Episode 4 Gardeners' World


Episode 4

Similar Content

Browse content similar to Episode 4. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

Hello. Welcome to Gardeners' World.

0:00:100:00:12

Now, it's Easter weekend

0:00:120:00:14

and for many of us, this is our first venture out into the garden,

0:00:140:00:18

where we can take stock, start buying plants, planning, gardening

0:00:180:00:24

so that the garden will look as good as it possibly can

0:00:240:00:27

in the months to come.

0:00:270:00:29

Here in the damp garden at Longmeadow,

0:00:290:00:30

I have done some work over winter.

0:00:300:00:32

A bit of pruning, a bit of clearing and digging.

0:00:320:00:35

But now is the time to start moving plants around, dividing some,

0:00:350:00:40

putting in new ones,

0:00:400:00:42

giving this part of Longmeadow a new burst of energy.

0:00:420:00:46

This week, Rachel visits a garden centre to find out

0:00:480:00:51

what are the trends this Easter.

0:00:510:00:54

Viburnums!

0:00:540:00:55

There's been a trend very much for planting herbaceous perennials

0:00:550:00:58

and wild flowers and the more naturalistic look.

0:00:580:01:01

We get a masterclass in looking after one of our most popular

0:01:010:01:05

house plants, the orchid.

0:01:050:01:07

Probably where people go wrong the most

0:01:070:01:09

is getting the watering balance right.

0:01:090:01:11

And Joe goes behind the scenes

0:01:110:01:13

at one of the biggest growers of bedding plants in the country.

0:01:130:01:17

The thing about bedding is it's fun, it's not very expensive

0:01:170:01:21

and you can do anything you want with it.

0:01:210:01:23

The pond is coming into life in more ways than one.

0:01:330:01:36

There's a little bit of growth coming in.

0:01:360:01:38

It'd be nice to get in there with my waders

0:01:380:01:40

and start to clean out, cut back the old foliage,

0:01:400:01:43

and I was planning to do that but I was halted by a sound.

0:01:430:01:49

And that sound was the rumbling croak of scores of mating frogs.

0:01:490:01:55

Music to somebody's ears, probably other mating frogs, but it

0:01:550:01:58

means that if I get in there, splash about, I'm going to disturb them.

0:01:580:02:03

And you do have to take on board that if you're going to have a pond

0:02:030:02:07

that's occupied by wildlife, it does mean

0:02:070:02:09

that you have to work around them, rather than them working around you.

0:02:090:02:12

From the edge, I can start to take out leaves and things

0:02:120:02:15

and it's important to do that

0:02:150:02:16

because if you have rotting vegetation in the water,

0:02:160:02:20

that will decompose, that will enrich the water

0:02:200:02:22

and that will encourage algae later on in the year.

0:02:220:02:25

In this border in the front and you can see the camassias

0:02:250:02:29

are growing well, I've got, just appearing, hostas.

0:02:290:02:33

I've got three main types.

0:02:330:02:35

Sieboldiana, Sum And Substance and Snowdon.

0:02:350:02:38

And all three have got really big leaves.

0:02:380:02:41

And, over the last couple of years, they've suppressed other things

0:02:410:02:45

like primulas that were planted in there, so what I want to do

0:02:450:02:49

today is to move some, divide some and actually start planting hostas

0:02:490:02:54

around the back of the pond, so we pick up that rhythm of foliage.

0:02:540:02:58

And the time to do it is now.

0:02:580:03:00

Any time when you start to see these bullet-like shoots appear and this

0:03:000:03:05

is also a very good time to divide and move any herbaceous perennial.

0:03:050:03:10

And they are very easy to do. Right, out you come.

0:03:100:03:15

There we go.

0:03:170:03:18

Now, I have done this with an axe before

0:03:220:03:24

and you can do it with a bread knife, by the way.

0:03:240:03:26

An old bread knife is probably more accurate,

0:03:260:03:28

but I'm just going to chop, like that.

