For many, spring starts today and most of us certainly think about flowers. If you are giving a gift and don’t want to choose cut flowers, a pot or pack of primroses is sure to be well-received. With an amazing array of colours at Nag’s Hall you will be spoilt for choice. If you have a little more to spend, then a camellia is a great gift and will live for years. But remember that they need an acid soil and if your soil is alkaline (you can’t grow rhododendrons) you will need to grow it in a pot of ‘ericaceous’ or ‘acid’ compost. And don’t forget potplants to brighten the home. Moth orchids (phalaenopsis) are always popular because they are easy to care for and remain in flower for many months. And pot azaleas last for weeks in bloom in a cool room.
Other perfect plants to bring some spring joy to your garden are violas and pansies. These are hardy so if you are keen to replant your patio pots or add some extra flowers to jaded pots, and you cannot wait till it is safe to plant out tender summer bedding, violas are the answer. They are hardy and can be planted in autumn and may produce flowers sparingly through the winter months but they always start to bloom in profusion from March onwards. For instant colour, plant them now.
The difference between violas and pansies is a bit vague but it is largely a matter of size. Violas have smaller flowers and a more bushy habit while pansies have larger flowers and a more straggly habit as they get older. Violas produce more flowers and they are often sweetly fragrant.
The range of colours is amazing and you are bound to find some that you love. They are ideal for hanging baskets, window boxes, pots and in the border. Plant them in multipurpose compost.
The flowers are edible too and you can pop some in a pot of herbs to provide some extra colour.
If planting in patio pots any good multipurpose compost is suitable. To keep your violas healthy you must keep them watered so the compost never dries out. If they wilt they are vulnerable to mildew and may be infested with greenfly. If growing well and always moist they are generally free from troubles.
It is worth feeding them to keep them growing and flowering well. Apply a general or tomato feed every week or ten days at this time of year.
It also benefits the plants if you remove dead flowers. This keeps the plants neat and prevents the plants producing seeds so they just keep on blooming. Unopened buds have their petals rolled, like an umbrella while dead flowers have scruffy, unevenly curled petals.
Pansies and violas prefer cool conditions and as it gets hot, in June and July, they get very straggly, flower less and are more prone to mildew. But they are useful for shady spots in summer. Spring violas are usually pulled up in late May and replaced with summer flowers.
In addition to all these lovely violas there are also perennial violas which are not grown from seed but from cuttings. These will live for several years, though they need trimming back at least once a year. These will not be sold in packs of six but in individual pots. They cost more to buy but they can last for years. They are not grown from seed but propagated by cuttings. Many are sweetly scented and they tend to bloom longer into summer than other violas grown from seed and sold in packs of six.
What to do this week
Sow peas and broad beans in the garden
Sow early bedding plants and tomatoes in the greenhouse
It is the ideal time to plant trees and shrubs and to plant bare-root hedges
Feed your fruit bushes with a general fertiliser
Keep patio pots well watered and start to apply a liquid fertiliser every week