A time for TLC and laying groundwork in the garden
In September, even though the temperatures can still be high, around 30C and perhaps a little more, and whilst tourists from Northern Europe may come for our autumn sunshine, we are looking at what needs to be done in the garden this month.
We might be lucky and have a little rain to lay the dust and there may even be some Coptic Winds later on, which means check your awnings, fencing and supports now, to see that they are firmly fixed in the ground.
Keep a watchful eye on shrubs and trees as they will probably need some extra watering before then. Potted plants are much easier to look after as you can use that first cold shower water for them, unless you are addicted to cold showers!
The bougainvillea which adorns the front of our house can’t quite match our neighbours’ bougainvillea, which uses a Cypress tree to help it climb many metres high. This is how they grew before they became garden plants, as it raised them up above the forest floor to the sunlight. You may be lucky and keep the colourful bracts all winter but the higher up you live could preclude you from that joy.
In the orchard you may notice that some of the citrus trees have yellowing on the leaves, which may mean that they are lacking iron or even zinc. The remedy for this is two dessertspoons of iron chelate in 10 litres of water and applied around the base of the tree. The old Cypriot remedy for this was to stick iron nails in the soil around the trunk of the tree, so you might like to do that instead, although I am not sure how effective that is.
The other problem with citrus trees could be zinc shortages which causes mottling between the veins. For this try spraying the leaves with a mixture of just under a level dessertspoon of zinc chelate in 5 litres of water, until it runs off.
As the pecan nuts grow the local crows will be looking out for them and tear them off the trees before they are ready, whilst the smaller birds feast on the ripening figs.
We have some young fig trees growing beneath our upstairs veranda, caused by birds pooping after they have feasted on our figs, as they come to roost in the evenings amongst the wisteria and bougainvillea branches that hang over the railings.
Luckily some of the trees that I introduced when we first came here can withstand the heat of a Cyprus summer. Polygala in particular, which is in flower here all year long, although it does have a naughty side, as it sheds flowers and leaves most of that time too!
Nevertheless, it is a ‘bee’ favourite tree, so if you want to help them along, try growing it. Leucophyllum frutescens is another tree much favoured by bees, so as well as being decorative it does a good job keeping the bees happy.
Enough of trees, let’s concentrate on the flowers and veggies that we like to grow. I mentioned last month, that the brassicas and sweet corn that I usually grow didn’t do at all well and with all the heat they just keeled over and died.
I have some lovely home-made compost in my bins now, which I will dig in soon and if that is not enough, I might buy some bagged top soil to improve the soil, although I rather think it was the lack of water that finished them off.
So, once it becomes slightly cooler that is a big job for me. Garden centres have a wonderful supply of various veggie and salad plugs these days and they stand much more chance of survival when they get off to a good start.
Sadly, in my flower garden I had some failures as well. My three large clumps of agapanthus, grown for quite some time in pots, only sent up one single flower shoot this year, which was a great disappointment. I know that if I de-pot them, they will sulk for a year or two before I get any new flowers.
Chasmanthe (known here erroneously as monbretia) has similar habits. After a couple of years when they were moved into a new spot, they didn’t have a flower stem at all, but last year and earlier this year, the flowers appeared on very long stems, about one and half metres high and the clumps were so big that I had to stake them up.
I am prepared that this coming year, having removed some of the corms from around the edge of the clumps, I will put up some supports once the shoots start to appear above ground.
This sometimes happens with fruit trees when they can be overladen with fruit one year and none the next year and is called biennial bearing.
However, amaryllis, also growing in pots were absolutely wonderful and gave me lots of lovely flowers. Fingers crossed for next year.
Garden centres will have Dutch spring bulbs for sale on their shelves towards the end of this month, but it is far too soon to plant them. Nevertheless, you will have a better choice now than later, so do buy them but keep them in a cool dry place.
Remember that most bulbs need to be planted in damp soil at a depth of twice their height in order to stablise their roots, so wait a while for that job.
Snowdrops come from this end of the Med, where they have been known since the earliest times under various names. They look wonderful in great drifts. However, I have not had much luck with them here.
Autumn flowering Sternbergia lutea, on the other hand, does very well in my garden, although I have to protect the flowers from the sparrows, as they are addicted to the yellow petals and peck them to pieces. I usually surround the new shoots as they appear with those plastic supports, which come with the Christmas poinsiettas, although the birds sometimes can get inside of them!
Daffodils were natives of Spain and Portugal, the humble but heavenly-perfumed freesias were originally from South Africa, as far away as North Africa and even China! I love the early flowering ‘Paperwhites’, Narcissus papyrus, which started life in parts of Greece and as far as Portugal and also along the northern coast of Africa. How amazing that we are able to enjoy so many of these international flowers!
Don’t forget your roses when you are gardening. Dead head them regularly and with the cooling weather, they may be starting to put out new leaf growths. Help them along with a feed of a proprietary rose food.
By pruning the stems of Plumbago auriculata after it produces its sticky seedpods, you may have a showing of pretty blue or white flowers for at least a couple of months. This shrub used to be known as Plumbago capensis, which meant it came from the Cape in South Africa and should do well here.However, those who study plant names have in recent yearschanged it to Plumbago auriculata, which means havingan ear!
Potted plants may be looking quite exhausted by now. Dead or dying annuals can easily be replaced, using new stock from the garden centres to freshen up balconies or verandas. Check the soil first and perhaps refresh it.
Pelargoniums look stressed after the long hot summer. Good advice here is to cut them right back to a new growth lower down the stem, and having loosened the existing soil first, add in some new compost to the top of the pot, give it a liquid feed and place the pot in a shady place to recover.
Plant of the month – Datura stramonium
Datura stramonium shows off its dramatic trumpet-shaped flowers appearing atop the tall dark purple one metre stems. These flowers can be most fragrant, especially during the warm summer nights when they are usually fertilised by night flying moths and other insects.
Originally from Central America, they have several different common names like ‘devil’s trumpets’, ‘thorn apple’ and sometimes ‘jimson’s weeds’. Legend has it that the last name occurred after some English soldiers in Jamestown, Virginia accidentally ate the leaves whilst trying to suppress Bacon’s Rebellion there during 1676 and 1677. They were ill for eleven days afterwards with mental health problems!
Dramatic though the plant is, the effects from touching it too can have severe consequences. This not a plant to grow with young children around!
The seed capsules are round and covered with thorns, hence the name of ‘thorn apple’.
The seeds can remain dormant for a very long time and should be planted in rich soil and full sun for best effect. They do need regular watering to sustain them and are best grown in pots.
You will probably not find the seeds in garden centres, so you may have to beg a few seeds from friends, which is how I got mine.