0:03:280:03:30

There we go.

0:03:300:03:32

And you can see the roots are cut clean.

0:03:350:03:39

If I replant that, I will get a big, healthy plant.

0:03:390:03:42

I could divide that easily into two again,

0:03:420:03:45

if I wanted to space them out more.

0:03:450:03:48

And I've got some compost in here and take them to their new home.

0:03:480:03:52

I'm digging a much bigger hole than I need for the hosta itself,

0:04:030:04:07

because I want to put plenty of compost underneath it.

0:04:070:04:09

Hostas are greedy, thirsty plants.

0:04:090:04:12

So I'm going to give it every chance.

0:04:120:04:15

This is garden compost, but manure will do.

0:04:160:04:19

Anything that is rich and strong

0:04:190:04:21

will hold moisture and feed the plant.

0:04:210:04:23

Now we'll plant this at the same level it was in the ground

0:04:260:04:30

and we can backfill around it.

0:04:300:04:32

Last, but absolutely not least, give it a really good drink

0:04:320:04:36

and I mean a proper soak.

0:04:360:04:37

Although I haven't had to go shopping for these plants,

0:04:450:04:49

the truth is that most of us will go shopping for plants at Easter time.

0:04:490:04:54

Garden centres do a huge trade at this time of year.

0:04:540:04:57

It's by far and away their biggest commercial period.

0:04:570:05:01

And Rachel's been to a garden centre in the Cotswolds to see

0:05:010:05:04

exactly what people looking for this year.

0:05:040:05:07

I don't know about you, but I love the Easter weekend.

0:05:130:05:17

The chance to spend time with family,

0:05:200:05:22

the warm spring days...mostly.

0:05:220:05:26

And the gardening season starting in earnest, which of course,

0:05:290:05:32

for most of us, means a trip to the garden centre.

0:05:320:05:35

Every year, over two thirds of British adults

0:05:380:05:41

visit a garden centre.

0:05:410:05:43

That's around 160 million visits, spending nearly £3 billion

0:05:430:05:48

and the Easter weekend is when it really all kicks off.

0:05:480:05:53

But what I want to know is what exactly we're all going to be

0:05:530:05:57

buying this year and how our gardens are going to look as a result.

0:05:570:06:01

I've come to one of the country's most successful garden centres.

0:06:020:06:06

Glenn Sheldrake is the horticultural director,

0:06:060:06:09

responsible for filling the place chock-full with irresistible plants.

0:06:090:06:14

So this is the first thing I'd like to show you.

0:06:160:06:18

-Viburnums!

-Yes.

0:06:180:06:21

So, there's been a trend over the last few years, very much

0:06:210:06:24

for planting herbaceous perennials and wild flowers

0:06:240:06:27

and the more naturalistic look.

0:06:270:06:29

And what we're seeing is a tandem trend springing up for people

0:06:290:06:31

that now realise that you also need structure and form in the garden.

0:06:310:06:35

We love viburnum because there are so many different types

0:06:350:06:39

and I particularly wanted to show you this one.

0:06:390:06:41

This is Viburnum Mariesii Great Star.

0:06:410:06:45

It has a great architectural form where you get layers of branches

0:06:450:06:49

-which are smothered in flowers.

-Horizontal.

0:06:490:06:51

Absolutely smothered in flowers in the spring

0:06:510:06:54

and then incredible autumn colour.

0:06:540:06:55

You know, I'm so pleased that you said this.

0:06:550:06:57

Because for me, this is what's been missing for the last few years.

0:06:570:07:00

In fact, even longer than that, and I remember, as a child, my father

0:07:000:07:04

had lots of shrubs, philadelphus, viburnums and so on.

0:07:040:07:06

I'm so pleased. It's high time.

0:07:060:07:09

So, what's coming next?

