HELMINGHAM PLANT SALE - THIS SUNDAY (19TH)

Hello - what a year this is proving for fruit. In 18 years in this industry - I have NEVER seen fruit trees so laden. Are your trees nearly bent double??

Mine certainly are - and that is after all the careful management and thinning I put into them!!!!

Everything is just stuffed - from plums to pears - to Quinces.

With the gales earlier in the week - there has been some branch breakage - but generally the fruit has held on pretty well - although it may look initally alarming to see some of the branches weeping to the ground - they will spring back up into shape once the fruit is picked -and if they do not - you can still remove them when doing your annual winter prune.

Why is there such a bounteous harvest this year??

A combination of strong quality blossom - followed by an excellent growing season - with just the right amount of sun and rainfall has kept things pretty rosy for them.

Tomorrow - SUNDAY 19th - we are exhibiting at the PLANT HERITAGE PLANT FAIR at HELMINGHAM HALL. This is our one and only forray into the Plant Sale world- simply being too busy to attend most of them.

This is an excellent sale - it is open from 10.00 - 4.30 - Helmingham is a fabulous site - on the B1077 just outside Debenham - it is Brown - Tourist Board Signed - an ancient mansion with a fabulous garden and park - last year there were 46 stands with different nurseries - selling everything you could ever want for your garden!!

We will be there with our fruit trees and shrubs - so do come and say Hello!!!

UNTIL NEXT TIME - OR SEE YOU AT THE PLANT SALE!!
RICHARD

LAST CHANCE TO PRUNE YOUR PLUMS!!

Hello - have you pruned your plum trees yet?? If not - you need to get your skates on - the end of September is the latest date you can safely prune them - before winter - and still give them time to heal up the cuts.

The problem with pruning any stone fruit - and I include cherries,greengages and damsons in this - is that their wood is soft - and if pruned in winter when the sap is not actively flowing - they cannot repel infection - this will lead to the dreaded Silver Leaf Disease or Bacterial Canker getting in - and that will eventually prove terminal for any tree.

So get them done now - this weekend if poss - do bear in mind though that they do not require spur pruning like apples and pears - all that is usually necessary is to remove one or two larger branches to increase air-circulation - and help remove Brown Rot (See My earlier post on that) - and improve fruit size. The easiest and best rule with these is - to start obviously remove any broken branches - and my Victoria had broken several this year with the heavy crop - also anything that is old and thin is best taken out - other than that - take out crossing stuff - and keep the centre open - I tend to do about 8 cuts on my tree at the most.

Talking about pruning - our PRUNING COURSES are filling up fast - if you intend to come and spend a morning with Graeme and myself learning about fruit tree pruning or shrub pruning - you need to book with the office quickly - places are limited - the dates are NOVEMBER 10TH OR 18TH - this is also open to RHS members - so there will be no possibility of just turning up on the day!!!

If you have never been on a course - and are not sure about it - do come along - it is GREAT FUN - and you will learn a lot - we are very FRIENDLY PEOPLE here you know - yes really!!

UNTIL NEXT TIME,

RICHARD

AUTUMN COLOUR - IT BEGINS!!

Hello - the beauty of AUTUMN COLOUR - how we love it!! There has been a subtle change at the nursery over the last week - with the cooler nights - and nippy mornings - plus the shortening days - this triggers a change in our plants - and they begin to withdraw some of the chemicals and hormones back into their trunks and branches - causing a breakdown of the green leaf into wonderful pigments of red and orange - giving us A FABULOUS SHOW.

Many of the ACERS - members of the MAPLE family are starting to colour up - as the photo at the top shows -

It is still early - and over the next month - every day - new tints and colours are revealed - in many ways it is the HARVEST period of the nursery - the farmers have their golden fields of corn - and here at CROWN NURSERY - we have our AUTUMN COLOUR and the ripening APPLES - or perhaps I am just an old romantic at heart!!

People often ask which is the best plant for autumn colour - but it really depends on what effect you are trying to achieve - and also your soil. Those on drier sandy soil - slightly on the acidic side will get far more of the orange and red tints than those on wetter clay soil - whose autumn colour tends to be far more towards the yellow side of the spectrum.

However - the creme de la creme if you have a neutral to acid soil has to be LIQUIDAMBAR - The Sweet Gum. As the photo below shows - a STUNNER!! It also has a very ornamental bark too!! This tree - unlike most - starts it's autumn colour on one lower branch and the effect then floods over the rest of the tree - giving a much longer period of colour.

The photo just above that is of AMELANCHIER - but grown on sandy soil - on a heavy clay -it will have yellow autumn colour.

Colour also seems to vary from plant to plant - and in some trees - there will always be stronger autumn colour on some types than others, for the best autumn colour on trees - FRAXINUS 'RAYWOOD' (Claret Ash), QUERCUS RUBRA (Red Oak), PYRUS COMMUNIS (Wild Pear) and even our dear common little SPINDLE - EUONYMUS EUROPAEUS - with it's stange fruit shown below - will oblige in most years.

It's an exciting time - early autumn - and certainly not a time to shut up shop in your garden and prepare for winter - there is much colour to come - from berries to bark - from foliage to fruits - come and see for yourself!!

UNTIL NEXT TIME,

RICHARD

APPLE DAY - SATURDAY OCTOBER 23RD

Hello, - as the season moves into autumn - we are already into our forward planning for our Apple Day - our most busy and popular event of the year!!

If you have never been before we have a lot of fun!! I think I can best describe it as a Celebration of All Things Apple!! We have apple related games - we can offer advice on selection and pruning of apples trees - and most importantly for some - we have a MEGA APPLE TASTING marquee!!!

Last year, we had 107 different varieties available for tasting - and the target this year is 110!!!

Do come down and see us - it is a totally free event - refreshments are available - and the day runs from 10-4.

SEE YOU THERE!!!
RICHARD

THE GOLDEN DAYS OF SEPTEMBER

Hello - what a wonderful week this has been!! The first week of September - and we have had some superb weather - blue skies - and gentle warmth - I love September - the beginning of autumn - but still with that hint of the summer. I should think just about everyone has enjoyed this week - from holiday makers to farmers getting in the harvest - to us gardeners enjoying the lush growth.

Some difference to the weather last week - I was away on holiday in Ireland - where the weather was exactly as now - but back home in Suffolk - over 2 and a half inches of rain fell - together with gale-force winds - typhoons and goodness knows what else. When I returned to the nursery this week - parts of it looked like a re-enactment of the Battle of the Somme!!! Broken trees, damaged branches - support structures twisted and buckled - so much for August!

The beauty of September is that the soil is warm after the summer - but certainly this year - has plenty of moisture enabling an early start to autumn planting schemes. Trees and shrubs planted now will root very quickly - and establish themselves before the colder weather sets in.

We are already taking orders for hedging and fruit trees - the new HEDGING CATALOGUE is now available at the nursery - our new TREE CATALOGUE is also out - and the fruit catalogue is the next for a makeover.

A lot of plants are looking good at the moment - but one of our favourites is the ornamental crab apple - MALUS 'JOHN DOWNIE' - as the photo at the top of the page shows - this is a great tree for any garden - masses of scented apple blossom in the spring - and a profusion of large flagon-shaped orange crab apples in autumn - ideal for making crab-apple jelly!! As an extra bonus - this tree is also an excellent POLLINATOR for dessert and cooking apples.

Talking of apples - the APPLE-TASTING SHED is proving popular as always - there are new varieties ripening every week - currently we have DISCOVERY,TYDEMANS EARLY WORCESTER,BAKERS DELICIOUS,GRENADIER,REV.W. WILKS and SAINT EDMUNDS PIPIPN for customers to taste - and I will add more as they come into season.

This really is one of the best times of the year to look and plan for your autumn planting schemes - many of the trees are displaying great berries and the first signs of autumn colour will be with us soon - the late-summer flowering shrubs are still going great guns - everything is gearing up for a FABULOUS AUTUMN!!

Make sure you don't miss out!!

UNTIL NEXT TIME,

RICHARD