On 14/3/06 11:36 am, in article ,
"Gill Passman" wrote:

Sacha wrote:
On 14/3/06 10:57 am, in article ,
"Gill Passman" wrote:


Hi All,

First time poster here, live in the South East of England...bit noisy
around here but hey,ho....

My lawn has been ravaged by the dog running up and down, kids playing
and shrubs overgrowing one side...this year it does not look as if it
will make its usual recovery so I've decided to reseed.

The plan is to cut back the shrubs - the main offender is a Potato Shrub
(Solanum Rantonnetii) - so the first question is whether it would be a
good time to prune this (hack it - I think is more the description)? The
other offender is a Red Dogwood. Now I don't want to kill them off and
we are still getting quite severe frosts (no snow at all this winter
though). So should I wait, or would I be safe to go out and cut these
back now?

The next issue is the seeding of the lawn itself. I bought some "One
Step" which combines fertiliser and seed. I was going to wait a few
weeks to give me more time to do the prep work and to wait for the worst
of the frost to be over. My dilemma now is that yesterday I learnt that
we are having a hose-pipe ban slapped on us. So, if I wait too long I
won't be able to water it, which will be an issue if the weather warms
up in April as it did last year...So should I go ahead and seed now and
risk the frost, or should I wait but run the risk of not being able to
provide sufficient water?


My guess is that the continuing cold weather is the answer to everything you
ask, really. I wouldn't cut anything back while frost is a real danger and
especially not a Solanum Rantonnetii, which is a marvellous shrub and less
seen than the more usual S. crispum. However, it is not hardy and in most
places it is recommended as a conservatory plant, so certainly don't risk
pruning it now, if it is definitely S. Rantonnettii. And I think it very
probable that it is the cold that is stopping your lawn from showing signs
of life. I'd leave it alone, frankly. If you seed it now, it won't
germinate because the ground is so cold and watering it will only add to is
troubles in this weather! If the lawn doesn't come back when it gets to the
summer, you could consider an early autumn re-seeding then. My husband's
secret weapon in re-seeding patches of lawn here and there is to mix the
lawn seed with compost in the bag and leave it to germinate. Then he
scatters it where needed. That way, he gets much less taken by birds and
the seed gets away to a good start immediately.
I did ask him about your Solanum and he suggests you check it really is S.
rantonnettii. It's not impossible, of course but it isn't all that usual in
gardens in England, though I've seen it growing in Jersey gardens. He
certainly thinks that cutting anything precious back when you're still at
risk of hard frost, is a Bad Idea!
Welcome to urg and good gardening!

Thanks for the welcome...

I think you are right and it is probably not rantonnettii - I put it in
around 7 years ago but I don't think it was unusual at the time I bought
it - I'll need to take a look again (sometimes I leave the tag in the
soil) but all is very soggy around here today...

If you do a Google image search on Solanums, you'll probably find a pic of
yours. I do know that the S. crispum I had was a complete and utter thug
and I had to keep hacking it back like mad.

I wasn't thinking of watering it now - it's wet enough round here right
now - I was more concerned about not being able to water it later (3
weeks until the ban).

In previous years I have left it to regrow...but this is the worst that
I have ever seen it - we are talking the odd blade of grass here and
there rather than the odd mud patch...

Seed won't grow now, nonetheless. It's too cold and all that will happen is
that the birds will have a feast!

Thanks for the tip on germinating the seeds before scattering...I could
easily do this. Does you husband add any moisture or does he just rely
on the moisture from the compost?

He tips as much compost as he needs into a wheelbarrow, waters it,
if it's dry and then mixes all the seed he needs up in it in a sort of
giant pudding. Then he puts it back into the bag, folds the bag top over
and leaves it in the propagating house, which is warm. If you can find
somewhere warm to leave yours, so much the better. He reckons it takes four
or five days to germinate but warns that you must keep an eye on it as it
can suddenly romp away and you get leggy seedlings. He also suggests
covering it with horticultural fleece to keep the birds off even more
effectively and to give it a little warmth and encouragement. Peg the
corners down or weight them with stones.

--

Sacha