Annie’s
accusing me of arboricide (the noun for a tree killer) after my attempts at hardening-off
the "Norwegian Spruce" Christmas tree. I still think it will recover, but things
are not looking good. I’ve used a wetting agent on the soil media and a seaweed
extract to revive it. Just a few hours in the morning sun and it turned brown your Honour.
The jury is still out!
This hot weather interspersed with woozy cool changes is
playing havoc on the autumn seedlings. I’ve lost most of my recently planted
‘Sugar ‘n Spice’ Antirrhinum seedlings, but the good news is that the
Marigolds, Cosmos and Sunflower seedlings just love this hot weather.
I hope we can get a few days of cooler nights to get my
next crop of Lettuce, Broccoli and Lobelia planted.
The debate about whether to water during the heat of the
day still rages, but my Father Des
(who was a great gardener) had the definitive response and it was only to water at dusk,
even if the vegies all sagged their sorry little heads. They usually recovered and those
that didn’t were not good enough for his garden anyhow.
If you have a shaded spot under tall trees the ankle high
Begonia ‘Gypsy’ cultivars do well at this time of year, along with Impatiens
white or the bold ‘Supershades’ in similar spots.
Salvia in the reds and blues also make a stunning bold
display. They are not afraid of the heat and establish quickly, but the red varieties need
plenty of sunlight and will not tolerate much shade. Use the blue varieties for slightly
shaded areas.
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