Six on Saturday: Potted Colour

I’m not sure if it’s just the garden centres in our area or has it become a more universally accepted practice to allow plants to sit in trays of water so the roots turn brown and start to rot? I bought several plants this week, including the Fuschias where once the pot was removed exposed decaying roots. Reminder to self, water with a feed of hydrogen peroxide 3% (1 part to 10 parts water)

1. Buddha Rockery – Mystery Plant

The waterfall rockery has always been problematic – no sun all winter and sun for a good part of the day in summer. At the beginning of winter last year, I spotted some unusual flowers in our local garden centre. I bought three. Two for the Buddha rockery and one for the rockery by the house. I had not expected them to survive the winter let alone flower so profusely with little or no sun. The garden centre assured me they would grow in sun or shade but garden centres are often economical with the truth.

The same plant has been growing in full sun since it was planted and by comparison it looks really pathetic.

2. Fushias

I have been meaning to treat myself to some Fuchias for the covered terrace area for ages so the moment I saw these I could not resist.

3. Growing Hydrangea in a Pot

Every year I cut the hydrangeas right back to a few inches and repot in good quality compost. This year I moved the plant into a larger pot and it is already rewarding me with flowers. It is worth noting the hydrangea only enjoys limited summer sun.

4. Potty About Petunias

A trip to a three garden centres revealed they ALL same the same colours of petunias. I like using petunias for my pots because they can, if treated well, flower all year.

These are the petunias I planted spring 2020 and apart from a blip where they started to die off they have a new lease of life. I had bought new plants to replace them but when it came to digging them up and retiring them to compost heap hell, I did not have the heart … maybe next year.

5. Crown of Thorns – Euphorbia Milii

These unusual plants keep on giving …

6. Orchid

You can never have too many orchids. Although this is an inside orchid I may find a sheltered hom hout of direct sunlight outside. And why do orchids planted in such small pots?

That’s a wrap for this week. If you enjoy gardening why not pop over to Mr P’s blog for more gardening updates around the world