Excellent opportunity now for gardeners
Absence of frost gives us a chance to introduce new plants
Nature’s planting time, which is now under way, is an excellent window of opportunity for gardeners. It allows us, in the absence of frost, to introduce new plants, dig up and relocate existing specimens, and gain even more by dividing-up clumps of perennials.
Although planting can continue throughout winter in the absence of frost, the next best opportunity for me is at the point of spring, just before root and shoot growth is ready to take off.
Deciduous perennials and many evergreen types are entering a state of dormancy that will last for months, this gives us a chance to dig up and relocate woody specimens that have outstayed their welcome in a particular spot.
I have shrubby contenders crying out for more room. For example, a variegated weigela that’s encroaching on a group of David Austin roses.
Once the leaves have fallen there’s a more spacious site waiting to receive it. A group of young evergreen hebes that were raised from stem cuttings and planted 30cms apart last autumn, now need their own space.
This works with fruit trees and bushes too but with certain provisos. Ensure you can ease the subject onto a piece of material and drag it to the chosen site, otherwise, prune it. Always have the new planting spot prepared in advance of the operation, with a hole deeper and wider than the target plant’s root-ball. And don’t forget the obvious, well-rotted organic matter, water, firm planting, and support stake where required. When digging up any plants for transfer do so with as much soil on the roots as possible, and don’t leave them exposed to the air too long after lifting.
Before any new planting or repositioning of existing perennials is undertaken, I flip through a series of images taken on the ever-present mobile camera over the preceding months. They help confirm potential gaps and overcrowded areas in the mixed borders.
Visiting a garden centre is a pleasurable experience at any time but two periods stand out for me – autumn and late spring. Why? Because those are occasions when a diversity of ready-for-garden plants are on display. Right now you should find a good selection of hardy, woody and herbaceous perennials looking for the right home.