Gardeners......

[the winky one]

What are the gorgeous trees called that you can now see all around town? The ones with the red berries on, and is there a dwarf variety that you can get for the garden? Is it Cotoneaster?

Every year I look forward to seeing them even though it means we are on the way to Autumn.

[Wes]

Mountain ash have red berries on them, cotoneaster is more of a shrub.

[Panchitta Marra]

Mountain ash have red berries on them, cotoneaster is more of a shrub.

Wes, you wouldn't happen to work in a garden centre in West Cumbria would you?

[Kittwazzer]

Mountain ash have red berries on them, cotoneaster is more of a shrub.

Wes, you wouldn't happen to work in a garden centre in West Cumbria would you?

If he does, its one hell of a commute from Ashton!

[Wes]

No sorry not me, im in billinge. I am the senior gardener at Wigan, Wrightington and Leigh up until a week ago had massive curly hair, now its back to short back and sides.

[Panchitta Marra]

Thanks Wes, I thought you might have been the friend of a bloke I share in a car school to work. His friend called Wes is also a gardener in a centre in West Cumbria, we get basket flowers from the bloke but never met him, hence me asking.

[cpwigan]

Wes any advice for clay soils? I currently dig it out.

[Wes]

I suppose if you have an area you are planting up and you hit clay quickly i would dig it out and replace it with grade 2 topsoil if you just know its there but it isnt causing problems id leave it. If you happen to dig an area up and its a couple of foot down you could break it up and mix some wood chip or grit with it to break it down and allow for better drainage. Drainage is the biggest problem with clay so it makes it hard for things to grow but breaking it up and adding woodchip or grit stone is cheaper than digging it out and replacing it with soil.

If you are planting up too i always add manure pellets to the soil then fork and hoe it over before planting to add some nutrients to the soil.

Let us know cp if i havnt covered what you needed.

[cpwigan]

I suppose if you have an area you are planting up and you hit clay quickly i would dig it out and replace it with grade 2 topsoil if you just know its there but it isnt causing problems id leave it. If you happen to dig an area up and its a couple of foot down you could break it up and mix some wood chip or grit with it to break it down and allow for better drainage. Drainage is the biggest problem with clay so it makes it hard for things to grow but breaking it up and adding woodchip or grit stone is cheaper than digging it out and replacing it with soil.

If you are planting up too i always add manure pellets to the soil then fork and hoe it over before planting to add some nutrients to the soil.

Let us know cp if i havnt covered what you needed.

Cheers. We are right near the mouth of the estuary as it enters the sea. New build, developers cover everything with top soil, hide it etc. Top soil probably goes a foot and some reasonable soil for another foot. Might be generous on my depth (knee height). Beneath that is solid clay. I tend to dig the clay out when I have the inclination. We had one corner that would flood in wet periods. I think I have sorted that by removing plenty of the clay. In dry periods the clay drinks any moisture/water.

Different subject; Lupins; are they the White fly favourite plant. the little blighters are worse than slugs/snails on hostas. Do you just spray?

[Kittwazzer]

Haha, I forgot what this thread was about. Anyroadup, while I'm here, I'd just like to add that I thought Ade was our MoM tonight! ????