0:07:110:07:15

This is a trend that we've seen becoming more and more prevalent,

0:07:150:07:18

for using your garden as an extra room.

0:07:180:07:21

And a lot of people have patios or decks

0:07:210:07:23

and that gives a lot of extra planting opportunities.

0:07:230:07:26

So, particularly for planting pots, we've got a lovely rose here.

0:07:260:07:29

This rose is Highgrove which is a climber,

0:07:290:07:31

so if you've got a pergola over your outdoor space,

0:07:310:07:33

it grows to about eight feet, with beautiful depth

0:07:330:07:36

and intensity of colour. It's a red and it's a really strong grower.

0:07:360:07:40

I'm so glad you said rose as well. Always my top trend.

0:07:400:07:44

Well, roses come and go but they're very back in fashion at the moment.

0:07:440:07:47

It's using your garden as another room.

0:07:470:07:50

You can bring plants into that and you can make those plants

0:07:500:07:53

-the central feature of your outdoor space.

-I love that idea.

0:07:530:07:57

-Whether you're out or in, it's all plants.

-Absolutely.

0:07:570:08:00

On to top trend number three. A magnolia.

0:08:040:08:08

So, again, sort of quite large, structural plants.

0:08:100:08:14

There's no denying that the real joy of being a gardener is taking

0:08:140:08:18

a seed or a tiny cutting and growing it into a large plant in your garden

0:08:180:08:22

over a period of 10 to 20 years.

0:08:220:08:24

But we see more and more people going for instant gardening,

0:08:240:08:27

for buying large plants that give impact in the garden straightaway.

0:08:270:08:31

Take this Magnolia Susan as an example,

0:08:310:08:34

you could wait a very large number of years for a magnolia

0:08:340:08:37

to grow that size, but by putting that into your garden straightaway,

0:08:370:08:41

you've got something instant and it has great colour, great form.

0:08:410:08:45

I can see why that's so appealing, but then how much is this?

0:08:450:08:49

-That's £115.

-It is. That's quite a big investment, isn't it?

0:08:490:08:53

It is, but of course we sell,

0:08:530:08:55

as all other garden centres do, much smaller versions of the same.

0:08:550:08:58

So there's something to fit everybody's budget.

0:08:580:09:00

I can see that it's certainly very seductive.

0:09:000:09:03

I'm so glad that Glenn said that he thought shrubs

0:09:050:09:08

were due for a resurgence.

0:09:080:09:10

And they've certainly given this group of lilacs a really prominent

0:09:100:09:14

place here on the nursery.

0:09:140:09:16

We got a Souvenir de Louis Spaeth over there

0:09:160:09:18

and that's the one I think that's really caught my eye.

0:09:180:09:21

Glenn's final tip for what he thinks is going to be really big this year

0:09:280:09:32

is for plants with instant impact

0:09:320:09:35

and just walking around the nursery, it occurred to me

0:09:350:09:38

that I think the instant impact is also here in these conifers.

0:09:380:09:42

I love this, for example, this Cryptomeria,

0:09:420:09:44

and this is £35 and I think that

0:09:440:09:46

definitely creates instant impact.

0:09:460:09:50

I'd be happy to have any of these in my garden.

0:09:500:09:53

Whether you're planning to buy an instant-effect, expensive plant or

0:10:090:10:14

just a tray of bedding, do remember that garden centres are not open on

0:10:140:10:18

Easter Sunday, except in Scotland, or at least most of them aren't.

0:10:180:10:22

Now, Easter is traditionally the time when people planted potatoes.

0:10:220:10:28

But it's very early this year and the ground is very cold

0:10:280:10:31

and I shan't be planting my potatoes for a while yet.

0:10:310:10:34

There's no point, unless the ground is warm to touch.

0:10:340:10:38

However, you can start by growing some in a container

0:10:380:10:42

and if you don't have a garden or an allotment,

0:10:420:10:44

it's a good way to grow potatoes

0:10:440:10:45

and be able to have that delicious taste that you just cannot buy

0:10:450:10:50

of new potatoes freshly harvested.

