Never really understood how to prune shrubs properly? Are you always wildly cutting the top of your shrubs? This National Gardening Week, we are here to help.

Below are a series of videos, as well as a blog, to help you make the most of your shrubs and keep them healthy. Remember, you can always ask us if you have any questions.

 

Why prune your shrubs?

Nigel’s top tips for pruning shrubs:

To keep the shrub neat, compact, healthy and encourage flowering wood or larger leaves.

REMEMBER: Pruning shrubs at the wrong time of the year can remove this year’s flowers!

 

It is always better to let most shrubs come into flower first and ONLY prune straight after flowering to prevent cutting off next year’s flowering shoots.

 

• Before pruning, look for the three d’s; dead, diseased and damaged old wood. These are the areas you will definitely need to cut back

 

• Next, make sure you are cutting from the base. The new growth always comes from the pruning cut, so make sure you take about a third of the old wood out – the flowers will then be at face height, where they can be appreciated

 

• Make sure you use the right tools to make your incisions, a pruning saw is ideal! Our team are well trained with these tools, so be very careful and follow all health and safety guidelines on the packet if you are using one

 

• If your shrub has knotted branches at the base, make the process a little easier for yourself by removing the majority of the wood first. Make an initial cut to get rid of the height and weight, then make a final cut closer to the base.

 

• If any branches have rubbed together and caused damage, make sure you cut them, making way for new, healthy growth

 

• Lastly, make sure you prune your shrub every couple of years to rejuvenate it and keep it looking at its best

Previous Episodes

• How to Care for Your Lawn
• How to Plant Plug Plants
• How to Sow Small Seeds
• How to….Take Dahlia Cuttings
• How to….Prepare Bulbs For Next Year

 

This year we have partnered with Bloodwise for The Botanic Secret Garden Ball, 11th May. The evening will include fantastic entertainment from live band Spectrum, as well as an auction where you could win fabulous prizes. There will also be a chance for you to purchase a secret garden key that unlocks even more incredible goodies, with the aim of raising money for both the Birmingham Botanical Gardens and Bloodwise.

In preparation for this fantastic event, we wanted to tell you more about Bloodwise; the UK’s specialist blood cancer charity dedicated to improving the lives of patients.

Who are Bloodwise UK

Around 38,000 people of all ages, from children to adults, are diagnosed with blood cancers and related disorders every year in the UK. Birmingham is right at the centre of Bloodwise work and money from this event will go toward lifesaving research taking place in the city, helping to change the lives of people living with leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma and other types of blood cancer.

Their mission is to stop people dying from blood cancer full stop, making patients’ lives better, and looking for ways to stop blood cancer happening in the first place.

Did you know…

• By donating to Bloodwise, you’re helping to fund over 1,000 leading researchers working on over 200 projects across the UK
• Blood cancer claims more lives than breast and prostate cancer each year
• Blood cancer is the 5th most common cancer
• Back in 1960, less than 1 in 10 children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia survived. Today nearly 8 in 10 do.

As you can see from the above statistics, by donating to Bloodwise you’re helping to increase the chance of survival for many patients across the world. People with blood cancer should be able to live their lives to the full: free from the fear of relapse; free from side effects and free to do the things they love. Bloodwise work tirelessly to try and achieve this; improving quality of life until blood cancer no longer has an impact.

Patient Care

As well as research, Bloodwise also work with patients to improve their care. They use an evidenced based approach to find out what care and support patients need, how those services are currently being provided, and what solutions are required to improve them. They believe in not just identifying problems with patient care, but working to engage and influence decision makers to make a real change happen.

Myles Broadhurst, now ten-years-old, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in April 2014, then just six years old, and underwent treatment at Birmingham Children’s Hospital. Myles’ mum, Ann-Marie, says: “He lost his hair and the ability to bear any weight on his legs. Seeing your child go through so many traumas at such a young age is harrowing. Thankfully, his cancer finally went into remission and the intense phase of treatment was complete. Myles’ journey was far from over, though, as he then faced three years of maintenance treatment, completing this in October 2017.”

Emma Jane Jones, Regional Manager for Bloodwise said, “Although great progress has been made in survival rates for childhood leukaemia compared to 20 years ago, treatment is incredibly harsh and there are still many long-term side effects. Funding research is the only way to find more effective treatments, and a lot of this ground-breaking work is taking place right here in Birmingham, which is really exciting.”

