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Is it too early?
Dirty Harry
Posts: 1,048
in Plants
Tomorrow is meant to be sunny all day and I fancy taking advantage to do a few jobs.
Curious if it's still a touch early for the following though?
*Re-pot Bay Trees- I had been planning on doing this anyway as the pots had cracked over the last 6 months having toppled on windy days, however, last week they'd fallen over again and one of them has a large chunk come right off now, about a third.
*Plant smallish perennials- popped into the garden centre after work and I see they've already got loads of the 4 for £10 cottage garden perennials and such like. Looking along the lines of echinops, foxgloves etc.
Curious if it's still a touch early for the following though?
*Re-pot Bay Trees- I had been planning on doing this anyway as the pots had cracked over the last 6 months having toppled on windy days, however, last week they'd fallen over again and one of them has a large chunk come right off now, about a third.
*Plant smallish perennials- popped into the garden centre after work and I see they've already got loads of the 4 for £10 cottage garden perennials and such like. Looking along the lines of echinops, foxgloves etc.
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Can I ask you please, which garden centre you went to for these 4 for £10 perennials as I want some too... my locals are Dobies and Wyevale, so if it wasn't one of these then there's no need to be specific... it may have been one independent local to you..
As far as those jobs you mention, I always think if the Forsythia has just come out, then it's fine to do it...
They had absolutely loads already though, bowles mauve, hollyhock, delphinium, poppies etc. all the usual suspects. Just didn't expect to see them all so soon.
@Dirty Harry oh ok, I thought so... I've got one of those near me, farm shop/garden centre but she usually doesn't put hers out until after Mother's Day, so maybe I take a look next week... thanks again...
If you have good temps, good free draining soil, and it's something very tough like the foxgloves, you might be ok, but I'd let them grow on for a while yet. Small plants are very susceptible to rot, and weather and mollusc damage for the next month or two. It would be better to let them become bigger plants - ie pot them on once they outgrow those little pots - before planting out later in the year.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
We visited a Garden Centre in Derby last week and the had loads of plants for sale and although tempted we held back.
Its always a disaster when high winds damage lovely shrubs in pots but now I tend to place them in built up spaces in the garden till spring.