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Irish Times
06-07-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
‘My Cosmos plants are struggling. How can I help them thrive?'
Some Cosmos bedding plants I recently planted in our new garden have struggled to get going. Their leaves have yellowed and they look stunted. Any suggestions as to what the problem is? In my old garden I grew these very easily. Rachel O'L, Kilkenny A fast-growing, floriferous, half-hardy annual, Cosmos bipinnatus is easily raised from seed sown under cover in spring. This very decorative member of the daisy family is great for quickly adding height and colour to a container display or summer border. It also makes an excellent cut flower. A wide range of varieties are available, with flowers in shades of pink as well as white, lemon-yellow and apricot. Annual cosmos is typically very vigorous, so much so that the standard advice is to avoid planting it into too rich a soil in order to encourage flower production over an excess of leafy growth. That said, plants can become sometimes infected by diseases such as aster yellows or fusarium, which cause stunted growth and yellowing of the foliage. Like most members of the daisy family, this species loves full sun and a free-draining soil, so overwatering, or growing plants in wet, poorly drained soil or in deep shade can also cause similar symptoms. There's also a chance that your plants may be suffering from what's known as lime-induced chlorosis. This happens when the soil has a high pH (a pH above 7), meaning it's alkaline or high in lime. READ MORE Plants vary in their ability to grow well in these kinds of soils. Ericaceous plants such as azalea, pieris, camellia and rhododendron, for example, can only be grown in soils where the pH is quite acidic (ideally a pH of 5-6). But most plant species including cosmos are happiest when the pH is just slightly acidic to neutral, with a pH of 6.5-7. In alkaline soils, however, an excess of lime can interfere with a plant's ability to absorb phosphorus, iron and manganese as well as other nutrients, causing the symptoms you describe. So I'd suggest you test your soil's pH, always a good idea with a new garden and something that can be done easily at home using a test widely available in most good garden centres. For accurate results, use a soil sample from an area that hasn't been recently manured or fertilised. Correcting an overly high soil pH is complicated and typically involves using products that acidify the soil, such as sulphur, aluminium sulphate and sulphur of iron, also known as ferrous sulphate. Mulching with pine needles or bark mulch are other solutions. But it's very important that this is done carefully and cautiously as the amount required will depend upon the degree of alkalinity. Bear in mind, too, that making the soil too acidic can also have a negative impact on plant growth. Detailed advice on .
The Sun
06-06-2025
- General
- The Sun
Win a Westland plant food bundle worth £100
Its around this time of year that your garden could do with a good feed. And happily our friends at Westland are offering up two fantastic bundles of plant feed for pretty much every occasion. 2 2 The bundle includes tomato, hydrangea and rose feed. As well as a lawn liquid and bug feed. To enter fill in the form below. Or write to Sun Westland Boost competition, PO Box 3190, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8GP.
Irish Times
01-06-2025
- Climate
- Irish Times
My coastal trees and shrubs were damaged by Storm Éowyn. What should I do?
I planted my garden with shrubs and trees which would tolerate salty conditions, living only a couple of hundred metres from the sea. All was well for more than 20 years, until Storm Éowyn. Now there is extensive damage, mostly on one side, to pittosporum, escallonia hedging, evergreen honeysuckle, variegated holly, choisya and viburnum. Most of the leaves have now died and fallen off. On the sheltered side the leaves appear to be undamaged. Should I cut back the damaged side or leave things be and hope there will be new growth later on in the year? Sheila Power, Co Clare While Storm Éowyn caused extensive damage to many established trees and shrubs throughout the country, this was especially the case with coastal gardens along Ireland's west and northern coastline where it hit particularly hard. As I'm sure you know, it's not just the speed and force of these kinds of violent gale force winds that can be so destructive, but also the salt they carry. Such was the exceptional force of Storm Éowyn that it carried salt very far inland, even to counties in the midlands where it could be seen as a white-grey layer on windows and plants the following day. In your own garden where plants are especially exposed to these very salty winds, the extensive damage to the windward side of your evergreen trees and shrubs was caused by the extremely high levels of salt deposits it left on their stems and foliage. This typically burns plant tissue and ruptures plant cells, resulting in browning and discolouration of leaves, dieback of buds and stems, delayed bud break and reduced plant vigour. The resulting shock to plant health is considerable, but the good news is that most will eventually recover. READ MORE As regards cutting back the bare stems, one of the best pieces of advice I can give you is to wait and see. Very often plants will eventually produce new growth after these kinds of extreme weather events, so long as they're given sufficient time to do so, a process of many months. In the meantime, you can check if stems and branches are still alive by using your fingernail to very gently scratch away a small section of the outer layer of the plant cambium. If you see green, this is a very good sign. If the bare stems and branches have remained pliable rather than becoming brittle and brown, this too is a good sign. You can also help your plants to make a full recovery by watering them very well, then sprinkling some slow-release pelleted organic fertiliser around the roots, followed by an organic mulch of home-made compost or well-rotted manure. Unfortunately, the likelihood of these kinds of extreme storms becoming more frequent is much greater because of climate change, so I'd also suggest that you consider increasing the size and depth of your garden's shelterbelt planting if possible. Along with the species that you're already growing, the following will all tolerate exposed seaside growing conditions; Olearia macrodonta; Fuchsia magellanica; Hippophae rhamnoides; Phormium tenax; Pinus nigra; Pinus radiata; Acer pseudoplatanus; Alnus glutinosa; Pinus mugo; and Crataegus sp.