0:10:500:10:53

Grow them in any kind of container.

0:10:530:10:55

You can buy specialist ones like this

0:10:550:10:58

and the important thing is it's got drainage holes in the bottom.

0:10:580:11:02

If you use a bag, it's got to be strong enough

0:11:020:11:05

to be able to lift it up without tearing full of soil.

0:11:050:11:08

You can grow them in a dustbin,

0:11:080:11:09

you can grow them in a big flowerpot,

0:11:090:11:11

you can have any kind of bag or container

0:11:110:11:13

and it will do the job just as well.

0:11:130:11:15

Open it out. Potatoes like really rich soil,

0:11:160:11:20

so a general-purpose compost will do the job,

0:11:200:11:23

but if you can improve it with some soil improver

0:11:230:11:26

or if you have got some garden compost of your own,

0:11:260:11:29

that definitely will improve the crop.

0:11:290:11:31

So, that is no more than one third full of nice, rich compost.

0:11:310:11:37

You need some seed potatoes

0:11:370:11:39

and I've got here some first earlies.

0:11:390:11:41

This is Duke of York.

0:11:410:11:43

Good, reliable grower and you can see that they have a shoot on it.

0:11:430:11:50

But if it hasn't got any shoots,

0:11:500:11:51

that doesn't matter either. You can still plant it.

0:11:510:11:53

In a bag that size, I only need one or two seed potatoes.

0:11:530:11:59

If I grow it with one, I'll get bigger spuds as a result.

0:11:590:12:03

If I put two in, I will get more smaller ones,

0:12:030:12:06

so you can... depending what you want.

0:12:060:12:07

In fact, I'm going to bag up two, one with one and one with two

0:12:070:12:10

and we'll compare the results when we come to harvest time.

0:12:100:12:13

And simply pop it in, in the centre of the bag.

0:12:130:12:18

So we will cover that up with soil...

0:12:180:12:20

..like that.

0:12:220:12:23

So the seed is covered,

0:12:250:12:26

but there's plenty of room to put more soil in, because what

0:12:260:12:30

we will do is, as it grows, we'll keep topping the soil up

0:12:300:12:34

until the soil level is nearly at the top of the bag

0:12:340:12:37

and then the foliage will come out at the top,

0:12:370:12:39

which means there's a nice, deep area of goodness

0:12:390:12:42

for the roots to get to and we'll get more tubers as a result.

0:12:420:12:46

So all we need to do now is to put this somewhere sheltered.

0:12:460:12:50

If you've got a greenhouse, that's brilliant, but anywhere where

0:12:500:12:53

it's out of cold wind and it's a little bit warmer

0:12:530:12:56

than if it's grown in the soil.

0:12:560:12:58

Water it, not so it's sodden, but so it never dries out

0:12:580:13:00

and, by the way, as it grows, it will need quite a lot of water.

0:13:000:13:04

That's a single one. I'm now going to do one with two potatoes.

0:13:080:13:12

So we'll pop them in, spaced evenly.

0:13:140:13:17

Cover them up.

0:13:190:13:21

I'll just pop those there for the moment.

0:13:350:13:37

Give them each a little bit of water.

0:13:390:13:41

Easter time, time to plant potatoes, time to go shopping for plants

0:13:450:13:51

and most people, this weekend, will be buying bedding.

0:13:510:13:56

Millions of bedding plants are sold over the Easter holiday weeks.

0:13:560:14:02

You may wonder where they all come from. Joe has been to find out.

0:14:020:14:06

This is one of the UK's largest growers of plants.

0:14:100:14:13

They are located on the Chichester plain,

0:14:150:14:17

where the quality and quantity of sunshine are the highest in the UK.

