Reclaiming the garden room

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The Fatsia is making the most of its extra growing space

FROM time to time, I have made reference to our garden room, which most people would refer to as the conservatory – except that, nowadays, that definition has been slightly skewed. It seems to me that “people comfort” rather than “plant comfort” takes priority in many modern conservatories.

Since I am in danger of straying again, let’s just get to the plants.

The point is that some of our indoor plants are actually growing in border soil and not in a pot or container. That means they have a freer root run, so they tend to get bigger – quicker. Our Fatsia, for example, has already been cut down three times over the years and it is ready for it again.

On each previous occasion, by the time the growing tip reached the roof, a new shoot had emerged from the base, enabling me to prune the old one out completely. It has reached this stage now, but since growth of this evergreen slows down in the shorter days, we can continue to enjoy the wonderful foliage until February/March. My message is: don’t be afraid to perform major surgery.

There are two other plants on the same wall. Next to the Fatsia is a Camellia “Donation” which, rather precociously, might start to flower quite soon. The plant is now about 15 years old and has to be kept in check – but pruning time for this specimen is after it has flowered. Then I can thin out the growth, cutting back to a strong side shoot each time.

How far back and how ruthless can you be? That is a regular question and the answer is the same every time: each individual plant is different, but basically, when you are training specimens in a fan shape, the branches have to be evenly spaced, running in the same direction and giving each set of leaves room to grow.

I can’t say that they should be four inches apart or six inches apart; you can only tell your own plant by observing the rate of growth, the age, the health status and, crucially, how well it is performing – and that means flowering as far as the camellia is concerned.

At the other end of the wall, we have a Plumbago capensis (now P. auriculata). Its common name is Cape Leadwort, though I have never used it. This plant loves to scramble over shrubs and trees in its native habitat (a native of South Africa but now naturalised in southern Europe). In the open, it can actually be used as a hedge.

The main point is that it is a vigorous grower and can be quite invasive. The attraction is the umbels of sky-blue flowers that are produced in masses throughout summer and autumn.

Our plant gets a bit of a tidy up at this time of year – in the same way as, outside, I would trim a Lavatera or Buddleia, with the intention of completing the job in spring. The plant flowers on the new growth, so the previous year’s shoots will be spur-pruned and the branches retied into the trellis.

A reminder about FYM

We have reached a time in the gardening calendar when we start our winter cultivations – preparing ground for next year’s vegetable crops, incorporating organic matter in the process.

Earlier in the year, I reported on the problems that some people were having with some crops. Potatoes and tomatoes seemed worst affected. Foliage became hideously distorted to the extent that plants had to be destroyed.

I first saw the symptoms at one of our question-and-answer sessions in the Beechgrove Theatre at Gardening Scotland – and that was at the end of May.

The distortions reminded those of us on the panel who were old enough of “hormone weedkiller damage”, which occurred way back in the 1960s and ’70s. That was often as a result of spray drift from agricultural crops being grown in the neighbourhood.

This time, it was proved that herbicide residues retained in farmyard manure caused the damage. Quantities of contaminated dung were unwittingly dug into allotments, gardens and greenhouses across the UK.

There was a fair hoo-ha at the time – so much so that the manufacturers, who admitted that there “might” be a problem, withdrew the offending chemical from the market. It had been used to eliminate weeds in cereal crops.

That incident is now behind us, but there may be some dung in middens across the country that is still contaminated. My intention is not to put you off using dung, because it remains one of the best soil ameliorants you can get; rather, it is to suggest that you find out from the farmer if his midden dung is free from the merest smidgeon of the offending chemical – amino pychlorid.

Fallen leaves

This reminder follows on rather neatly from the last. Please, please, realise that fallen leaves are best collected and stacked rather than burned or carted away. They make the most wonderful mulch or soil conditioner you could wish for – and they are absolutely free.

I admit that it takes a bit of elbow grease to handle them, but that should be good for you. On a small scale, you can store them in bin bags, and where there are lots of them, a simple frame of four stout posts wrapped round with wire-netting is sufficient to corral them.

Glasshouse heaters

If you have half-hardy perennials to look after during the winter months, a well insulated glasshouse will do the trick for most of the time. However, if we have an extended period of severe weather, you have to take additional precautions. A few layers of garden fleece will often suffice, but you might have to consider using a heater of some sort.

Far and away the most convenient and efficient is the electric fan heater. You may need to run an electric cable to the glasshouse and, if so, do be aware that there are health-and-safety rules governing the type of cable and the need for waterproof protection.

Most household electrical supplies are protected by circuit-breakers nowadays, but this is not always the case in older properties – check that out, too.

For the heater itself, a fan-assisted, thermostatically controlled model is best. You are unlikely to be able to set an exact minimum temperature on the heater, but the better models will have a degree of low/medium/high control.

Using an ordinary maximum-minimum thermometer, you can calibrate the dial on the heater to set the minimum temperature required to keep the plants safe. This is not a foolproof way to do it, but if you aim to run the heater to maintain a temperature of 5C, you have a reasonable safety margin.

That said, it is not worth doing this unless you also insulate the house with bubble polythene.