Hedging
October is the last chance to get ready for planting without (probably) getting cold and wet... more > |
Fruit Trees
Bare root fruit trees are cheaper, stronger and healthier than pot grown and one of the joys of our run of wet summers is that they are GREAT for fruit more > |
Trees
You still have plenty of time if you are going to plant larger trees. They take longer to go into dormancy and we think they are best planted from the beginning of December onwards. Get ordering though, as we always run out... more > |
A Garden is for Life... but it is still GREAT in October!
October is a gentle month, relatively mild and you can often see plants flowering again. Not too much hard work this month - tidying up and deadheading ate the main chores - and planning your winter's planting. Hopefully you find this newsletter useful; if it jogs your memory about just one thing it has done its job. Having said which, if you have any suggestions, comments or questions please just drop us an email to newsletter@ashridgetrees.co.uk and we will do our best to either build your idea into another newsletter or just answer you individually.
Hedging, Trees and Shrubs
 The winter season for planting bareroot trees and shrubs starts next month - deciduous plants are losing their leaves and falling into winter dormancy, while evergreen plants are diverting their energy into food storage rather than growth. Winter is the ideal time for transplanting any large plant. The ground is constantly damp, so you are free from worrying about watering until April and plant metabolisms have slowed right down, so the stress of moving will be greatly reduced. They should wake up in the spring with the earth well settled around their roots, ready to grow.
It is not always essential to improve the soil before planting a hedge or large ornamental tree - if you have fertile soil or are choosing plants that do well in poor soil, then you can probably just clear the area of weeds (a glyphosate based weed killer is best for large areas and tough weeds) and relax. That said, it will definitely help your plants to establish if you dig in some well rotted manure and/or compost, especially if your soil is on the sandy side. If you are planting fruit trees, it is always a good idea to enrich the soil.
Can we point out a common mistake made when planting in very heavy clay soil (that traps water) and one that causes grief to a few customers every year? We have even seen a famous BBC garden show host do it... ! The mistake is simply this: digging a trench to remove a spade depth of thick clay and then refilling it with top soil. Not only is this hard work, it can also be fatal for your trees, as this effectively creates a bath that can trap water and drown the roots of most plants. The good news is that heavy clay soil is very fertile and really needs no improving. All you have to do at planting time is push a long, sharp planting spade into the soil, wiggle it backward and forwards to open up a V shaped slit in the soil, sweep the roots of the plant down into it, behind the head of the spade, so that they spread out and point downwards, slide the spade out and then squish the hole firmly shut with the heel of your boot - job done!
On the other hand, if your soil has good drainage but isn't very fertile, then digging a trench in order to mix good compost deep into the soil makes a lot of sense. If your ground is very rocky, removing as many stones as you like will make plenty of room for backfilling with better earth.
Some evergreen hedge plants are not available barerooted, such as Escallonia, Griselinia, Dwarf Box and Bay Laurel. For these, October is one of the best months to plant out potted hedging - the soil is still warm enough for them to put out a few roots and establish before winter sets in, so they will get off to a head start in spring.
Fruit Trees and Soft Fruit
 The apple harvest season is well underway, which means that greengrocers and markets are filling up with interesting British grown varieties - if you are thinking about planting a fruit tree and want to try some out, October is a great month to go hunting for samples. Our barerooted fruit trees will ready for delivery from next month onwards.
If you have apple and pear trees, you may want to read our tip sheet on how to store your fruit.
All raspberry, blackberry and hybrid berry canes should have finished fruiting and growing by now - cut back all the old stems to ground level and remove any small or weedy new growth, tying in the rest of the new shoots before the autumn winds pick up. Hazels and cobnuts are ready when their husks begin to turn yellow - get them before the squirrels do!
Pests & Diseases: Winter moths are unusual creatures: the females have no wings and have to crawl up a tree's trunk to lay their eggs amongst the leaf buds, where the caterpillars will emerge next spring... A bad case of winter moth can really hold a tree back, so it is important to use grease bands to trap them. The females emerge in November, so apply the grease now and maintain it until March. Top Tip: Use grease bands on the trunk of the tree ABOVE any tie between tree and stake if it has one. Grease bands only work well on a smooth surface - if your tree has deeply wrinkled bark, you will need to apply the grease by hand - use rubber disposable gloves!
Use a Copper fungicide spray on your peaches and nectarines. If you have some left over, it won't hurt to finish it off by using it on Cherry Laurel if it has shot holes or on Box hedging, as it helps to prevent blight.
Hygiene: We feel a bit like nagging parents, constantly telling people to wash their hands, but we think that it is important to raise awareness about this issue. It is essential to burn (or dump offsite) leaves and cuttings from your fruit trees and bushes, while wasted fruit can be fed to animals. Even if there is no visible sign of infection, you will be playing safe by getting rid of them. If this material is composted and the compost is used to mulch around fruit trees in the future, then a new pathway for viruses, bacteria and fungi has been created that can allow disease and pests to return year after year. Keeping the ground around your fruit trees and bushes tidy and free of weeds will give germs and spores fewer places to hide.
Trees of the Month
 Crab Apple Trees are much easier than Japanese Maples, and they are now covered in their fruits - which look just like little red, green or gold marzipan apples. If you think that they flower for an extended period in the spring AND tend to have good foliage (some almost purple) in summer AND have good autumn colour AND fruit, then it is easy to see why they rival Amelanchier for the title of "best all round tree for almost any sized garden".
Not far behind for colour at this time of year are the Rowans, Sorbus aucuparia, (a.k.a. Mountain Ash) and Whitebeam, Sorbus aria. Both come in several varieties and have a rich autumn display, with red or yellow berries and a tapestry colours in their decorative leaves.
Kitchen Garden
Winter brassicas such as cabbages, cauliflowers, broccoli and especially Brussels sprouts will probably have some yellowing leaves on them - remove these as they appear.
Pot up some parsley, mint and basil from your herb garden - they will grow well on a sunny indoor windowsill.
Plant out: Spring cabbages - be sure to protect them well against birds. Also plant garlic and autumn & Japanese onion sets.
Sow Broad Beans.
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