Gardening experts

[Steve1956]

Sure to be some on here...my wife's Dad died in January and he was a fanatical sweet pea grower,she asked me if I could grow some sweet peas as a tribute to him this summer,well I tried and all I got was this ...will I get any flowers on this or is it just going to be leaves

[Steve1956]

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[aclaretinstevenage]

I like a sweet pea especially the scent off the flowers but they are largely stem and leaves as your picture.

Flowering season it seems is June and July but with careful attention - deadheading, cutting little and often watering well - it could be longer.

[fatboy47]

Sure to be some on here...my wife's Dad died in January and he was a fanatical sweet pea grower,she asked me if I could grow some sweet peas as a tribute to him this summer,well I tried and all I got was this ...will I get any flowers on this or is it just going to be leaves

Our kid grows a lot of these Paul...all leaf and not much flower can suggest a bit of potash/ phosphate might be useful and happen a bit less nitrogen?
Hard to say though...if they'll grow in Whitewellbottom though theyll grow anywhere

[Bosscat]

Ours arent flowering yet either Steve, be patient buddy ...

We have some everlasting sweet peas growing up the archway that come back every year and are expecting flowers soon. As well as the ones we plant each year, them too soon hopefully.

Bit like Burnley FC gotta be patient and hope for the best. Sometimes a failure ... then bam like the season before last ... Boom its fantastic

[Steve1956]

Our kid grows a lot of these Paul...all leaf and not much flower can suggest a bit of potash/ phosphate might be useful and happen a bit less nitrogen?
Hard to say though...if they'll grow in Whitewellbottom though theyll grow anywhere

I should send her a txt and ask for tips when things happen buddy you lose touch way to quick you know what I mean?

[bfcjg]

My wife uses this site for help and tips.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/orname ... ooming.htm

[steve_f]

Must be the climate down here in Dorset, I planted my seedlings in early may, fed them with miracle grow soluable feed and here are my results.. They need a nice sunny spot

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[Tribesmen]

I have to say your grass looks top notch

[Bosscat]

Ours started flowering today in the sunshine.

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Everlasting ones still to bloom though

[beddie]

Sorry to hijack this post but does anyone know anything about laurel style hedging for screening, like the red robin or preferably a Gardner/ landscaper that could offer ideas, near to Skipton.

[Bosscat]

Sorry to hijack this post but does anyone know anything about laurel style hedging for screening, like the red robin or preferably a Gardner/ landscaper that could offer ideas, near to Skipton.

Sorry Beddie m8 not a clue ... I've just asked our neighbour who is also looking for similar ... maybe have a chat with the folk at Twin Locks Garden Centre nr The Anchor in Gargrave thats what he is going to do.

[beddie]

Sorry Beddie m8 not a clue ... I've just asked our neighbour who is also looking for similar ... maybe have a chat with the folk at Twin Locks Garden Centre nr The Anchor in Gargrave thats what he is going to do.

Thanks Boss.

[MrTopTier]

Sorry to hijack this post but does anyone know anything about laurel style hedging for screening, like the red robin or preferably a Gardner/ landscaper that could offer ideas, near to Skipton.

How big an area for screening?
How high do you want them to grow?
How quickly? By that I mean could you buy small plants and wait for them to grow or is it more mature plants that you are looking for.
What have your near neighbours (if you have any) got?
What’s your budget?

If you’re happy to answer those questions, I can hopefully give you a steer in the right direction.

[Steve1956]

Good to have a gardening thread...with the cost of plants these days any help in keeping them alive is a good thing so I have another poser for you guys...last spring I bought to small bamboo for a bit of a screen,I was told bamboo makes an excellent screen...14/15 months later although they look quite healthy they havnt got any height ...I water these twice a day with a watering can full each plant..
Any tips for what to feed them...is tomatorite a good fertiliser for just about everything?

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[MrTopTier]

Sure to be some on here...my wife's Dad died in January and he was a fanatical sweet pea grower,she asked me if I could grow some sweet peas as a tribute to him this summer,well I tried and all I got was this ...will I get any flowers on this or is it just going to be leaves

They look fine them, think you are bit further north than us, so flowering late June early July is more realistic. The buds are there by the looks, so feed them with tomato feed ( Tomorite)

[MrTopTier]

Good to have a gardening thread...with the cost of plants these days any help in keeping them alive is a good thing so I have another poser for you guys...last spring I bought to small bamboo for a bit of a screen,I was told bamboo makes an excellent screen...14/15 months later although they look quite healthy they havnt got any height ...I water these twice a day with a watering can full each plant..
Any tips for what to feed them...is tomatorite a good fertiliser for just about everything?

