Gardening / The growing ways of wisteria

WISTERIAS can be pruned at this time by counting, from the base of each stem, three leaf nodes (joints) or where a smaller branch joins the larger or main branch.

This principle is applicable for most climbing plants including grapes.

It is fascinating that Wisteria sinensis, or Chinese wisteria, always grows anti-clockwise around supports and can grow anywhere from 18 to 30 metres.

This vigorous variety originated in a garden in Canton in 1816 and was unknown in the wild. With fragrant mauve or deep-lilac flowers, it is possibly the most popular.

Whereas the less-vigorous W. floribunda, or Japanese wisteria, with violet-blue flowers always grows clockwise around supports. No matter how hard anyone tries to make them grow the other way they always fail, though I’ve never known why. They grow to between 4 and 6 metres.

TRUFFLES, so popular with the French for hundreds of years, are catching on here with several large truffle plantations in the ACT.

Truffle spores are usually grown on the roots of oak trees and in France more than 400,000 oak trees are treated with the truffle spores each year. Anyone with a sufficiently large block, big enough to grow oak trees, is in a position to grow truffles.

Heritage Nursery has stocks of the right variety of oak trees already injected with truffle spores.

MORE on hanging gardens: apart from strong hooks, always use the best-quality potting mix available, such as the Debco brand, which costs about $12 a bag as opposed to the cheap $4 bags often sold in supermarkets. It will pay off in the end.

As potting mixes drain very quickly, it means frequent watering. One suggestion is to mix about a quarter with clay soil, retaining the moisture more effectively.

Whilst baskets can look pretty with just one variety of plant, as seen on light poles in Civic in summer, variety is the spice of life.

To give life to baskets think of a selection of plants that will flower over a longer period of time. For strong summer colour in full sun, bedding begonia, lobelia, petunia, nasturtium, alyssum and chrysanthemum. Trail over the edge with ivy geranium.

For baskets in partial shade, fuchsia, impatiens (busy Lizzie), dwarf ferns, gardenia radians (rock gardenia) and campanula are all ideal. Naturally, some plants, such as fuchsias, can only be planted up after the frosts.

Or try a herb basket with pennyroyal, marjoram, sage, thyme, parsley, chives and mint (which is always a problem when grown in the garden with its rampant habit, but growing it in a basket solves that problem!).

Jottings…

• Complete the pruning of rose bushes.
• Look for camellias and azaleas at garden centres while in flower to plant now.
• Finish pruning crepe myrtles now as they flower on new season’s wood.
• Watch for formation of buds on peach, apricot and nectarines. Once pink shows, spray with Bordeaux or Kocide to prevent brown rot. Don’t spray after flowers have opened as this will kill bees, which are important for pollination.
• When purchasing new plants, apply Maxicrop Seaweed Plant Nutrient while still in the pot before planting, follow up after planting to encourage new root growth.

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