Autumn planting

Autumn is nature’s natural time for planting. We have a wide range of hardy trees, shrubs, herbaceous perennials, roses and climbers in stock. Dig in plenty of compost, composted bark, or other bulky soil improvers, and add a slow release fertiliser such as bonemeal – or controlled-release fertiliser to the soil. Make sure all plants are well watered before and after planting.

Autumn lawn care

Liven up your lawn by removing the build up of dead grass, moss and other debris with a spring-tine rake or powered scarifier. Then aerate the soil with a hollow-tine aerator or garden fork and add a top dressing. Then apply a granular autumn lawn feed or, feed, weed and mosskiller. Finally re-seed any gaps with the correct lawn seed mix.

Protect fruit trees

Now’s the time to apply grease bands around the trunks of fruit trees to prevent damage later on from wingless winter moths. Carefully rubbing off any loose bark will remove hiding places for other pests. To kill over-wintering pest eggs use Growing Success Winter Wash when all the leaves have dropped. Spray peaches and nectarines with Dithane 945 or a copper fungicide to help protect against peach leaf curl. Finally, always pick up all fallen diseased leaves and destroy them. If you need any more help on growing perfect fruit – just ask any of our plant staff.

Autumn tidy up

Get your garden ready for winter with a good autumn tidy up. Rake up any leaves and other debris and compost them, but diseased leaves should be disposed of. If you have a lot of leaves to rake up consider buying a garden Vac instead. Clean the bamboo canes and other supports with Jeyes Fluid or Armillatox. And give the patio a good cleaning with the same products or indulge yourself with a pressure washer.

Composting

Don’t throw away your spent bedding plants, kitchen waste and other material – turn them into valuable compost for improving your soil and mulching your beds and borders. Even those fallen tree leaves can be turned into leafmould. Making good compost and leafmould is easy with our wide range of compost bins, compost and leafmould accelerators, leaf rakes and collectors. Just ask if you need any help with successful composting.

Greenhouse care

Greenhouses and cold frames should be prepared now ready for overwintering tender plants. Start by cleaning them with Jeyes Fluid or Armillatox. Then put up bubble wrap double-glazing to keep it warmer during the winter and to help cut fuel bills. Horticultural fleece can also be draped over plants to help provide a few extra degrees of frost protection. Check your heaters to ensure they’re in full working order or buy a more efficient replacement – and buy in plenty of paraffin or gas if you use these types of heaters.

Spring bedding

Plug any gaps in the garden with spring bedding plants. Chose from wallflowers, bellis daisies, forget-me-not, winter-flowering pansies, violas, hardy primulas and polyanthus. And remember to add some spring-flowering bulbs too. Just ask if you need any help in selecting the best types for your garden.

Plants of the month

Keep your garden full of colour throughout autumn with our plants of the month. Choose from ericas, hydrangeas, potentillas, asters, echinacea, phlox, rudbeckias, hardy chrysanthemums, cyclamen and winter-flowering pansies. And remember those plants that are grown for berries, autumn foliage colours and the wide range of evergreens.

Make a new lawn

This is the best time to make a new lawn or replace one that is past its best. Good preparation is the key to success, so work over the soil incorporating compost or composted bark, rake and level the ground, walk over it to settle the soil, add some general granular fertiliser and rake again. Water well and keep the soil moist to ensure rapid establishment. Don’t forget to pick up all the products you need – or ask any of our staff for help if you need more advice.

Pest watch

As temperatures start to drop, outdoor pests become less active and diseases start to become dormant but you should still stay vigilant. Clearing away leaves and other debris will remove hiding places for pests. Fallen diseased leaves should be raked up and destroyed. Badly diseased stems and branches are best pruned away. The cooler, damper weather means that slugs and snails will become more active, so protect vulnerable plants with a suitable control or trap. This is also the last time you can treat plants for vine weevil grubs. Spray peaches and nectarines with Dithane 945 or a copper fungicide to help protect against peach leaf curl. Indoors, pests and diseases will remain active. Early identification of a problem will ensure it doesn’t get out of control, so check your plants regularly for telltale signs. If your plants have a problem just ask one of our friendly staff to help you choose a suitable product to deal with it.

Summer bedding

For a splash of early summer colour next year, sow Californian poppies, annual poppies, godetia, larkspurs and a number of other hardy annuals now. Simply sow them where you want them to flower in soil that has been improved with compost or composted bark.