Garden Plants Information

Growing tips and advice for bamboo and grasses in the UK. Growing tips for plant care and garden advice on hardy bamboo plants ornamental grasses plus sedges and ferns for contemporary European or prairie plantings bogland wetland areas or gravel and dry gardens.

If you give a plant growing conditions that are similar to those that it thrives in the wild then that plant will usually do very well. Its not always as easy as it sounds. Every garden has its own microclimate and although there are one or two things we can possibly do to improve that, usually by adding or growing wind breaks, creating sun traps and opening up shaded areas the options are fairly limited.

There is nothing on the other hand we can do about the overall climate in general. Living in the UK means we are living the temperate zone where our climate is very much influenced by the fact we are an island. The presence of the gulf stream blessing us with milder winters than we possibly deserve for our latitude particularly when compared with corresponding latitudes in central China ,where the winters can be extremely cruel. Many of the ornamental bamboos come from these areas in China such as Ganshu, Sezchuan, Zhejiang where the seasonal changes are far more extreme than we experience in the United Kingdom. As a consequence we can easily grow bamboos such as Phyllostachys Bissettii which is hardy down to minus 23 degrees without much worry.

However on the other hand we do not have such intensely hot summers, so where a bamboo like Bissettii will quite easily reach over 12 meters or more in its home environment we can expect it to make about two thirds of that in our climate. Usual between 5 and 8 meters depending on whereabouts in the UK we are situated. Still a respectable size for a larger garden and quite formidable for an average one.

Although bamboos are true grasses their needs differ from many of the ornamental grasses. Where the majority of grasses are happy with impoverished soil and handle severe drought condition and exposure to the elements such as wind bamboos are a little more fuss though with a little care in choosing your plants you should be able to cope with most situations. In China much of the very best bamboos grow in hollows and shallow valleys protected from the drying winds yet still enjoying maximum sunshine and the benefits of a moist and fertile pockets at the bottom of the depression.

You probably have a picture in your minds eye of what you would like your garden to look like, but please take a moment before you start ordering your plants to make a basic appraisal of your gardens disposition with regard to the soil type the aspect and its exposure and also the shadow boundaries, a factor that is often overlooked. Once you know what you have, you will be able to assess weather it can be improved or altered. If its not possible to improve or alter your garden or the costs are prohibitive then it may be necessary to compromise a little. Now I mean compromise a little, because although the grasses you had originally planed to put in a particular position or situation may now appear unsuitable due to the fact that position is shaded or far to wet . Dont worry there are loads of alternatives amongst the sedges and ferns that will literally thrive in those conditions and are very capable of producing some of the most unusual and attractive displays that you could wish for.

There is a saying about putting the wrong plant in the wrong place. Basically its bull and the rest can go with the organic much. There is no such thing as the wrong plant; they are all the right plants, just some of them get put in the wrong places. Use your eyes and look around you and appraise. Do your home work and find out which plant suits the soil type which aspect is best for that particular plant then you wont go far wrong. Finally if you have planted a bamboo or grass and it does not look like its doing well, then dig it up and move it somewhere else dont worry about the right time, the right time is right now, while its looking poorly not when its dead. The plant wants to survive as much as you want it to do.

Before deciding what and where you are going to plant make an assessment of the area. If you can try to do it early in the year so you have plenty of time to plan ahead. This is also a good time to determine where the shadow boundaries are. In the early months of the year, the sun is low on the horizon and the shadows extend further into the garden. Look out on a bright day and mark the extent of those boundaries with a couple of pegs. Determining these boundaries is quite important as most true grasses relish the sun and do best when the have maximum exposure to it, even through the winter months. This is because grasses including bamboo are incredibly sophisticated plants when it comes to converting sunlight to energy through photosynthesis. Most grasses including bamboo, with a few exceptions do not generally do well in shade. However sedges and rushes do. Once you have determined the limitations of your boundaries you will have a good idea where grasses and sedges belong.

The exposure to wind and elements will depend to a degree of openness of your garden. The prevailing winds, coastal conditions, altitude, and geographical location will all have an effect on the microclimate of your garden. Exposure to wind is probably the most damaging as it can desiccate plants and dry out the soil very quickly even in the winter months. It may be possible to erect physical windbreaks such as fences or screens, however there are many bamboos and grasses that stand up extremely well to exposed conditions and the larger species can be used to good effect on the boundaries to form a quick growing living screen that is far cheaper more attractive and wonderfully animated in the wind when compared to conventional fencing.

Knowing your soil types is essential. I say types, as even the smallest garden may have a variety of different soil compositions and varying PH levels in it. Most grasses and bamboos are unfussy about the PH but there is always the one or to that are, so check the lists above. . Composition of the soil is also important, a shaded area on the north-facing wall of your property may prove to be extremely dry due to its shelter from the prevailing wet weather winds, absorption from the footings, or excess drainage created by a high proportion of builders rubble and sand that has been left or backfilled.

These conditions are not conducive to most sedges or ferns and in fact not conducive to much at all. The options here are to dig out the planting area and isolate the footings by placing a polythene sheet or damp course between the wall footings and then replacing the soil after it has been much improved with lots of organic manure or compost and possibly riddled as well. If you also have areas that have a suitable aspect for grasses, but tend to be heavy and wet, then you can improve those areas by digging in plenty of sharp sand grit or shingle to improve the drainage. Unlike bamboos and sedges grasses don’t have a high nutrient requirement in fact many do best on poor soil so there is no great need to incorporate organic manures or fertilizers.

An excellent way to maintain drainage in these areas is to make a gravel garden where a number of specimen clump forming grasses can be shown off to advantage within an area of gravel mulch. This will effectively suppress unwanted weeds and the gravel will work its way down over time into the soil and preserve its open structure an drainage. Bamboos on the other hand do best with a fertile free draining and evenly moist soil. They will however tolerate most condition except to excess. Perhaps their biggest dislikes are waterlogged ground and dense shade. Like grasses they do not take a lot of looking after if placed in the right spot with their minimum basic requirements plus a hair cut, comb through and brush up and an occasional feed.

The problems to be aware of with bamboos is that some are clumpers and well behaved, ideal for specimen planting in lawns or as a backdrop for herbaceous perennials. The others are runners beware some are rampant, such as the staggeringly beautiful Chimonobambusa Tumidissinoda from China who like Genghis Kahn with his hoards will gallop across your lawn and into next doors in no time at all. These bamboos are best kept I containers and they do well being shown off and appreciated as such. You can find more information and pictures on growing bamboos and grasses at The Pot and Grass Company.

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The Tulip Tree has got its name from its tulip shaped flowers. The flowers of a Tulip Tree are located at great heights and typically reach a size of 2.5 inches. The Tulip Tree produces monoecious flowers with yellow-green petals. The corolla has a beautiful vivid orange shade. Some people find the leaves of the Tulip Tree similar to tulips too, at least with a little imagination. The leaves are four lobed and have a notch at the tip. A Tulip Tree leaf will typically reach a length of 4-6 inches in diameter. The leaf colour is bright green and will turn yellow in autumn.

The Tulip Tree is sometimes called “The King of the Magnolias”. It is called Liriodendron tulipifera in Latin, and it belongs to the Family Magnoliaceae. The Tulip Tree is related to the Chinese Tulip Tree (Liriodendron Chinese).

The Tulip Tree is utilized as timber and is very appreciated among carpenters since the wood is easy to work with. Tulip Tree wood has a pale yellow color and is particularly popular in furniture, wood carvings, cabinetry, veneer, jewelry boxes and musical instruments. Earlier, the Tulip Tree was frequently used in canoes created by Native Americans. The Tulip Tree bark has been used as a substitute for cinchona in traditional remedies.

The popular Tulip Tree is known by many names in English, including Canoewood, Saddletree, Tulipwood, Whitewood, Canary Whitewood and American Whitewood. The Tulip Tree is not a poplar, but it is still commonly referred to as Tulip poplar, Hickory poplar, White poplar and Yellow poplar.

Apart from being an appreciated timber tree, the Tulip tree is also planted as a shade tree and ornamental tree. It is a remarkably fast growing tree and can grow 50 feet tall in eleven years.

During spring and early summer it will blossom with beautiful flowers. The twigs of a Tulip Tree will turn red and become shiny during the winter, which will add colour to the garden.

The fruits of the Tulip Tree are also very beautiful. Immature fruits are green and will gradually turn brown as they mature. In fall, they will be ripe and have the shape of small cones. Tulip Tree fruits are popular among squirrels, rodents, rabbits, birds and other wild animals. Bees and butterflies will instead eat the nectar from the flowers, and the deer will happily browse the new twigs.

The Tulip Tree is though, adaptable and will withstand most tree diseases and pests. Plant your Tulip Tree in moist and nutritious soil, ideally close to water. Tulip Trees are very found of moist soil and will often grow near marshlands, streams and rivers. Acid soil should be avoided. The Tulip Tree requires direct sunlight, but this is usually not a problem since the Tulip Tree grows fast and becomes very tall. The oldest known Tulip Trees are older than 15 years.