0:14:170:14:21

And that means that top-notch, sun-loving plants can be grown

0:14:230:14:27

quickly and with maximum energy efficiency.

0:14:270:14:29

I've been given a chance to look behind the scenes at this

0:14:310:14:34

huge operation that supplies nurseries, garden centres

0:14:340:14:39

and DIY stores with a constant supply

0:14:390:14:42

of ornamental protected plants.

0:14:420:14:44

Full-on, bright, colourful, in-your-face bedding.

0:14:440:14:49

The glasshouses cover thousands of square metres in excess

0:14:530:14:56

of 65 million plants, 5.5 million bedding packs

0:14:560:15:01

and another 4.5 million individual pots are produced annually.

0:15:010:15:05

Alex Newey is the managing director

0:15:070:15:09

and has an overview of the whole business.

0:15:090:15:12

Alex, this is a very impressive operation you've got here

0:15:120:15:15

but what I'm really interested in

0:15:150:15:18

is who calls the shots about what you are growing.

0:15:180:15:21

Ultimately, it's the consumer.

0:15:210:15:23

The consumer decides what they want to buy.

0:15:230:15:25

I think you got perhaps two different types of garden.

0:15:250:15:28

You got the very experienced gardener who might go out

0:15:280:15:30

and buy what they've always bought

0:15:300:15:32

but equally they're not afraid to experiment either.

0:15:320:15:34

And then you've got the newer gardener, or novice gardener.

0:15:340:15:38

They are looking for a new things. There are not so set in their ways.

0:15:380:15:42

They can buy new plants and have tremendous success with them

0:15:420:15:45

and over time, that may reshape what we're selling.

0:15:450:15:49

When we put something in the market and it's a new product,

0:15:490:15:53

it's got to be brilliant.

0:15:530:15:54

It's got to look fantastic and it's got to be trendy.

0:15:540:15:57

It's got to be trendy. Now, hang on a minute, what do you call trendy?

0:15:570:16:00

Buying a blend of products that looks interesting

0:16:000:16:04

and different, might be a mix of bedding

0:16:040:16:06

and some other things as well.

0:16:060:16:08

Might be a mix of bedding with some herbaceous or a bit of tropical

0:16:080:16:11

or whatever it might be. That is trendy.

0:16:110:16:14

There is no set way of doing it.

0:16:140:16:16

Feel free to go out and do it the way you want to do it.

0:16:160:16:19

Now, I'll have to admit,

0:16:270:16:29

I'm not the biggest fan of bright pink polyanthus.

0:16:290:16:33

They are a bit lairy, aren't they?

0:16:330:16:35

Perhaps a bit too traditional, but they do a great job of greening up

0:16:350:16:39

our cities and we'd certainly miss them if they weren't there.

0:16:390:16:43

Now, of course, these guys want you to buy as much bedding as possible,

0:16:490:16:53

but my advice is when you go to the garden centre,

0:16:530:16:56

just try and stay focused.

0:16:560:16:58

Don't run around like a kid in a sweet shop,

0:16:580:17:00

picking every single colour out. For me, this is a little bit too much.

0:17:000:17:05

Lots of different colours, clashing together, and in fact,

0:17:050:17:09

they're fighting with each other rather than being complementary.

0:17:090:17:13

Now, this is my sort of thing.

0:17:180:17:20

It's cool, whites and blues and purples,

0:17:200:17:23

all working together in quite an understated way.

0:17:230:17:26

And they're complementing each other.

0:17:260:17:28

It's a restricted palette which produces a strong colour theme.

0:17:280:17:32

I know, I know. Everyone loves bright colours, though,

0:17:460:17:49

and I am not the style police.

0:17:490:17:51

But my tip to get the most out of them

0:17:510:17:54

is to pick two opposite colours and keep it quite simple.

0:17:540:17:58

I mean, look at this blue and the yellow. They intensify each other.