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Is that in a pot?

[Steve1956]

Is that in a pot?

Yea in a pot

[MrTopTier]

Pop it in a bigger pot, quick little trim and add some Nitrogen feed.

[Steve1956]

Pop it in a bigger pot, quick little trim and add some Nitrogen feed.

Hello TT did you edit that post I've just ordered some liquid feed called bamboo liquid fertiliser "Bamboo liquid fertiliser hi tech NPK

You going to challenge me on the Prediction League this season? ..
Did I beat you last season?

[MrTopTier]

Hello TT did you edit that post I've just ordered some liquid feed called bamboo liquid fertiliser "Bamboo liquid fertiliser hi tech NPK

You going to challenge me on the Prediction League this season? ..
Did I beat you last season?

Not sure what happened to that post, had to write it about five times before it posted.

That fertiliser should do the trick, keep us posted.

Yes will have another bash at the Prediction league. Happy to challenge you, that’s if you’re in the same league

[Jel]

Sorry to hijack this post but does anyone know anything about laurel style hedging for screening, like the red robin or preferably a Gardner/ landscaper that could offer ideas, near to Skipton.

You need something Hardy!

[aclaretinstevenage]

Sorry to hijack this post but does anyone know anything about laurel style hedging for screening, like the red robin or preferably a Gardner/ landscaper that could offer ideas, near to Skipton.

Red Robin is a Photinia variety and a few planted side by side will give a good hedge / screen in a couple of years. The Red colour of the new leaves is stunning when back lit by the sun. Most garden centres will do them in pots. Better thanjust your standard green laurel.

Another option would be Privet which is Green but has a fantastic scent this time of year.

[MrTopTier]

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Todays crop.

[Bosscat]

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Todays crop.

Show off

[Hipper]

Sorry to hijack this post but does anyone know anything about laurel style hedging for screening, like the red robin or preferably a Gardner/ landscaper that could offer ideas, near to Skipton.

Big leaved plants like Laurel, Photinia Red Robin, even Holly, need cutting with secateurs rather then hedge trimmers otherwise the chopped up leaves do not look good. Shrubs with smaller leaves - Privet, Lonicera nitida and so on - can be neatly pruned with hedge trimmers.

You could also consider informal hedges where the shrubs are pruned with secateurs but allowing them keeping their natural form.

You should answer MrToTier's questions before making a decision, and I would add:

+ How wide (that is thick) will the screen be?
+ Is there a security aspect? For example will a thorny hedge be useful to deter interlopers?
+ I'm all in favour of scented plants, especially near the house so it can waft through open windows.

[Longsider]

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Mine are no further on than yours. I've started feeding mine with banana water. Really good homemade fertiliser. Throw your old banana skins in the watering can and water as normal.

[Steve1956]

Mine are no further on than yours. I've started feeding mine with banana water. Really good homemade fertiliser. Throw your old banana skins in the watering can and water as normal.

Tried the Banana water with my houseplants (peace lily) they didn't like it.

[beddie]

How big an area for screening?
How high do you want them to grow?
How quickly? By that I mean could you buy small plants and wait for them to grow or is it more mature plants that you are looking for.
What have your near neighbours (if you have any) got?
What’s your budget?

If you’re happy to answer those questions, I can hopefully give you a steer in the right direction.

Hello and thank you to everyone who’s offered advice.

Reply to Mr Top Tier.
The area is around 8mtrs long.
No more than 6ft high maybe lower.
Reasonably quickly as it’s directly from the avenue road on to our front garden which then looks onto our patio which is at a lower level, so mature plants.
Our neighbours don’t really have anything similar due to the house styles.
We haven’t set a budget, just trying to get ideas.

We’ve had long established golden leylandii for over 40 years, last year they turned brown, we were told the weather caused the problem so they need to come out. We thought about replacing them with new golden leylandii but think the root issue might be a problem. We’ve had a tree chap call who would cut them out and in his words “grind” them. I imagine we’d need to get as much root out as we can and probably dig out the old soil, dump it and replace with new soil. We thought about the laurel red Robin assuming it would be easier to plant than leylandii and still give us the screening we need along with looking colourful. I’ve tried to add two photos showing the conifers, the second photo is the front and the first at the back. Currently they are 7ft at the front and 8 ft at the back but we don’t want the laurel as high as those. Just to add at the back we cut out (20 years ago) the back of those conifers as they had all burnt due to the previous owner butting a high fence up to them, having cut them out we then planted new ones all the way along that eventually mingled with the front ones, so they look all one, the problem is they are very wide being two sets together. I can reply further if required. Hope it makes sense. Thanks.

