活動／戦闘 計画（する）: Nigel Colborn's 必須の 職業s for your garden this week

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TAKE SUMMER CUTTINGS

The time has come to take cuttings from any tender 工場／植物s which have spent the winter sitting on a windowsill or in a 温室. If rooted soon, each will become a sizeable young 工場／植物 ready for moving outdoors later.

Varieties such as pelargoniums, fuchsias, penstemons and heliotropes should already be growing young shoots. Each is a 可能性のある 未来 工場／植物 and, though small, will root quickly and reach the ideal 工場／植物ing size by 中央の-May.?

Always select the healthiest shoots. Cutting sizes depends on the 種類, but each should carry a 非，不，無-?flowering 終点 bud and at least a couple of leaves.?

Nigel Colborn advises taking cuttings from tenders 工場／植物s that have been inside now (とじ込み／提出する image)

削減（する） shoots away from the parent 工場／植物 and 除去する lower leaves. Don't let your cuttings wilt. For 早い やじ, use a 50- 50 mix of general 目的 potting compost and ver miculite or Perlite. Both additives help to 保存する moisture while 妨げるing saturation of the compost. Stick groups of cuttings into 7 cm マリファナs or half trays, and keep の近くに together as long as the leaves don't touch.?

Place マリファナs in a heated propagator or keep them somewhere warm, moist and in 十分な light. A simple, heated watersill propagator costs いっそう少なく than £30. Larger 温室 propagators are more, but will produce excellent 工場／植物s from seed or cuttings in half the time.

TIDY GRASSES

Large perennial grasses need きれいにする up or cutting 支援する. Deciduous varieties are the easiest to を取り引きする. Pull away dead foliage or 削減（する） it 支援する の近くに to the ground. 抱擁する grasses such as Miscanthus will need stout shears. Leave a few インチs on clumps to 保護する shoots. Evergreen grasses need gentle 扱うing. 除去する dead flower 茎・取り除くs, then 選ぶ out 損失d leaves.?

CLIP EVERGREEN HEDGES

Hardy evergreen hedging such as laurel, holly and conifers may 利益 from a late winter clip. Holly, if trimmed now, will develop more 味方する-shoots during the coming spring and summer. That helps to develop a dense, sturdy hedge. Large evergreens such as laurel may look better if 削減（する） with secateurs rather than shears. The 仕事 takes longer and is more fiddly, but shears can leave sliced leaves on the hedge, and that can be unsightly.?

Nigel chose Pulmonaria '吊りくさび Palmer' (pictured) as this week's 工場／植物 for it's spring-blooming

PLANT OF THE WEEK:? PULMONARIA 'LEWIS PALMER'?

Pulmonarias are の中で the finest spring-blooming perennials. 同様に as flowering from February to June, most have beautifully 示すd leaves which 耐える for much of summer. The variety 吊りくさび Palmer is one of the best.?

Generous sprays of pink buds open to 有望な blue flowers. The flower sprays are short at first but soon 延長する to form colourful 塚s. The large leaves are stippled with bold silver-grey blotches, setting off theflowers to perfection. Pulmonarias are 工場／植物s of the woodland 辛勝する／優位. To get the best from them at home, 工場／植物 them in 部分的な／不平等な shade.

READER'S QUESTION?

We have a globe artichoke 工場／植物, grown from seed. The artichokes are excellent 質 and I'd love to grow more from this one 工場／植物. Is that possible??

H. Prentice, West Sussex.

Globe artichokes are 平易な to grow from offshoots. With a spade, dig 負かす／撃墜する carefully at the 味方する of the 工場／植物, laying 明らかにする its base. Then, with your spade or a knife, slice 負かす／撃墜する between a shoot on the outside and the main 団体／死体.

Tease out the selected shoot, making sure it has a little root 構成要素. Gather as many offshoots as you need and マリファナ them up or 工場／植物 under cloches.

Globe artichokes are not fully hardy. So place potted shoots somewhere 避難所d such as a 温室. 工場／植物 them out in April, once they have begun to grow.