Bunny’s Diary
Bunny prepares for Christmas with a real tree and suggests perfect presents for gardeners
Apine tree is the perfect Christmas tree for indoors or out. Scots pine, Pinus sylvestris, can be pruned each spring by pinching the tips back with your fingers (blades encourage browning). This will create a compact, bushy habit because the pruning stimulates new growth. Year on year, you can form the perfect, pyramidal tree as seen on so many Christmas cards!
After Twelfth Night, put the tree in a root control bag (try Rootex from gardenselect. co.uk) and plant it into the ground inside the bag, watering well. These bags have copper hydroxide on the inside that stops the root tip and encourages fibrous rooting while allowing the sideways movement of water so you don’t need to give them nearly as much TLC as you would if they were in a pot above ground. They make it super easy to lift the tree again next year.
A great present to put under the Christmas tree is the new Genus Gardening Caddy Bag (£69). It’s tough with plenty of pockets, perfect for the gardener with ever-disappearing tools (me). Add in a pair of their waterproof but flexible and warm gloves, too. These come in seven sizes (£20). Visit genus.gs to find the perfect fit.
Trees with growing mistletoe make the best present ever. I have several highyielding ones, perfect for home-grown decorations. Henry Webber of Screens
Park Farm ( mistletoetrees.co.uk) sells a range of crab apples on MM106 rootstock, hawthorns and rowans, which have been impregnated with mistletoe and grown on. They are £100 each.
Bulbs in pots are loved by all, whether it’s a plastic pot wrapped in hessian and tied with a bow or traditional terracotta. No matter if the bulbs are not yet showing: add decorative twigs or eucalyptus, moss and ribbons. Paperwhites ( Narcissus ‘Erlicheer’ and ‘Ziva’) are the classic. If they grow too fast, put them in a cool room at 10-15°C away from bright sunlight. Tulips, hyacinths and amaryllis are fabulous too.
Watch ‘Quince – My Favourite Small Tree’, and ‘Lasagne Planting, What it is and Discover a Better, Quicker Way!’ at youtube.com/bunnyguinness