0:17:580:18:03

And the great thing about bedding is it's fun,

0:18:030:18:06

it's not very expensive, you can personalise your garden and,

0:18:060:18:10

if you don't like it, change it as the season comes on.

0:18:100:18:13

Well, there's no question that whatever you think about

0:18:270:18:31

mass production of plants, it is incredibly impressive

0:18:310:18:35

and people do buy lots and lots of bedding.

0:18:350:18:39

But not all of it is ready to be put in the garden now, even though

0:18:390:18:43

it's on sale at the garden centres.

0:18:430:18:45

Some of the tender plants really will suffer terribly

0:18:450:18:49

and may even die if they go out, even if there isn't a frost.

0:18:490:18:52

Now, I've got a couple here.

0:18:520:18:54

I've got some surfinias and some calibrachoas

0:18:540:18:56

And you can see that they're sold in trays, that sort of size,

0:18:560:19:01

small plants, perfectly healthy but that will struggle in our wet,

0:19:010:19:06

cold soil, particularly if we have some frost.

0:19:060:19:09

So I'm going to pot them on.

0:19:090:19:11

And I've got a potting mix which is just general-purpose compost.

0:19:110:19:17

A little bit of our own compost and sieved leaf mould in it.

0:19:170:19:22

And I just take it out of the container like that,

0:19:220:19:25

and this is the calibrachoa which has got really dark,

0:19:250:19:29

almost black petals, which will be brilliant for the Jewel Garden,

0:19:290:19:32

particularly in the pots, and just pop it in like that.

0:19:320:19:36

Now, with some protection, all I have to do is just keep them

0:19:360:19:39

watered and they should grow perfectly happily.

0:19:390:19:42

So I'm going to pop these in the greenhouse.

0:19:470:19:50

Now, these don't need any extra heat,

0:19:560:19:58

over and above the protection of the greenhouse.

0:19:580:20:00

I'll water them in and keep them reasonably watered...

0:20:000:20:05

and, before planting them out, I will make sure that I harden them

0:20:050:20:09

off for a couple of weeks.

0:20:090:20:11

These won't be planted out until May at the earliest.

0:20:110:20:15

Now, even if you don't grow bedding plants,

0:20:180:20:20

here are some other jobs you can do this weekend.

0:20:200:20:23

Although it's a good idea to leave the dried stems

0:20:260:20:30

and seed heads of herbaceous perennials over winter,

0:20:300:20:34

because that provides cover and food for insects and birds,

0:20:340:20:37

it's now time to cut them back

0:20:370:20:39

and remove everything, exposing the new shoots of this year's growth.

0:20:390:20:44

Dahlia tubers are on sale now but they do sell out quickly

0:20:480:20:51

so it's worth buying them now

0:20:510:20:53

and making sure that you get nice, plump, firm tubers.

0:20:530:20:57

Put them into a pot with plenty of potting compost, water them well

0:20:570:21:02

and put them somewhere protected to grow into young plants

0:21:020:21:06

which can then be put into their final position after the last frost.

0:21:060:21:11

Easter is when many of us get the mower out

0:21:150:21:18

and cut the grass for the first time.

0:21:180:21:21

Resist the temptation to cut too hard too soon.

0:21:210:21:26

Lift up the blades on your mower and just give it a light trim.

0:21:260:21:30

And repeat this for the next few weeks,

0:21:300:21:32

until the grass is growing strongly.

0:21:320:21:34

Of all the flowers that are appearing in the garden this spring,

0:21:370:21:40

none are more exotic than the snake's head fritillary,

0:21:400:21:44

but it is a native!

0:21:440:21:45

This is a of plant of damp meadows

0:21:450:21:48

and it loves this part of the Spring Garden, because it floods.

0:21:480:21:52

And it's called snake's head because,

0:21:520:21:55

you can see, before the flower head opens,

0:21:550:21:57

it has the shape of a snake's head and then when it does open,

0:21:570:22:01

it reveals this amazing chequerboard pattern.

