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May
Gardens and garden centres are full of fresh new growth and plenty of promise for a flower filled summer. May is a really busy time for planting up hanging baskets, pots, tubs and window boxes with summer bedding plants. Don't forget that weeds will be springing up everywhere and need to be kept under control before they swamp the vegetables and flowers planted in beds and borders.
Flower borders
Your local garden centre will be full of plants that promise to provide a summer display of beautiful blooms. You will find individual varieties of fuchsias and geraniums together with a plethora of exotic plants to decorate your patio. Go check out the best for your garden. Unfortunately night frosts are still possible in most areas of the country throughout May, so if you buy these tender plants early in the month you may need to provide some protection, even if it's a layer of newspaper or growing fleece thrown over the tops. When you get the plants home give them a good feed with diluted Miracle-Gro Plant Food and find a protected place where they can continue growing.
Just a little care and attention on planting will give them the best start in life. All you then need to do is keep them fed and watered so they can produce their beautiful best. When planting out in the garden enrich the soil with as much organic matter as you can muster. Not only does this improve the soil structure and plant root activity, but it also holds reservoirs of water, nutrients and microbes that help you grow bigger, better plants. If you have well-rotted garden compost or the contents of last year's growing bags use this or buy bags of blended organic material. Levington Farmyard Manure is a 100% organic soil conditioner that adds humus and plant foods to naturally increase yields and improve the vitality of roses, shrubs, flowers, fruit and vegetables. Similarly Levington Organic Choice Soil Conditioner is a blend of 100% peat-free composted materials that does a similar job.
Open up your planting hole and dig some organic matter into the bottom. Position the plant so the top of the compost is at soil level and fill in with soil that has been enriched with organic matter and a slow release fertilizer such as Miracle-Gro Controlled Release Plant Food.
Protect your new planting from slug attack with a light sprinkling of SlugClear Advanced Pellets. If you have pets playing in the garden and prefer not to have pellets laying around then wet your decorative plants and the surrounding soil with a liquid concentrate slug killer, such as Slug Clear. This will kill even the slugs and snails that are hiding underground.
Watch the new growth of roses for the first signs of greenfly breeding happily away on buds and under tender new leaves. They are almost impossible to remove physically, so get spraying with either BugClear Gun! or RoseClear Gun! as soon as you see these sap-sucking pests.
If you want to get kids involved in gardening then give them the opportunity to grow something that gives spectacular results. Giant Sunflowers are always a good bet as they appreciate being fed and watered throughout the summer. Sow one seed per pot of good quality compost such as Miracle-Gro All Purpose Growing Compost and keep well watered.
Timely tips
Annual weeds and grasses will be growing vigorously as warm sunshine and gentle rains encourage new growth. The quick and easy way to keep these weeds under control is with Weedol Gun! which comes with a precise spray applicator. This ready-to-use spot weeder is quick acting and will show results in a couple of days. Best of all you can use it just before planting because it doesn't linger in the soil. In fact you can sow seeds or plant out seedlings immediately the treated weed leaves are dry.
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ALWAYS READ THE LABEL. USE PESTICIDES SAFELY
BugClear ™ and BugClear Gun!™ contain bifenthrin. EverGreen® Complete contains MCPA, mecoprop-P and ferrous sulphate. Pathclear® Ultra contains glyphosate, oxidiazon and diflufenican. Pathclear Gun!™ contains glyphosate and diuron. Roseclear Gun!™ contains bifenthrin and flutriafol. SlugClear™ Advanced Pellets and SlugClear™ contain metaldehyde. Weedol® 2 and Weedol Gun!™ contain diquat
® , ™ , Miracle-Gro, Tomorite and Levington are Trade Marks of The Scotts Company or its affiliates. Roundup is the registered Trade mark of Monsanto Company. |
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