Irish Times
25-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
Why is our holly bush suddenly shedding?
We have a holly tree growing in our garden for at least 20 years. In 2024, for the first time, in October, it produced red berries. These berries have remained on the tree, untouched by birds and now the tree is shedding. The drive is covered in holly leaves. This has never happened before, and we are mystified. Our garden is in rural Mayo, which has seen a lot of wind and rain this winter. A McNeely You're right to be concerned about your poor holly bush, which sounds like it's suffering from a disease known as holly leaf blight (Phytophthora ilicis). It's an increasing problem in Irish gardens in recent years. This spring I also spotted it on holly trees in the wild. The symptoms are very much as you describe and are typically first noticed in winter or early spring following a spell of wet, cool weather. Once-healthy holly trees and hedges start to sicken, with their leaves blackening and then dropping. Sometimes you'll also see partial blackening of the stems. Foliage close to the ground is most vulnerable as a result of splash-back from the soil, which helps to spread the disease back on to once-healthy growth. This destructive but nonfatal disease, which thrives in cool, rainy weather that enables its spores to easily move on to suitable host plants, is technically an alga but is more easily described as fungal in nature. Those same spores can also be concealed on fallen leaves and in soil near an afflicted plant, so can be inadvertently carried on your boots, or even carried via wind or visiting wildlife. There is no effective chemical control available to gardeners. READ MORE The fact that your holly bush is producing berries for the very first time is interesting and may offer a useful clue as to why it's recently become infected with holly leaf blight. Hollies are classed as either male or female. Only female holly trees produce berries, for which they typically require a male pollinating partner (the exception is self-pollinating varieties). It sounds like your female tree was without a male pollinating partner for many years until recently, which suggests that one has recently been planted nearby, either by you in your own garden, or possibly in a neighbouring garden. If so, then this male holly tree was possibly the carrier of the disease that subsequently infected your plant. [ Why are my rubber plants looking so unhappy? Opens in new window ] Unfortunately, young plants can sometimes be infected but asymptomatic. For this reason, the RHS also strongly recommends taking great care to quarantine recently purchased young holly plants for several months after purchase so they can be observed for any signs of the disease. In the case of your already-diseased holly tree, the best approach is to limit its effects by studiously collecting and destroying or burning any fallen leaves repeatedly to help reduce the chance of them spreading it back on to new growth. The RHS also recommends selectively pruning out and burning badly affected sections for the same reason.
Irish Times
24-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- Irish Times
Six easy tips for making your garden planters last all summer in Ireland
Who doesn't, I ask you, love a properly sumptuous, decadently lush display of summer containers, with all its fleeting, peacock-ish beauty and promises of long, lazy, sunny days. Few things we do in the garden can so quickly pack a powerful visual punch, as well as an emotional one, reconnecting us with childhood memories of sun-kissed terracotta pots filled with scarlet geraniums, and trailing lipstick-pink petunias spilling out of hanging baskets. Concocting and then caring for these limelight-hogging creations so that they stay the pace throughout the summer months is, however, an art akin to making the perfect baked Alaska. Get it wrong and you'll end up feeling downcast. But get it right and your summer pots will be the envy of all who see them. 1. Containers Let's start with the containers themselves. The first rule here, for many good reasons, is the bigger, the better. Larger pots not only offer much more room for hungry, thirsty root systems (many summer bedding plants are notorious guzzlers in this regard), but they also provide much more of an opportunity to create a truly eye-catching display. Better again, they're also less likely to dry out or become waterlogged. Zinc is non-porous as well as being versatile and beautiful. Photograph: iStock Also choose carefully when it comes to the type of material. Both natural terracotta and wood, for example, have a timeless elegance but are porous, so be prepared to put in more hours of watering on warm, sunny days. That's not the case with zinc, which is non-porous as well as being both versatile and beautiful, especially if you can get your hands on some vintage planters (stockists include ). READ MORE Plastic, on the other hand, runs the risk of looking cheap and cheerful. Yet it also has the great advantage of being both non-porous and lightweight (important if it's going to be on a balcony or roof garden, where every kilogramme counts), plus you can give containers a clever upgrade by painting them in the colour of your choice. 2. Shape Shape is another consideration. Too shallow, for example, and containers are prone to drying out. Too tall, and they're vulnerable to blowing over. Too much of a mix and it looks restless. 3. Compost Just like choosing good quality ingredients for a recipe, your growing medium of choice is also crucial. Don't, for example, be tempted to reuse old, spent compost from last year's containers, which won't be capable of sustaining strong healthy plant growth. Likewise, beware of cheap, coarse, poor-quality compost that offers little in the way of nutrients. Instead, try your best to source a good-quality multipurpose compost, ideally peat-free for environmental reasons (I like Klasmann's peat-free potting compost, which is available to order online from Cork-based and Sligo-based ). Then add a handful or two of a good quality, slow-release organic fertiliser into it before planting, making sure to incorporate this well to avoid scorching vulnerable root systems. Peat-free compost. Photograph: Alamy/PA 4. Plants As for your choice of plants – the most important ingredients of all – there are a couple of cardinal rules worth bearing in mind. Firstly, if going for a mixed display of different varieties, make sure they all enjoy similar growing conditions. There's not much point, for example, in planting dahlias (a hungry, thirsty, fast-growing, heat- and sun-loving genus of plants) alongside ferns, which typically prefer shade and cooler conditions. Likewise, don't try to kid yourself that a container filled with sun-loving, drought-tolerant bedding plants is going to thrive in a cool, shady corner. Far better to plant appropriately, choosing species that will naturally flourish in the conditions your garden or allotment can offer them. 'Less is more' is another good rule of thumb, especially when it comes to the number of different species or varieties of plant. Choose just one single variety of dahlia, nemesia, pelargonium, ornamental salvia or nicotiana, for example, and it's guaranteed to create a visually powerful, long-lasting display, as well as one whose simplicity makes it easier to tend. 5. Colours The same goes for your chosen colour palette. Restrict it to three or two colours, or even just one, and you automatically up your chances of producing a memorably beautiful display. This could be a combination of scarlet dahlias and petunias, or a massed display of just one single variety of cosmos, calibrachoa, nemesia, diascia, begonia, bedding fuchsia, or pelargonium. What's key is to focus on long-flowering, floriferous, high-octane species like these that earn their keep by performing well over a long period of time. A summer container filled with Nemesia 'Peach' beside containers filled with Coleus 'Campfire' and Aeonium 'Zwartkop'. Photograph: Richard Johnston Don't overlook the all-important power of a few high-value foliage plants in knitting it all together. Coleus, for example, is available in a mouthwatering range of colours, as are varieties of heuchera and heucherella, while the castor oil plant, Ricinus communis, can be used to quickly make a tall, dramatic display of vividly colourful foliage. Other hardworking foliage plants for summer containers include the silver-leaved Helichrysum petiolare, and Plectranthus argentatus. Bear in mind that contrasting forms and different growth habits also make for a more interesting display. Placing, for example, a trailing plant next to one with a strongly vertical habit is always going to be pleasing to the eye. 6. The essentials Last but not least, don't forget the essentials, which are to keep your pots watered (but not sodden); to zealously protect them from slug damage; to faithfully deadhead; and to start liquid feeding them every fortnight from midsummer onwards, ideally using a good-quality liquid seaweed. The rest is in the lap of the gods. This week in the garden Grab the chance to hand-weed and hoe weeds away from paths and beds while they're still young and small and relatively easy to manage. Choose a dry, warm day to help ensure they'll quickly die off, rather than rerooting. Sustained dry weather can cause plant stress due to lack of moisture in the soil, so protect newly planted trees and shrubs by watering generously and then spreading an organic mulch around the surface of the soil to lock in moisture and slow down evaporation. Grass clippings are ideal for this purpose. Dates for your diary May 29th-June 2nd: Ireland's biggest and best-known gardening show, Bord Bia Bloom, returns to the Phoenix Park, Dublin, with 21 show gardens; 11 postcard gardens; a host of floristry and nursery displays, including one from Kells Bay Gardens, which recently exhibited at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show; a new Botanical Hub Demo area; an Ask the Expert Plant Clinic, presented by The Irish Garden magazine; an Ask the Expert Tree Clinic in association with Crann; a Garden Design Clinic in association with the GLDA; plus talks by well-known gardening experts including Adam Frost, Leonie Cornelius, Jimi Blake, Mary Keenan, Diarmuid Gavin, Fiann Ó Nualláin, and Bloom Judges Andrew Wilson, Mark Gregory, Karen Foley, Paul Maher and Feargus McGarvey.