0:22:010:22:05

Occasionally, you get white ones

0:22:050:22:07

and, of course, they don't have that same pattern.

0:22:070:22:09

I much prefer the traditional, straightforward fritillary

0:22:090:22:14

But, if you want real exotica, particularly at this

0:22:140:22:17

time of year when it still can be pretty cold, then you need to

0:22:170:22:20

look at plants that come from the other side of the world.

0:22:200:22:23

And we went to Burnham Nurseries in Newton Abbot in Devon to see

0:22:230:22:28

a wonderful collection of orchids.

0:22:280:22:30

What draws people is their huge diversity.

0:22:370:22:41

There's so many different shapes and sizes, colours and patterns.

0:22:410:22:46

Really, there's something for everybody within the orchid family.

0:22:470:22:51

My grandfather started growing orchids back in the '20s

0:22:510:22:55

and '30s and our nursery really grew from there.

0:22:550:22:59

We're now in our third-generation of our family to grow the orchids.

0:22:590:23:03

And we're certainly very passionate about it as a family, yes.

0:23:040:23:08

Many years ago, the Victorians were growing orchids

0:23:100:23:13

in their stove houses, on big estates with their gardeners.

0:23:130:23:18

Modern hybrids are many generations now removed from the original

0:23:180:23:22

species and the more you breed with these orchids,

0:23:220:23:26

you get more hybrid vigour and that just makes a stronger,

0:23:260:23:30

easier plant and more free-flowering

0:23:300:23:32

and more colours and more varieties available.

0:23:320:23:36

Generation after generation, they get that little bit easier to grow.

0:23:360:23:40

People get bitten by the orchid bug very easily these days.

0:23:400:23:44

They're perhaps given a gift of a beautiful orchid,

0:23:440:23:47

like a phalaenopsis that will flower all the year round

0:23:470:23:50

and like to live like we do, nice and warm and cosy.

0:23:500:23:53

So the phalaenopsis, or moth orchids,

0:23:580:24:00

are probably the most popular orchids grown as a house plant

0:24:000:24:04

in the world today, but probably where people go wrong the most

0:24:040:24:07

is getting the watering balance right.

0:24:070:24:09

You should always water them from the top and let them drain through,

0:24:090:24:13

give them a good soak and then allow them

0:24:130:24:15

to dry out well before you water them the next time.

0:24:150:24:19

The roots should be a kind of silvery grey colour when they're dry

0:24:190:24:22

and then they turn green as you water them

0:24:220:24:25

and if they've gone brown,

0:24:250:24:26

then that's too wet for too long and they've rotted.

0:24:260:24:29

We've actually got some plants here today

0:24:290:24:32

which have got similar sort of watering balance problems.

0:24:320:24:35

The first thing we're going to do is to remove the cane

0:24:350:24:39

and the clips from the dead flower stem.

0:24:390:24:41

And we're just going to trim the flower stem right to the bottom.

0:24:410:24:45

Pull it out of the pot.

0:24:470:24:49

We can see this plant has not got a very good root system.

0:24:490:24:53

It's lost most of the roots because it's been kept too wet.

0:24:530:24:56

So we're going to trim these back,

0:24:560:24:59

just to leave a nice anchor of roots.

0:24:590:25:01

You want to either clean your pots and sterilise them or use a new pot.

0:25:010:25:06

It just needs new compost to make new roots.

0:25:060:25:11

We're going to add just a handful of polystyrene chips

0:25:110:25:14

in the bottom which just helps to give a little extra drainage,

0:25:140:25:17

a nice layer of air in the base to allow the roots to dry out.