We are delighted to be working in partnership with this prestigious organisation, in a city that holds great significance to our work in blood cancer research. The disease kills more people annually than breast or prostate cancer, so events like the Secret Garden Ball not only offer a fun evening of entertainment for guests, but are vital in ensuring we can continue to invest in this life-saving research, and provide patient support services for the 39,000 people diagnosed every year.”

Transform the lives of children from deprived areas of Birmingham with inspiring educational visits to Birmingham Botanical Gardens.

Birmingham Botanical Gardens are asking you to make a difference to the lives of hundreds of children from some of the most deprived inner-city areas in Britain. By donating today, you will help to provide children with the opportunity to experience the natural world at the Botanical Gardens. We will provide interactive, educational sessions, giving local children the life-changing opportunities they lack, thus, allowing them to live, learn, and develop as every child deserves to.

Currently, we teach groups of school children about the environment, especially its plants and animals, in accordance with their school curricula. However, many schools, particularly those from the most deprived parts of Birmingham, can no longer afford to visit the Botanical Gardens. Therefore, we are raising money to help schools from the poorest areas of Birmingham visit us, thus making it possible for many more children to experience the joys and life changing opportunities we offer.

For more information, or to donate to this important cause or the Gardens in general, please see our dedicated donations page, or e-mail admin@birminghambotanicalgardens.org.uk or telephone 0121 454 1860.

The gardening staff have been on a bit of an adventure of late, exhibiting the National Cyclamen Collection at the RHS Early Spring Show in Westminster and winning gold! It took weeks to prepare for; plants had to be picked over and monitored around the clock, we had to plan out a design for the display and work out the logistics to allow us to attend. The gardens have not exhibited at a major RHS show for over fifteen years, so it has been a real learning curve for many of us.

In addition to this, a number of grasses and herbaceous plants have been divided and repositioned in the grass garden. Some of the clumps of ornamental grasses have become too large and have flopped over with the weight of the foliage, not quite the look we are going for. However, we like to leave the grasses for as long as possible before we cut then back because the seed heads catch the winter frosts beautifully and look stunning for our visitors.

The team have also been making plans for the summer displays on the terrace – a couple of large shrubs have already been removed from around the pavilion to allow for visitors to admire the view. Dahlias will once again be making a welcome return to the terrace, as well as a number of new varieties, which are being purchased currently.

Meanwhile, the indoor team will be busy re-potting the orchids in the Subtropical House Orchid Case. Early spring is a great time to re-pot them as they have finished flowering and new stem growth is about to come through. Once they are taken out of their pots, all the old compost is removed and any dead roots are trimmed off. We then select a big terracotta pot that has enough space for two years growth and cover the plant in orchid compost. This consists of 10 parts medium grade pine bark, 5 parts fine grade pine bark, 1 ½ parts of perlite and ¼ part granulated charcoal. Bark is also used as many orchids are epiphytes; growing on tree branches in the wild for support.

Lastly, Daffodils grown in pots and cold frames over the winter will now be brought into the cool greenhouse. Green garden canes and string will be used to stake the tall flowers to stop them from falling over. These will also be used in the 21m long floral display in the Mediterranean House during March.

Seasonal Tips for March

If you aren’t sure of what needs to be done in your own garden, why not follow our seasonal tips for March below:

• Give any bulbs that you have in pots a high-potassium feed every 10-14 days to prolong the display, as well helping the bulb replenish it stores for next year.
• Lift and split herbaceous perennials and ornamental grasses. Not only does it increase your stock, it also allows you to fill up any bare areas in your garden. If you only re-plant the younger growth and discard the old material it will also provide the plants with renewed vigour to grow.
• Turn your compost heaps. On a cold day this job will warm you up and it will allow the layers of material to mix together, letting in air and helping material to rot. This gives you a much better chance of making high-quality garden compost.
• Start planting summer flowering bulbs such as Lilles and Gladiolus for a summer display or to use as cut flowers for your house.
• As Rose buds are fattening up, it’s the perfect time to prune your roses to an outward facing bud.
• It’s important to clean glasshouses and cold frames ready for the new growing season.
• Wash plant pots and seed trays to prevent pests and diseases from damaging precious young plants.
• Sow hardy annuals seeds such as sweet peas (if you didn’t get round to doing it in the autumn) – remember that April will be too late to do this.
• Start feeding houseplants with a high nitrogen fertiliser every 7 to 14 days to encourage growth.
• Place Canna, Dahlias and Ginger Lilies in a warm spot in the glasshouse and give them a good water to encourage new growth.

