SCALE UP YOUR SNOWDROPS
Snowdrops have been especially prolific this wet winter, but the earlier varieties are already over.
If you have established snowdrop clumps and want to increase numbers in your garden, do that now.
As soon as the flowers are over, select large or mature clumps and dig up one or more of those.
I find a large garden fork more suitable than a spade for lifting bulbs. Remember that they will be deeper than you expect, so dig down further than normal round the clump before attempting to lift it.
British gardening expert Nigel Colborn, shared advice for increasing snowdrop clumps (pictured) in your garden
Carefully shake off as much soil as you can and tease the bulbs apart. The clump will usually be congested with dozens of bulbs crowded at different levels. You may need a second fork to ease the clump into smaller pieces.
As it comes apart, gather the plumpest undamaged bulbs. Keep as many of those as you need and dispose of the remainder.
Your separated bulbs will have leaves intact, visible roots and long stems, which are white at the bottom end. Re-plant as many as you need, individually.
Make sure the lower parts of the stems and leaves are underground. The green parts should be above ground.
Pick off any developing seed heads and allow leaves to die down. The bulbs will settle down to flower next winter.
THE BEST WAY TO PLANT GLADIOLI
It’s time to plant gladioli, but if your soil is saturated, here’s an alternative: start off your corms in pots.
First, mix potting compost with 30 per cent coarse sand. Then, cover corms with 4cm of compost and water regularly. Keep in a cold frame. When there is plenty of leaf, plant them where you want them to grow.
PROTECT ROSES
After a mild winter, rose plants are still carrying a few of last year’s leaves. These can carry serious diseases, including black spot, mildew and rust.
To keep them healthy, remove these leaves. Rake them up from below the rose bushes, too. Then trim off any galedamaged stems, making a clean cut above an out-facing bud. Give your roses a feed with bone meal or fertiliser – this will boost nutrients and result in lots of blooms this summer.
Nigel chose the tenby daffodil (pictured) as this week’s plant, advising growth in humus-rich soil in a sunny spot
QUESTION
Last October, I dug out our old rhubarb patch, removed some small offshoots and re-planted those.
After the mild winter, each has produced two or three good stems. Is it OK to gather those? If not, how soon can we begin to gather rhubarb? Mr. B. Amory.
It’s best to leave your plants untouched for now. Those first leaves are working hard to develop a healthy, mature plant.
If you gather any, your plants will be weakened and could perform poorly next spring. If each plant has become a sizeable clump by July, you might risk taking a few young stems. But it’s better to wait until spring 2021.
PLANT OF THE WEEK: THE TENBY DAFFODIL, NARCISSUS OBVALLARIS
Did you know Wales has its own native daffodil? Narcissus obvallaris, also known as the Tenby daffodil, is a rarity which grows wild in Pembrokeshire and a couple of neighbouring counties.
Unlike the common wild species, N. lobularis, flowers on the Tenby daffodil have short, flared ‘trumpets’ surrounded by tepals, which create a sixpoint star.
Like all trumpet daffodils, this one prefers humus-rich soil in a sunny spot or in part shade. You can buy Tenby daffodil bulbs from most specialist suppliers for autumn planting.