[MrTopTier]

Comprehensive reply Beddie and the photos help too. Thanks for that.

Forty years, you have done well.

The tree advice is pretty sound, although conifers don’t tend to be that deep rooted, mainly because of their age it is still a messy job.

You’re right in that you will need to dig in a decent amount of top soil, those bad boys will have taken a lot of life out of the soil, so always good to replenish.

Hipper and Stevenage offered solid suggestions.

Starting with Laurel, easily grown and will grow approx a foot a year. So if you are starting with 6/7 footers they will fill out within a couple of years. It’s also possible because of the size of the existing hedges, you could double row whatever you plant.

Red Robin ( Photinia) will do a similar job to laurel, the red adds a bit of different interest.

Portuguese laurel, smaller leafed and a darker green

Privet although slower growing would do the same job and again for width double row them could be an option.

Elaesgnus Ebbengei another big leafed plant slightly darker tinge to it or there is a variegated variety which is lighter more green a yellow. Tend to be bulkier than the others listed.

Yew- again more traditional like privet, but would offer the same options as privet and laurel.

Bear in mind that there a pitfalls with all of the above, wind damage can be an issue as can cold weather. I am sure others will add to this list, go have a look at the plants and get as much info from the nurseries/ growers especially in your local area.

[beddie]

Thanks MrTopTier. All of that is really interesting advice. We’ve loved our conifers, they were a talking point due to their shape, fully greened up each year they’ve been wonderful. I’m still struggling to an accept they've got to come out. I’d really like to replace them with the same but my wife thinks it’s too much work. I’ve also struggled to find a good experienced gardener close by that I could talk with about what’s involved to replace them, obviously I’ve a good idea about removing as much root and soil but would that work? I don’t know. I can do some digging out myself but being in my early 70s it gets harder. We don’t want to get a small digger in due the mess so it’s all a thinking game at the moment. I’ll take on board your advice though. Thank you very much for taking the time.

[Hipper]

Stump grinding means a they use a machine that grinds most of the stump and then leaves the grindings in situ. It looks a bit like bark so you can't plant in it. You could plant beside it. I don't know if Leylandii can be planted in places where Leylandii grew before. You would need to check that. Some plants like roses are not recommended to do this because they leave the risk of rose diseases behind - fungi or viruses. In other words it may be possible to plant Leylandii again.

A radical suggestion. You could kill your existing hedge and grow climbing plants over it! Ask advice on this if you consider it as I'm not sure what the medium to long term consequences would be.

You might also consider some sort of trellis with climbing plants - ivy (large leaf variegated ivy grows pretty quickly), summer or winter jasmine (the summer jasmine has a lovely scent) or a mix of some. This could then be a bit narrower then your hedge giving you more garden to play with.

You seem to have maintained the Leylandii to show off it's shape a bit - I like that. It's difficult to see how you can achieve that with big leafed plants like Laurels, which are also not as dense as your hedge. You probably can keep some interesting shapes with some other smaller leafed plants. Many shrubs can act like hedges. You can even plant a mix of them like here that offer different things at different times of year - Ceanothus (blue flowers), Berberis darwinii (orange flowers), Garrya elliptica (raceme like flowers), Elaeagnous pungens maculata (yellow/green leaves, tiny flowers in September with a gorgeous scent), Photinia Red Robin, Aucuba japonica (yellow/green spotted leaves), Choisya ternata sundance (yellow leaves that seem to sparkle in winter son). Maybe use three or four of these in a repeated pattern.

A few ideas anyway!

A local garden nursery may be a source of advice. Or online reputable sources like the RHS.

[Bosscat]

Back to sweet peas ... The Mrs cut some of ours today...

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[LeadBelly]

Putting birdfood out this morning I spotted that I have my first fully out sweet pea. Coloured as per the darkest one of Bosscat's but a bit later down here in my Hampshire garden.
I didnt plant (nor do I tend) mine, My neighbour had some hanging over our mutual fence, she's replaced them now but subsequently I have a few growing out of strange places around my patio and trailing along the ground. I like my garden to be "accidental" and a bit wild (I'm not just a lazy gardener - honest

Lots of buds too so I'm guessing Ill be able to cut a small vase full later this week for my mantlepiece.

[Steve1956]

Well it took till nearly the end of July...patience is a virtue the wife is happy with her small nod to her sadly missed Dad

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