On 2014-05-11 18:40:33 +0000, Emery Davis said:

On Sun, 11 May 2014 09:15:58 +0100, Sacha wrote:

On 2014-05-11 08:05:26 +0000, David Hill said:

On 10/05/2014 22:21, Sacha wrote:

Lol! From my window, I can see Ray out in the biggest greenhouse, doing
the watering. With everyone at it, it can still take a couple of hours
to get everywhere done. It's a bit breezy today with the odd flurry of
raindrops but a much better day than yesterday. The birds are dashing
about madly and the scent coming in the window from the Rosa Banksiae
lutea and the unknown Lonicera beside it, is just gorgeous. We have some
cardoons in one of the pond borders, beside the obelisks and their rate
of growth has been quite staggering. They're certainly extremely
eye-catching!

I've always wanted to do cardoons. Any tips? I might try some next year.

The wind here has been positively viscious, lots of damage among the
young maple shoots unfortunately. Still, nothing terminal (excepts
shoots, heh) so that's something.

The rain has been so constant over the last few weeks that pots just
can't dry out. And I use _really_ free draining mix: it's mostly pine
chips, with coco chips and fibre, just a little compost. Some of the
potted maples are getting some blackening on leaves, never a good sign...

-E

We grow them purely for ornament, not for eating. So in our case we
just plant them and let them get on with it. They come back every year.
The only thing I'd say is that they're best in a spot which is pretty
much sheltered from the wind. This is because they grow so tall and
spread so well, that the leaves can be snapped. A cardoon in a suitable
sized pot would look spectacular as a focal point on a terrace or to
lead the eye to the bottom of a garden path.
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk