I have now planted the Akebia and the Nelly Moser against next door's
garage wall. In doing this, I had to remove at square of turf at each
planting location. Although the plants are looking good (making their
way up the trellis he kindly allowed me to screw to the brickwork), the
ground where they are planted looks messy. I am planning to add a
decorative mulch around the bases. Is there anything I should avoid ??
Would I do any harm by using gravel / stones / slate chippings etc ??
How about bark chippings ?

Clematis like to have their roots kept cool ( not have sun warming
their earth) so covering the soil in large pebbles or slate ships would
please NM.

Janet

Thanks. Its a north facing wall - so no chance of it overheating !

"NC" wrote in message ...
I have now planted the Akebia and the Nelly Moser against next door's
garage wall. In doing this, I had to remove at square of turf at each
planting location. Although the plants are looking good (making their way
up the trellis he kindly allowed me to screw to the brickwork), the ground
where they are planted looks messy. I am planning to add a decorative mulch
around the bases. Is there anything I should avoid ?? Would I do any harm
by using gravel / stones / slate chippings etc ?? How about bark chippings
?

The best mulch is a plant or two.
Why have boring bark chips when you could plant a few nice flowering shrubs
or even a few annuals.

Rupert wrote:
"NC" wrote in message ...

I have now planted the Akebia and the Nelly Moser against next door's
garage wall. In doing this, I had to remove at square of turf at each
planting location. Although the plants are looking good (making their way
up the trellis he kindly allowed me to screw to the brickwork), the ground
where they are planted looks messy. I am planning to add a decorative mulch
around the bases. Is there anything I should avoid ?? Would I do any harm
by using gravel / stones / slate chippings etc ?? How about bark chippings
?


The best mulch is a plant or two.
Why have boring bark chips when you could plant a few nice flowering shrubs
or even a few annuals.



The space at the base of each is only approx 1'x1' cut out of the grass
which otherwise runs all the way to the garage wall. I dont think
there's room for any other plants in there.

In article , NC wrote:

The space at the base of each is only approx 1'x1' cut out of the grass
which otherwise runs all the way to the garage wall. I dont think
there's room for any other plants in there.

Wait a few weeks, and the weeds will tell you otherwise :-)

There are plenty of plants that make restrained ground cover. Anyway,
it doesn't matter - neither need a mulch, and neither are sensitive.
Pebbles, bark, many plants, broken bottles etc. will all be fine, as
would nothing.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

OK - thanks. I'm doing it more or less purely for cosmetic reasons -
but did not want to use anything that might leech 'nasties' into the
soil. I have read that bark chippings are not liked by some things, so
wanted to check to see if anything else shoudl be avoided for use with
these plants....

In article . com,
writes:
|
| OK - thanks. I'm doing it more or less purely for cosmetic reasons -
| but did not want to use anything that might leech 'nasties' into the
| soil. I have read that bark chippings are not liked by some things, so
| wanted to check to see if anything else shoudl be avoided for use with
| these plants....

Short of lumps of rock salt, not much.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

The problem with bark chippings is that as they rot down, they take
goodies from the soil (nitrogen, if my memory is working today) which
the gardener then has to put back. I don't know if this affects
Clematis particularly but as I don't like the look of bark chippings,
I've never tried them. I have seen some very chlorotic Camellias
treated this way, though. Pesonally, I'd use slate or pebbles because
I think they'd look nicer and will be good at keeping the Clematis root
run cool. Of course, you will have to make sure that you don't let
your plants dry out, so whatever you use will have to be moved for
watering sometimes.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon


Moved for watering ?? I was thinking of an anti-weed sheet and then
small slate chippings or stones. Any reason why water wont just pass
right through ?? (I could add half a 500ml water bottle at the back -
sticking out the pebles - that I could water into...)

Water will indeed pass right through as long as you give it room to do
so. I was thinking of pebbles or stones deflecting it off and into the
surrounding grass. Putting a length of pipe or your cut off bottle
into the ground and watering through that is a really good solution and
is something used a good deal in places where water is in short supply.
When I lived in Jersey, many jobbing gardeners were Portuguese from
Madeira and they employed that method quite often.

OK - understood. I'll give that a go. How deep should I bury the pipe /
bottle ??

In article , NC wrote:
Water will indeed pass right through as long as you give it room to do
so. I was thinking of pebbles or stones deflecting it off and into the
surrounding grass. Putting a length of pipe or your cut off bottle
into the ground and watering through that is a really good solution and
is something used a good deal in places where water is in short supply.
When I lived in Jersey, many jobbing gardeners were Portuguese from
Madeira and they employed that method quite often.

OK - understood. I'll give that a go. How deep should I bury the pipe /
bottle ??

6" for those - deeper for larger shrubs and trees.

However, it really isn't worth the effort in most of the UK. Once
those climbers get their roots down, they will not be worried about
anything except unusually long, dry spells. They do NOT need (and
will not appreciate) frequent watering - just soak them well when
the soil gets dry 2" down until they get established, and then do
it only occasionally in extreme conditions.

That technique is seriously beneficial in Madeira, but probably
pretty marginal even in Jersey. It doesn't do any harm, anywhere,
so it is worth doing if it has any advantage (like reducing mess).
Note that it works in two ways: saving water by putting it right
in the middle of the root ball, and reducing evaporation (which is
the aspect that is almost irrelevant here).

With care, my guess is that you might save 30% in the UK, compared
with 70% in Madeira. Without considerable care, it will only reduce
splashing and not save water.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...
In article , NC wrote:
Water will indeed pass right through as long as you give it room to do
so. I was thinking of pebbles or stones deflecting it off and into the
surrounding grass. Putting a length of pipe or your cut off bottle
into the ground and watering through that is a really good solution and
is something used a good deal in places where water is in short supply.
When I lived in Jersey, many jobbing gardeners were Portuguese from
Madeira and they employed that method quite often.

OK - understood. I'll give that a go. How deep should I bury the pipe /
bottle ??

6" for those - deeper for larger shrubs and trees.

However, it really isn't worth the effort in most of the UK. Once
those climbers get their roots down, they will not be worried about
anything except unusually long, dry spells. They do NOT need (and
will not appreciate) frequent watering - just soak them well when
the soil gets dry 2" down until they get established, and then do
it only occasionally in extreme conditions.

That technique is seriously beneficial in Madeira, but probably
pretty marginal even in Jersey. It doesn't do any harm, anywhere,
so it is worth doing if it has any advantage (like reducing mess).
Note that it works in two ways: saving water by putting it right
in the middle of the root ball, and reducing evaporation (which is
the aspect that is almost irrelevant here).

With care, my guess is that you might save 30% in the UK, compared
with 70% in Madeira. Without considerable care, it will only reduce
splashing and not save water.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

I consider watering tubes a very valuable technique for newly planted
Clematis, their first May to August in the ground, regular watering down a
tube which goes to the bottom of the planting hole helps them establish much
quicker.
I have found that because the top of newly planted clematis can grow much
faster than the roots during the summer it is important to make the growing
roots go down and to support the plant until its root system can cope (about
12 months on my soil)
Surface watering can in dry weather make roots head upwards looking for
moisture which slows the process down. I do not do it to save water and I
would agree Akebia certainly would not require any help :~)
--
Charlie, gardening in Cornwall.
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of National Plant Collection of Clematis viticella (cvs)

In article ,
Charlie Pridham wrote:

I consider watering tubes a very valuable technique for newly planted
Clematis, their first May to August in the ground, regular watering down a
tube which goes to the bottom of the planting hole helps them establish much
quicker.
I have found that because the top of newly planted clematis can grow much
faster than the roots during the summer it is important to make the growing
roots go down and to support the plant until its root system can cope (about
12 months on my soil)
Surface watering can in dry weather make roots head upwards looking for
moisture which slows the process down. I do not do it to save water and I
would agree Akebia certainly would not require any help :~)

I hadn't thought of that! You approach would need a tube rather longer
than 6", of course, though not all that much longer.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article , NC wrote:
Water will indeed pass right through as long as you give it room to do
so. I was thinking of pebbles or stones deflecting it off and into the
surrounding grass. Putting a length of pipe or your cut off bottle
into the ground and watering through that is a really good solution and
is something used a good deal in places where water is in short supply.
When I lived in Jersey, many jobbing gardeners were Portuguese from
Madeira and they employed that method quite often.

OK - understood. I'll give that a go. How deep should I bury the pipe /
bottle ??

6" for those - deeper for larger shrubs and trees.

However, it really isn't worth the effort in most of the UK. Once
those climbers get their roots down, they will not be worried about
anything except unusually long, dry spells. They do NOT need (and
will not appreciate) frequent watering - just soak them well when
the soil gets dry 2" down until they get established, and then do
it only occasionally in extreme conditions.

That technique is seriously beneficial in Madeira, but probably
pretty marginal even in Jersey. It doesn't do any harm, anywhere,
so it is worth doing if it has any advantage (like reducing mess).
Note that it works in two ways: saving water by putting it right
in the middle of the root ball, and reducing evaporation (which is
the aspect that is almost irrelevant here).

With care, my guess is that you might save 30% in the UK, compared
with 70% in Madeira. Without considerable care, it will only reduce
splashing and not save water.

Anything that saves water has to be a Good Thing. As the population
increases and our demands for domestic water increase, we place a
strain not just on the natural supply of water itself but on the land
which might need to be taken for creating reservoirs. Although I
doubt those Madeiran gardeners thought of it at the time, they were
indeed doing their bit for water conservation in Jersey. The island
has no rivers and only insignificant streams. There are underground
water sources but their volume is variable, AIUI. In the 1980s there
was a vociferous argument and a great deal of controversy over the need
to flood one of the island's most beautiful valleys to make a new
reservoir. It was in fact, the site of Bergerac's home in the first
series! The island was the first place in Britain to have a
desalination plant, since replaced by a Reverse Osmosis plant. It also
has a considerable increase in population since the 70s, in terms of
residents and tourists in summer, though the latter has fallen off
somewhat in recent years. With a resident population of about 85,000,
and an affluent one at that, demanding use of dishwashers, washing
machines, two or three bathrooms per house etc., even the humble
tube-beside-the-tree has its place.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk

In article . com,
Sacha wrote:

Anything that saves water has to be a Good Thing. ...

Sorry, but .... As a mantra, that is fine. As science, it is nonsense.

Water isn't "spent", it is merely diverted from one use to another.
The key question is what the OVERALL consequences of a change in use
is, and not whether it uses less water in itself. For example, using
less water at the expense of increasing the pollution load in run-off
is a Bad Thing.

I definitely agree with you (and said so, explicitly) that this
particular technique has effectively no downside, and therefore is
always on the side of Good. I can believe that using even 10% less
water in Jersey is desirable, but it is neither here nor there on the
UK. And remember that the "saving" of water by this method depends
greatly on the evaporation rate, which is somewhat higher in Jersey
than even in Cambridge - and MUCH higher than in most of the UK!


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.