Another month has flown by! I’m not sure where time goes but we have been very busy and there is never enough hours in the day. The weather has been trying hard to dampen our spirits and giving the nursery a battering. Luckily we have gotten away with a few loose glass panes, blown over fence panels and 3 precariously leaning Eucalyptus trees. For this we are thankful as some of our friends have not been as lucky.
Since Christmas it has been unseasonably mild, so much so that a lot of our dormant plants (deciduous Agapanthus and Nerine/Amarines) have started to shoot, this is a sign that the much anticipated spring is just round the corner. Each new shoot brings with it the promise of exciting things to come, in no time these little noses of green protruding from the soil will stretch out their leaves and send up their much anticipated brilliant blooms!
What we have been up to this month at the nursery:
Like January, this month has been a time for us to get on top of jobs at the nursery, preparing for the busy seasons ahead. Here’s some of the things we have been up to this month:
- We have started to pot some of our Nerines that will be available for purchase later in the year, these will go onto flower this autumn. These are fantastic for people that would like to grow them in containers. For blooms this autumn it is best that the bulbs are planted in Spring. These batches that we are potting now will allow our customers that purchase them later into the season to still get flowers this year.
- We attended the RHS Hyde Hall Spring Plant Fair, unfortunately the weather had other ideas and was only able to open for one day. However we still had a great show and got to meet and talk to some of our lovely customers. It is the first plant show of the year and great to get back to doing what we love.
- Colin went along to York and did a talk on Clivia to the Unversity of the 3rd Age group, its always great to pass on some of our knowledge and increase the profile of these houseplants.
Points of Interest
We are very fortunate to have an extensive collection of Interspecific Clivia in our National Plant Collection. These are the products of cross pollenating Clivia from two different species. This often produces spectacular results and each plant is a marvel. The colours are like a kaleidoscope and each one is as different as the next. Luckily for us most of these often flower early in the Clivia season, so we get to enjoy them before the rest of the Clivia miniata take centre stage.
A lot of our Clivia seed pods have started to ripen, this is when the mammoth task of shelling and cleaning the seeds begin. Seed pods are formed after flowering and remain green for months. Once they start to ‘colour up’ this is the sign they are ready to harvest. A lot of our Clivias currently still have the seed pods on the plant waiting for us to collect. I must admit, often when the seed pods have changed colour and each plant is adorned with their vibrant baubles of delight, it almost beats flowering season. The colour of the seed pods are indicative of the flower colour it has been formed from, yellow pods from yellow flowers and so on. Once the pods have been opened, the seeds within resemble little pearls, each one containing a complex powerhouse of everything it needs to burst into life and sustain it for the first 6 months.
Recommendations from the shop this month:
- Our full range of Amarine and Nerines are now available from our shop found here. When planted in spring they send leaves up through the summer and then their fantastic blooms in autumn as the leaves fade. They are all hardy and will grow well in containers or sheltered areas in the garden. Bringing much needed splashes of colour late in the year when most other blooms have vanished.
- Clivia need to be grown in the correct medium, in order to stay healthy and keep producing glorious flowers each year. To make life easier for our customers we have developed our own blend of compost, this has been tried and tested over many years. Even our RHS Chelsea GOLD Medal winning Clivia were grown in this mix! We stock this in 3 litre bags, either for young plants and seeds or mature plants, this can be found here.
- Agapanthus Twister. This cultivar is a striking bi-colour, with white flowers that have a deep rich blue base. It is deciduous and hardy, perfect for pots or planted out in the garden. We have this available in 9cm pots or a pack of 3 plug plants found here.
Thank you very much for reading, The Hickman Family.