Plant of the week
Echinacea
Why grow it?
Few flowers are as fashionable right now as echinceas (cone flowers) and few other flowers have received as much attention from plant breeders. The common, pink, Echinacea purpurea has long been valued for the long-lasting blooms, which attract butterflies and bees, but in the past 20 years a huge range of new kinds and colours have been produced, from pastels to fiery reds, orange, yellow and gold as well as pink and white.
Echinaceas are very drought tolerant, once established. They bloom from July to September and make good cut flowers too.
Where to grow it
Echinaceas are plants of the American prairies where they grow in full sun. They do not do well in shade and the soil must not be waterlogged in winter. Wet, clay soils are death to them! They can be grown in borders or raised beds and the dwarf kinds can be grown in pots.
Where to start
You can start with seeds but these are a bit tricky to germinate so not for the beginner. It is best to start with plants and here is a case of bigger is better. When buying a plant, always look for new, leafy shoots growing at the base. Small plants that consist only of flowering stems with no shoots at the base often fail to establish. Look for nice big potfuls of stems and leaves. Remember that when planting at this time of year you need to keep the plant moist while it gets it roots into the surrounding soil. You can’t just plant and leave. Soak the roots well, dig the hole, water the hole, plant the plant and water again to settle the soil around the roots. Water again in dry weather.
What to do
You can leave the old flowers to fade because they are decorative in autumn and there may be seeds for the birds. Ladybirds will also hide in the seedheads. Cut back the plants in spring. Slugs and snails like the new shoots in spring so protect the young plants.
Who will like this?
Anyone who wants to encourage pollinators to the garden – bees and butterflies love them. Echinaceas are also very fashionable at the moment. They also make good cut flowers and some are also fragrant.
Plant them with …
Echinaceas are one of the essential components of any ‘prairie-style’ planting. Plant them with eryngiums, asters, rudbeckias, veronicastrum, Verbena bonariensis and ornamental grasses.
Weekly reminders
Prune hedges
August is the time to trim hedges. Those hedges that grow throughout summer, such as privet and honeysuckle, need clipping several times a year but others, including beech and hornbeam, and conifers, are usually clipped in August because there will then be no more growth for the year so only one clip is needed each year. Take care when clipping ‘cuppressus’ type conifers that you do not cut into bare shoots because these will not sprout new foliage. In contrast, Yew can withstand hard pruining.
Courgettes
Keep picking courgettes while they are small so they don’t turn into marrows! Keep the plants watered and feed weekly with liquid feed.
Roses
Roses should keep blooming for a couple more months but they need our help. Make sure you deadhead the plants, trimming back the stems to just above a leaf. If blackspot is a problem you must spray with a fungicide, once every two weeks, to prevent new leaves being infected. Sprinkle a rose fertiliser around the plants and water it in if it does not rain.