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On My Oasis – Misdiagnosis and Cutting Season
I’ll let you in on a secret; for years, I’ve attributed that dry, crusty leaf curl on acers to wind damage, sun burn or both. My husband bought me a beautiful acer for a house-warming gift – after years of wanting one, I finally had my very own. As we moved in during the depths of the winter and it had been kept indoors for several months, it began to bud early, unfurling stunning deep red foliage. Then, when the leaves fully opened I finally planted it outside in what I thought was a relatively sheltered spot. Almost immediately, the dreaded leaf curl occurred, and though I knew it wasn’t dead, I was slightly heartbroken at its awful look. I decried the blustery wind coming off the Thames and the scorching sun.
The dreaded dying acer leaf.
Then, a few weeks ago on Gardeners’ World there was an acer expert who revealed ‘all that wind damage? Well it’s not. It’s poor watering.”
What?! For all these years I’ve had it wrong?
I began watering the acer every day and, would you believe it, new shoots have begun to appear. I’m thrilled and simultaneously mortified at my neglect. Luckily, plants are pretty hardy things and tend to come back with a little bit of love. There’s still A LONG way to go before it’s beautiful once again, but just seeing some new growth is welcome!
What’s this, I spy? New growth! Hurrah!
Cutting season
Meanwhile, I’ve begun taking cuttings like mad; partly because I want to establish Brimwood Farm Nursery, but also because I haven’t got the cash to be going out and buying three, or five, or seven of everything to make beautifully designed borders. I’ve now got a greenhouse filled with herbs, chocolate cosmos and hebes at this point, and I’m sure there’ll be more to come.
I always tend to watch The Beechgrove Garden on Sunday mornings. Honestly, I prefer it to Gardener’s World. There’s something rather upper class about GW; the gardening features come across as something most people can’t ever attain. Like Monty’s box balls, for instance. I mean – beautiful plants, great to have in a garden, and a good idea to do a feature about cutting out the blight and getting fresh growth. But, WHO actually has a box ball garden?! They’re bloody expensive things; most people will have one or two at most, or perhaps a tiny box hedge. I don’t know anyone who has an entire garden room devoted to box! Beechgrove Garden, on the other hand, is just so down to earth. They make no qualms about showing all the things that have gone terribly wrong as well as the wonders. The growing is all far more realistic too; instead of a large and beautifully manicured vegetable patch, here’s a 1m x 1m square – let’s see what we can grow in it. Or, here’s a greenhouse filled with some lantana’s and pergoliums – all crammed together because the lack of space.
It’s from Beechgrove that I got the tip about cuttings; my chocolate cosmos is full of flowers and there aren’t any bud-less shots to strike from.
Instead of cutting back and waiting for fresh growth, I took cuttings, stripped off the lower leaves and then just nipped out the oncoming buds. I may need to do the latter again if the vegetation persists in producing blooms instead of healthy roots and leaves. I’ll keep an eye on them and see how they go.
Finally, here’s a few shots of the girls. It’s hard to believe that only 10 weeks ago they were scabby, featherless and due for the chop. Now, we have eggs every day and they’ve fluffed up beautifully – apart from a couple of bare bottoms!
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