0:25:170:25:21

Then we're going to take a nice handful of bark,

0:25:210:25:24

pop that in the pot,

0:25:240:25:25

and then centre the plant in the middle of the pot,

0:25:250:25:29

position it so it's upright,

0:25:290:25:32

pushing it gently but firmly,

0:25:320:25:34

top it up with a little bit more

0:25:340:25:37

and now we've ended up with the plant just sitting

0:25:370:25:40

on the surface of the compost, which is just below the rim of the pot.

0:25:400:25:44

We want to give this a good water now.

0:25:440:25:46

We also want to spray the plant, to encourage new roots to grow

0:25:460:25:49

and that humidity is really important.

0:25:490:25:52

Phalaenopsis are really warm growing but there's lots of other orchids

0:25:560:25:59

that you can grow that like it really cool,

0:25:590:26:02

like, for instance, the dendrobiums.

0:26:020:26:05

Or the cymbidiums, liking to drop down

0:26:060:26:09

to about 8 or 10 degrees on a winter's night.

0:26:090:26:11

That cool drop in the winter helps them to grow well

0:26:110:26:14

and helps them to come into flower well year after year.

0:26:140:26:18

They love to stand outdoors in the summer, somewhere shady,

0:26:180:26:21

somewhere sheltered, out of the bright sun,

0:26:210:26:24

so their leaves don't get burnt and they will grow their new leaves

0:26:240:26:27

all throughout the summer months and then flower again in the winter.

0:26:270:26:31

These orchids are a little bit different to phalaenopsis.

0:26:310:26:34

They have a type of bulb which we call a pseudobulb.

0:26:340:26:38

The dendrobium has tall, narrow ones.

0:26:380:26:40

The cymbidium has short, fat, round ones

0:26:400:26:42

but they're full of water and food,

0:26:420:26:45

supporting the plant and giving it the energy

0:26:450:26:48

to grow more year after year.

0:26:480:26:49

Each year, they make new ones.

0:26:490:26:51

This one has got new shoots coming in here which is going to make

0:26:510:26:54

the new tall bulbs which are going to be the ones

0:26:540:26:57

that produce next year's flowers.

0:26:570:26:59

The old ones never flower again

0:26:590:27:01

but they stay on the plant as a food support system,

0:27:010:27:04

giving the plant the energy to do more growing

0:27:040:27:06

and more flowering in the future.

0:27:060:27:08

People don't realise that the orchid family is actually huge.

0:27:120:27:16

It's the largest group of flowering plants in the world.

0:27:160:27:19

There's about 30,000 species. Orchids are great survivors.

0:27:190:27:24

They will cope with all sorts of conditions

0:27:240:27:27

in their own natural habitats.

0:27:270:27:29

And the modern hybrids have been bred to cope

0:27:290:27:32

with our natural habitat, our homes.

0:27:320:27:35

Just follow a few simple rules and you'll get so much enjoyment.

0:27:350:27:39

My father always grew an orchid or two on the mantelpiece, I remember,

0:27:480:27:52

this exotic plant in our house.

0:27:520:27:55

In fact, I went once to the National Botanic Garden in Singapore,

0:27:550:27:58

which of course is famously full

0:27:580:28:00

of thousands of orchids, an amazing sight.

0:28:000:28:03

But, do you know, at this time of year,

0:28:030:28:06

I think nothing captures the spirit of the season better than a daffodil

0:28:060:28:11

and, my favourite of all those

0:28:110:28:14

is the wild native daffodil,

0:28:140:28:16

narcissus pseudonarcissus.

0:28:160:28:18

I planted the bulbs about 15, 20 years ago and it's just beginning

0:28:180:28:21

to mass up and it looks delicate and yet filled with light.

0:28:210:28:26

Talking about light, don't forget that the clocks go forward

0:28:260:28:30

this weekend so as well as Easter, with the extra day off,

0:28:300:28:33

we've got extra light to enjoy as well.

0:28:330:28:36

Have a great time and I'll see you back here at Longmeadow next week.

0:28:360:28:39

Till then, bye-bye. Come on, dogs.

0:28:390:28:41

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS