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Virgin gardener!!!
Hello,
I have just joined the forum and I am completely novice to all things horticultural! So I did want to say hi !!!! My main problems are as follows and I hope and pray that some advice can be found... I have a beautiful curly trained bay tree (in a pot) which has been healthy looking until recently. First a sort of black mould appeared on the leaves which I sprayed and that helped, but also quite a few of the leaves are turning yellow and falling off. My gut instinct is to re-pot the tree as it has been in the same pot for about 3 years now and I have read about using John Innes No3 with added grit for drainage... but can I re pot it at any time of the year? My 2nd problem is a privet type bush (shaped but only small) I planted it next to a bamboo and the bamboo has taken over, when can I move it? Also, as you might now gather I am completely un educated in gardening matters so even the most obvious advice is welcome. Thanks Lisa |
#2
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You can move your shrubs at any time the ground is not frozen or saturated after prolonged rain. If you live in a cold region where long winters and severe frosts are the norm I would do the moving now or wait until spring. |
#3
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Peter. |
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#5
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Lisa110 wrote in message ... Hello, I have just joined the forum and I am completely novice to all things horticultural! So I did want to say hi !!!! My main problems are as follows and I hope and pray that some advice can be found... I have a beautiful curly trained bay tree (in a pot) which has been healthy looking until recently. First a sort of black mould appeared on the leaves which I sprayed and that helped, but also quite a few of the leaves are turning yellow and falling off. My gut instinct is to re-pot the tree as it has been in the same pot for about 3 years now and I have read about using John Innes No3 with added grit for drainage... but can I re pot it at any time of the year? My 2nd problem is a privet type bush (shaped but only small) I planted it next to a bamboo and the bamboo has taken over, when can I move it? Also, as you might now gather I am completely un educated in gardening matters so even the most obvious advice is welcome. Thanks Lisa -- Lisa110 Hi Lisa, I have a Bay Laurel (Laurus nobilis) planted in the ground (SE London on clay). Although it is evergreen, it is perfectly normal for *some* leaves to turn yellow and fall. However, this year, because of the drought, more leaves than usual have yellowed and fallen. As the tree is otherwise magnificently healthy, I am not concerned about this. Has your tree still got a good cover of leaves, or is it looking sparse and sickly? If it is looking well, stop worrying. You did the right thing to clean off the black (usually called 'sooty') mould. Look out for the insects (aphids, bay suckers, scale insects) which leave a sticky residue on which the mould grows. Whether you spray or remove them by hand will depend on whether you use the leaves in cooking, or whether the tree is just ornamental. (Bay suckers distort leaves, mainly on one side of the leaf's mid-rib. Simply pick these leaves off by hand) You may very well need to repot your Bay tree. After three years, the roots may have used up all the soil. (You can tell by tipping your tree out of its pot and examining the root system). If the rootball is soil-less, you will find it very difficult to get the watering regime right, and this is bound to affect leaf health. Unfortunately, this isn't the ideal time of year to repot, because the nutrients in the new compost will start the tree in growth. This new, tender growth will be very susceptible to early frosts. You don't say where you are. If you're in the South or in a mild climate area (or if you can give shelter to your tree), I would (in your situation) repot the Bay using John Innes No.1 (the JI soil-based compost with least fertiliser) and the added grit you mentioned. Water well to settle the soil around the roots, then reduce watering over winter. You may also wish to raise the pot off the ground with pot-feet or bricks; this will aid drainage and keep the roots away from the frosty ground. It is also a good idea to lag the pot with sacking or bubble wrap; this keeps frost from damaging your plant and your pot. Your privet can be moved anytime from now (well, in the morning!) until March. Do not attempt it when the soil is frozen solid or water-logged. All evergreens fare less well than deciduous plants when transplanted because they must continue to maintain their leaves, where as leaf-fall offers deciduous plants some respite. To help your privet, lift it with the largest rootball you can (you may need some