  

  

  

  
  

Our on site team won gold for their National Collection of Cyclamen, a first for Birmingham Botanical Gardens!

Nigel Hopes, Horticultural Senior Supervisor (External Areas), who heads up the management of the National Collection, alongside the rest of the gardening team including, Wayne Williams (Senior Horticulturist (internal areas)), Chris Howell, Eddie Adams and Josh Tranter had a lot to say about this fantastic achievement and what it means for the gardens. 

Nigel, what was it that attracted you to Cyclamen in particular?

My first encounter with Cyclamen was when I visited Ashwood Nurseries on a cold January morning when I was thirteen years old. I saw what appeared to be huge drifts of dainty and delicate pink, white and magenta flowers and I thought, ‘how on earth do they survive and flower during the winter?’ The little tiny Cyclamen that I was admiring was, of course, Cyclamen coum, which is incredibly hardy and can survive even the worst of the winter weather.

How did you get involved in the Cyclamen National Collection?

When I first started working at the gardens in 2005, the collection of Cyclamen was quite small with only a few potted specimens. I then brought in plants from my own collection at home and started propagating seed donations from Ashwood Nurseries in 2010, all of which sat alongside the colonies of Cyclamen hederifolium and Cyclamen coum that have always been planted in the open garden at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens.

Then, in 2012, our Plant Records Officer, and the Chairman of our Horticultural Committee Vic Aspland, mentioned the idea of trying to achieve ‘National Collection’ status. Vic is also president of the Cyclamen Society – the perfect person to have heading up this initiative. Over the years, more and more plants and seeds have been sourced and donated to us. Then, in 2015, we started pulling together the paper work for the collection; we also held regular meetings with the Plant Heritage Regional Coordinator, all in the hope of achieving the much-coveted ‘National Collection’ title.  As of July 2016, we now own one of two National Cyclamen collections. 

What’s your favorite Cyclamen and why?

Depends on the time of year, but I don’t really think that I could possibly pick one particular species out. They are all so stunning and have held my attention since I was young. Only something special can stay with you from 13 all the way up into adulthood. 

How did you all prepare for the show as a team?

Nigel: It took six weeks of planning to workout the logistics of transporting the collection, as well as and sourcing what materials we would need to build a display from scratch. I also had to contact a tree nursery in Tenbury Wells called Frank P. Matthews at short notice. They were fantastic and kindly agreed to let us loan six-specimen Betula utilis var. jacquemontii ‘Snow Queen’ and a number of pines to form the backdrop of our display. Without these plants we could not have created the landscaped flora exhibit at the show.

I also wanted to make a number of educational interpretation boards as I wanted to encourage people to grow this wonderful genus in their own gardens.

Chris: To actually create the design itself we laid tarpaulin on the floor and marked it up with props before taking photos. This helped us to not only plan out the display but also to transport everything and be able to reconstruct it in London.

We were worried that the terracotta pots the Cyclamen were growing in would be too heavy for the tables at the show however, they held well and we were able to fill the gaps with newspaper, adding the final touches including the bark chippings and name labels.

What goes into preparing for a show like the RHS Early Spring Show?

Nigel: Generally, some exhibitors will plan everything out twelve months in advance, sometimes even longer depending on the exhibit. We didn’t have this much time and had to cram the whole process into a few weeks. Planning involved constant contact with suppliers and the RHS organisers to ensure everything ran smoothly. As well as this, all the plants must be at their best; the Birmingham Botanical Gardens team continually monitor and care for the collection all year round.

In addition, it took a while to plan how to get the plants to the show; it was a decision we took a lot of time over. You have to be very good at Tetris to pack the van and make sure everything is loaded safely and, above all, that the plants arrive at the Show in perfect condition.

Nigel, where did funding come from, what did you have to do?

We were lucky enough to get sponsorship from the RHS. I attended a new exhibitors conference ran by Helen Boem at the Malvern Spring Show and subsequently applied for a new exhibitors bursary; a pot of money that the RHS offer annually to new exhibitors who have not exhibited at an RHS show before. However, we did not get the bursary because we were not a grower or nursery.

However, Helen then contacted me and told me that there maybe another opportunity for funding and that I should not give up just yet. A couple of months passed and I was contacted by the London Show Manager, Graeme Maynard, at the end of November to see if we would still be interested in exhibiting if the RHS sponsored us with two thirds of the money that we would need to exhibit at the RHS Early Spring Show. We jumped at the chance and were thrilled to be able to consider exhibiting again. Without the RHS, and the help of Helen Boem, Graeme Maynard and Dario Spagnoli, we would not have been able to exhibit the collection. A big thank you goes out to all that made it possible.

What are the benefits of presenting at an RHS Show, regardless of winning or not? 

Nigel: Advertising, letting people know that we are in Birmingham and that we are an independent educational charity. It also allows the collection to be appreciated by people who attend these show.

Chris: Networking is key. We swapped numbers with a few other gardeners as we may consider swapping plants in the future. As well as this, reputation is another important point. As we have one of two National Cyclamen collections, we have a responsibility to show it off and exhibit them as much as we can. Not many people show Cyclamen and they aren’t big with the RHS, so many people rely on us for advice.

What does winning gold mean to you?

Nigel: Fantastic, it was worth all of the effort and the sleepless nights.

Josh: It was great that, as an apprentice, I could help the other gardeners on this project, and get the experience of a real RHS Show. Not every trainee gets this and I’m thrilled that, on top of that, we won gold!

What does winning gold mean for the Birmingham Botanical Gardens?

Nigel: It helps to raise the profile of the gardens and also open doors regarding more possible funding and sponsorship opportunities. 

Wayne: Now that we have won gold, we are also going to be taken more seriously. We are very proud of what we have achieved at Birmingham Botanical Gardens and are thrilled that people are acknowledging the work we are putting in.

What did you enjoy most about the RHS Show and taking the Cyclamen along?

Nigel: That it was a real team effort and it’s an experience that we are never going to forget.

Chris: Yes, the buzz was amazing – the show was full on and is a first for a number of our gardeners. It was a good experience for them and amazing for all of us to be able to work together as a team on such a prestigious project.

It’s also great to be able to see what other gardeners are up to and what they are achieving. It gives us ideas for the future, but also allows us to appreciate different varieties of plants and the achievements of our contemporaries.

Wayne: I enjoyed interacting with the visitors, teaching them about Cyclamen and answering their questions. A common question about Cyclamen is their life expectancy. Many people think they are dead when they are actually dormant – not many people realise they have a dormancy period and it was great to be able to share that. We also had a lot of people asking if we sold them – sadly we don’t, but if you attend the National Cyclamen Society shows, they sell a wide variety of them. Just remember, it can take up to 3 years to get a flower!

What’s next for you and the gardens, any future shows? 

Nigel: Only time will tell. If we were to exhibit at any other shows we would have to obtain sponsorship or a donation to allow us to have another opportunity.

What will happen to the display now?

Nigel: The plants have now been returned to their homes in the nursery, but plants from the show will appear in the Alpine house at the gardens. The display took around twenty-four hours to construct and only one and half to break up and pack into the van.

Vic Aspland, Chairman of the Horticultural Committee at Birmingham Botanical Gardens and president of the Cyclamen Society had this to say, “This was a great tribute to the contributions of many people. The Gardens’ horticultural team rose triumphantly to the challenge of staging the exhibit. I was lucky to recruit two volunteers (Roy Skidmore and Denise Bridges) who help to maintain the plants on a weekly basis, so there were plenty of good things to choose from. Quite a few of the plants in the collection were obtained through my numerous contacts in the horticultural world. Horticulturalists are well-known for their generosity in sharing plants! Some of the Cyclamen persicum used in the display were raised from seed collected in Jordan by the Centre d’Ecologie, Montpellier and sent to me some years ago. The interest in Cyclamen is international! The National Collection at the Botanical Gardens has many supporters and friends. I am sure that it will go from strength to strength.”

This is a fantastic achievement for Birmingham Botanical Gardens and is an experience the gardeners will never forget. We have a feeling they will enjoy plenty more success with this collection in the near future.