Weekend Work: Times to replant primroses and polyanthus
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Your support makes all the difference.What to do
Primroses and polyanthus need splitting and replanting in fresh ground.
Annuals grown in seed trays can be planted out and seed of failed vegetables will need to be sown again. It has been a tricky season for seed. The ground is dry.
Plant out tomatoes, once all danger of frost has passed. Once again I'm growing some bush varieties such as 'Red Alert' (Unwins £2.99 for 10 seeds) which need no staking. New to me is 'Juliet' (Thompson & Morgan £3.49 for 6 seeds), a cordon variety producing good trusses of medium-size fruit.
If the weather stays dry, sink a flowerpot by the side of each tomato when it's been planted out and pour water directly into the pot, which will funnel it where it's most needed.
Nip out a few growing points on herbaceous perennials such as phlox and Michaelmas daisy to extend the display. The nipped out stems will flower later than the rest.
What to see
The Botanic Nursery, Atworth, nr Melksham, Wilts SN12 8NU holds the national collection of foxgloves and next week, from 1-6 June, they'll be giving daily tours of the collection with a seed sowing demonstration at 2pm each day. The nursery is open Tue-Sat (10am-5pm). Call 07850 328756 or visit botanicguru.co.uk.
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