help from one of those chap thingies!); this way, it may hardly know it's been moved. Keep the lifted rootball moist until ready for planting. Dig a hole at least twice the size of the rootball .. fork over the bottom of the hole to improve drainage. Put some Tree & Shrub compost in the hole so that the soil mark on your privet stem will be at the same level in its new hole. Mix some bonemeal (for root growth) into the compost and soil you are using to backfill the hole. Backfill the hole, firming the soil mix as you go (this removes air pockets and ensures the roots are in contact with the soil). When you have finished planting, water well - even if it is raining - and keep the soil moist until you're sure it's established. After care includes re-firming the plant if a frost lifts the plant from its hole ... refirming the plant if strong winds have rocked the plant in the hole, disturbing its roots. It's also worth watering well after strong winds because the leaves can dessicate if not fully supported by the roots. Finally, welcome to gardening and this newsgroup. Spider |
#7
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On 10/13/04 1:09 PM, in article ,
"Lisa110" wrote: Gary Davis Wrote: On 10/12/04 10:52 AM, in article , "Lisa110" wrote: - Hello, I have just joined the forum and I am completely novice to all things horticultural! So I did want to say hi !!!! My main problems are as follows and I hope and pray that some advice can be found... I have a beautiful curly trained bay tree (in a pot) which has been healthy looking until recently. First a sort of black mould appeared on the leaves which I sprayed and that helped, but also quite a few of the leaves are turning yellow and falling off. My gut instinct is to re-pot the tree as it has been in the same pot for about 3 years now and I have read about using John Innes No3 with added grit for drainage... but can I re pot it at any time of the year? My 2nd problem is a privet type bush (shaped but only small) I planted it next to a bamboo and the bamboo has taken over, when can I move it? Also, as you might now gather I am completely un educated in gardening matters so even the most obvious advice is welcome. Thanks Lisa - Hi Lisa, In your message you said this: " First a sort of black mould appeared on the leaves which I sprayed ". My question is what did you spray on the leaves and why did you use that spray? Gary Fort Langley, BC CAnada Hi Gary, I cannot remember what I used but I used it on advice from a garden centre. Lisa Hi Lisa Thanks for your reply. I appreciate your honesty. Gary Fort Langley BC Canada |
#8
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"Gary Davis" wrote in message ... On 10/13/04 1:09 PM, in article , "Lisa110" wrote: Gary Davis Wrote: On 10/12/04 10:52 AM, in article , "Lisa110" wrote: - Hello, I have just joined the forum and I am completely novice to all things horticultural! So I did want to say hi !!!! My main problems are as follows and I hope and pray that some advice can be found... I have a beautiful curly trained bay tree (in a pot) which has been healthy looking until recently. First a sort of black mould appeared on the leaves which I sprayed and that helped, but also quite a few of the leaves are turning yellow and falling off. My gut instinct is to re-pot the tree as it has been in the same pot for about 3 years now and I have read about using John Innes No3 with added grit for drainage... but can I re pot it at any time of the year? My 2nd problem is a privet type bush (shaped but only small) I planted it next to a bamboo and the bamboo has taken over, when can I move it? Also, as you might now gather I am completely un educated in gardening matters so even the most obvious advice is welcome. Thanks Lisa - Hi Lisa, In your message you said this: " First a sort of black mould appeared on the leaves which I sprayed ". My question is what did you spray on the leaves and why did you use that spray? Gary Fort Langley, BC CAnada Hi Gary, I cannot remember what I used but I used it on advice from a garden centre. Lisa Hi Lisa Thanks for your reply. I appreciate your honesty. Gary Fort Langley BC Canada Lisa; The black mould on the bay tree is probably sooty mould on the surface of the leaves. This will be made worse if the plant is positioned somewhere damp but prolonged wet weather will do the same. My bay tree gets it and it seems to suffer no ill effects. Bay trees do lose some leaves periodically and if not too many are being lost and these are at the bottom of the shoots then it's possibly nothing to worry about. However, it may well be pot bound and if so you could re-pot it in spring into a slightly larger container. My bay tree had this problem earlier this year and after re-potting, it gained a new lease of life and put on lots of nice healthy new growth. Hope this helps. Neil. |
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