In North America, Tulip Trees are found from the Great Lakes to Florida in the south. Forest growing Tulip Trees will typically reach a height of 100 feet and form a tall limb-free bole. If a Tulip Tree is planted in a more open area, it will instead grow a pyramid shaped crown that eventually turns oval with age.

Read more about tulip trees and African tulip trees

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One winter evening I was working on the computer when the power went out. The freezing rain that had been forecast must have been the culprit. It was getting late so I went to bed figuring we would have power again by morning.

Thunder and lightning woke me a couple times, but then I heard something a little different. An explosive popping sound followed by what seemed to be a shower of sparks. In my minds eye I tried to picture the cause of this sound. An exploding power transformer with hot lines arcing around it? There is nothing like a puzzle to keep me awake; but I didn’t want to get up and lose the warmth I had built up under the blankets. Just drifting off again I heard the sound repeated but up the hill behind my house and more distant… more crackly sounding but still accompanied by the sparkling shattering sound my ears were now more tuned in to analyze. Suddenly realizing the impact this freezing rain was having I shot out of bed and ran to the window. Large tree limbs were on the ground. Major branches were bending under the cumulative weight of the ice; then noisily busting sending thousands of 3″ icicles to break with a sparkly shattering sound.

Well the power was out for days for many, and the damage to the trees and landscape is still being cleaned up. After a damaging storm you always see a migration of tree company trucks to the area. Many of the local tree care, and landscape businesses have their hands full assisting their customer base. The city workers are also busy as these crews and residents move debris to the street for collection. The effects of such a storm can be seen in the landscape for years to come. Storms can cause limbs to break and trees to fall. A large damaged tree branch can be extremely heavy and dangerous to remove or trim. Removing large branches from a mature tree safely requires special training and often specialized equipment. Also the way this damage is dealt with impacts on the health of the tree. If you value your trees (yes I know they are all valuable) or fear a tree becoming a hazard, I would suggest you find a certified arborist.

One good first test of an arborist is:

Tell them you need your trees topped.

If they say “Sure, no problem.” move on till you find one that knows what is good for the long term health of a tree.

There are plenty of crews in your town that can carve up your trees for you; but it may take diligence to find a crew trained in the proper pruning of mature trees. Everyone appreciates the hardworking and practical service of the local jobber cleaning up a storms mess, but if you have issues with major branches of a large tree, do generations to come a favor and search out an International Society of Arboriculture certified arborist.

A good certified arborist with integrity will only perform ISA accepted practices. Branches are not removed without good reason. They do not “top” tree’s, remove excessive amounts of live wood, or use climbing spikes on a tree (unless it is being removed). A good arborist knows how to make removal of a desirable tree the last option, and will make pruning decisions that will enhance the health of the tree and reduce possible hazards.

Pruning Cuts on a Mature Tree

Regardless who is doing the pruning or why, final pruning cuts should be made just outside a growth of bark cells called the branch collar. The branch collar is a collar of growth made of parent branch (trunk) tissue where the branch meets the trunk (or parent branch) and care should be taken to not cut or remove it. This is true for dead, damaged or living branches. Do not remove the actively growing cells of the branch collar. These cells are the trees way of closing the wound. The branch collar grows a bit out and angled away from the parent, so if you make a flush cut against the trunk, the branch collar has been removed and the wound will not close. Conversely if you cut far away from the trunk the branch collar is not near the cut where they can grow over the wound.
Improper pruning cuts can hurt your trees.

Take notice of trees with dieback of the bark on branches and down the trunks. Often you can tell it was from a flush cut or an end cut. Other times it may be a storm damaged branch that wasn’t removed and it died back to the trunk and on down.

If removing a large limb, first its weight should be reduced to prevent tearing the bark when the branch falls. Make a shallow cut from the bottom of the branch a foot or so out from the branches point of attachment. Then finish cut from the top, above or a little further out on the branch. This leaves a lighter and more manageable stub. The stub is then removed while taking care to not remove the branch collar. This technique reduces the possibility of tearing the bark.

A garden center manager, writer, musician and webmaster; Lee Goins is often called on as an expert in landscaping and gardening. Residents of Shelby County Ohio have been bringing him pieces of trees, moldy leaves, and jars of bugs for 8 years in spite of the well publicized knowledge he prefers chocolate. His gardening help has been featured on TV, Radio, Newspapers and websites like http://www.shelbylandscaping.com

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