun till around 10 in the morning. Fingers crossed,

 

[WATFORD zero]

I do dread going out in it, to start the year’s gardening.

Are you growing yellow sticks out front this year

 

[The Grockle]

Last Autumn I dug an old tired budleija (sp) out of my front garden that was acting as a nice barrier between me and the outside world.
When asking for a replacement I was told Orange Blossom.
None of the GC's I went too had OB, but the label attached to a Tamarisk twig said 'this is what you need'.

Only after planting did I realise what it was and I don't want that.
I don't want a low bushy thing I want a tree.

With that in mind is now the time to cut away everything except the main stem and keep doing it until it's bent to my will?

Crying out for a nice upright Acer IMO. Something like an Acer Seiryu which is quite fast growing and sun tollerant

 

[Stat Brother]

Crying out for a nice upright Acer IMO. Something like an Acer Seiryu which is quite fast growing and sun tollerant

Well it's there now so it can crack on.
As I'm a stones throw from the sea it turns out Tamarisk's are everywhere but are all rather unruly.
I do like them but as said I would like it more tree than bush - hence the question.

I have an Acer in the back garden, which for the first year actually looks quite happy and is forming leaves.
Previously we've always played a game of 'are you dead?' chicken, and the Acer has nerves of steel.

 

[Stat Brother]

Oh and I should have added:-

Right now my phenomenal hair has moved onto a whole new level, it's almost indescribable.

 

[Jack Straw]

Last Autumn I dug an old tired budleija (sp) out of my front garden that was acting as a nice barrier between me and the outside world.
When asking for a replacement I was told Orange Blossom.
None of the GC's I went too had OB, but the label attached to a Tamarisk twig said 'this is what you need'.

Only after planting did I realise what it was and I don't want that.
I don't want a low bushy thing I want a tree.

With that in mind is now the time to cut away everything except the main stem and keep doing it until it's bent to my will?

Your Tamarix will never look like a conventional tree. The nearest way to get it anything like a tree would be to just keep the main stem which looks like what the bottom arrow is pointing to. Cut all the other stems right down to the ground and cut back any side growth on the saved stem back to the actual stem, leaving just the last couple of feet untouched.
As the main stem gets taller, keep taking off any side shoots to form the trunk.
Rub off (ooh er missus), all new buds which appear apart from the ones on that top two feet, and support the only stem with a strong bamboo cane or small stake. Hopefully, it will keep going upwards and not outwards, looking a bit like a tree eventually. You can then trim the bushy bit that forms at the top to stop it becoming top-heavy.
Basically, you'll be transforming your bush in to a standard.
If it was me, I'd transplant it elsewhere and invest in a proper tree!

 

[Weststander]

Are you growing yellow sticks out front this year

Mrs W hates them. The meadow will soon cover them.

I was too late for the first brutal scalping of the verge by the BHCC oaf.

Have you got 2 token sticks?

 

[WATFORD zero]

Mrs W hates them. The meadow will soon cover them.

I was too late for the first brutal scalping of the verge by the BHCC oaf.

Have you got 2 token sticks?

Four white posts, but the stupid sod managed to mow all round them. Luckily I don't think anything much had sprouted and appears to be coming through now. I may have to make additions

 

[Weststander]

Four white posts, but the stupid sod managed to mow all round them. Luckily I don't think anything much had sprouted and appears to be coming through now. I may have to make additions

You’ll get away with it, so far, as native meadow annuals are slow starters. The BHCC oaf scalped our verge at the end of Feb 2023 as I didn’t have stakes in …. wrongly believing their several years of no-mow was continuing. Hence the stakes and you witnessed the stunning tapestry come June.

 

[The Grockle]

Well it's there now so it can crack on.
As I'm a stones throw from the sea it turns out Tamarisk's are everywhere but are all rather unruly.
I do like them but as said I would like it more tree than bush - hence the question.

I have an Acer in the back garden, which for the first year actually looks quite happy and is forming leaves.
Previously we've always played a game of 'are you dead?' chicken, and the Acer has nerves of steel.

Fair enough, I'm not at all familiar with Tamarisks but sound like they the in your conditions.

I find acers a bit fussy but once you give them the right conditions and care they are incredible trees/shrubs. I've got over a dozen in the garden that thrive in the dappled shade.

 

[Jack Straw]

We had a box hedge in the tiny front garden that had been there 30 years. Destroyed by that caterpillar bastard a year ago. I dug it and the topsoil out and found thick London clay. Topsoil now in back garden. We decided to tank it (with breathable material) fill it full of Scottish pebbles, and put in some pots. Just about done. This is North facing so we chose plants that apparently like a mix of sun and shade. We get full sun till around 10 in the morning. Fingers crossed,

View attachment 179299

Hoping I'm not teaching my Grandmother to suck eggs, but come the drier months, you'll need to water at least once a week, and a monthly feed would help too.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Hoping I'm not teaching my Grandmother to suck eggs, but come the drier months, you'll need to water at least once a week, and a monthly feed would help too.

Thanks for the advice. Luckily I am a compulsive waterer. I even watered today (but I had to take a brolly because it was raining so hard).

What do you recommend for a monthly feed? I'm a Baby Bio man for the house plants (and I have a 35 year old white lily that's still perky on BB).

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Crying out for a nice upright Acer IMO. Something like an Acer Seiryu which is quite fast growing and sun tollerant

I have a lovely acer. just coming into leaf (see below). And....today I found a seedling that has miraculously germinated in the middle of a pot sitting 'between plants' beneath it.. Happy days.

 

[tedebear]

Last Autumn I dug an old tired budleija (sp) out of my front garden that was acting as a nice barrier between me and the outside world.
When asking for a replacement I was told Orange Blossom.
None of the GC's I went too had OB, but the label attached to a Tamarisk twig said 'this is what you need'.

Only after planting did I realise what it was and I don't want that.
I don't want a low bushy thing I want a tree.

With that in mind is now the time to cut away everything except the main stem and keep doing it until it's bent to my will?

By Orange Blossom do you mean Mock Orange or Philadephus? If so I have one and I can take a softwood cutting for you?

 

[Stat Brother]

By Orange Blossom do you mean Mock Orange or Philadephus? If so I have one and I can take a softwood cutting for you?

Thanks but it's ok, I'm not that bothered (about gardening) it was just the recommended plant.
The Tamarisk will be fine I just would like it a bit higher!!!!

 

[Cheshire Cat]

First grass cut of the year, although the front is mostly moss and the back is a bit squelchy underfoot - it hasn't really recovered from the shed roofers churning it up last November.

Bloody pigeons keep eating the grass seed before it has a chance.