Repot and rescue
Ruth hopefully revives a neglected bottlebrush tree
IT is very easy to take one’s eye off the gardening ball at this time of year when everything is going on and there is a temptation to prioritise, say, crops and new plantings.
I was caught out by a small bottlebrush tree (Callistemon citrinus) that I love as it reminds us of holidays in Spain (which we won’t be getting this year). It had been thriving, or so I thought, in its pot but I noticed it was suddenly looking decidedly dejected.
It’s once luxurious needle-like leaves were pale and browning, and on inspection it was dehydrated and rootbound. Its roots were filling the pot, so I had to scrape away a lot of the old compost to loosen it enough to remove the plant.
Once out, I teased out the roots as best I could. Sometimes it’s easier to do this in a bowl of water as it washes away the old compost and makes it easier for you to get fingers and thumbs into the roots to untangle them.
This is also an excellent opportunity to check for vine weevil grubs or small slugs feeding on and among the roots. If you find any, wash the roots in clean water and repot in new compost.
Slug eggs are large, white or creamy and translucent. Crush them or put them on the bird table. Vine weevil eggs are too small to see, though the grubs are plump and cream-coloured, around 1∕2in (1cm) long with brown heads. Treat any grubs you find the same as the snail eggs, then water the replanted shrub with a nematode or chemical drench.
My bottlebrush is now replanted in a larger pot of John Innes No3 compost and I’m watching its progress carefully, keeping my fingers crossed that I didn’t leave it too late.