Zack and Sara Practical Weekend at Cuddy Gardens March 27-29
2015
Our Friday started off with getting our instructions and
directions for the entire weekend. Lucas walked us through the garden beds at
the front of the hatchery to fully explain what is expected of us. We started
off potting up tropical bulbs like Gladiolus and Ismene. We planted them to appropriate depths and
labeled all pots with the proper botanical name. These plants will be included
in the gardens and are for the plant sale in June.
After finishing the
bulbs and cleaning up our work area we headed out to the Patio Garden. The patio area needed to be cleaned up
thoroughly as leaves and wisteria debris were coving the stone. The Euonymus
growing along the house had to be pruned back to promote more growth closer the
wall. The debris from pruning the euonymus has to be taken out to the burn pile
as it has scale. We pruned and removed the dead from the weeping mulberry. This was a great day as we had just covered
proper pruning practices in a lecture class so to have the hands-on experience
just reinforced the knowledge.
Botanical
Information
Origin- Native to Europe and southwest Asia-
eastwards from the Pyrenees and northern Spain to the Ukraine, and southwards
from Germany and Poland to southern Italy, Albania and northern Greece.
Details
o
Twin Scaling-
A complex propagation method which can produce many plants in a short
amount of time. This method takes a bulb
divides it in four and then grows on four bulbs.
o
Chipping- Again a complex propagation method
similar to twin scaling, however, you will have flowering plants more quickly.
Cultivation- Moist, rich, and well draining soils in part
shade are preferred. Under deciduous trees that allow full sun in early spring
and then shade plant for summer is the ideal place for this plant. Bulbs should
be planted 5 -8 cm deep and spaced 5 – 8 cm. This plant, under optimal
conditions, will naturalize by self-seeding and bulb offsets.
Pests-
can be susceptible to narcissus bulb fly, slugs and grey mould
Saturday we signed out the power equipment we needed,
grabbed the tools required and were right back to work. Our job Saturday was
cleaning up the gardens at the front of the hatchery. We were cutting down the
grasses and pruning back the smoke bushes. Again we were reinforcing our
classroom learning of proper pruning. We cut the smoke bushes right down so
they can rejuvenate and have better structure.
After getting all the grasses tied we cut them down with power shears
and brought the grasses to the compost. We mounded and cleaned out the grasses
so that they will grow back properly. Because of the snow it made working in
the morning easier because by 11:00AM the ground started to thaw out and get
really muddy. We got all the grasses on the first side cut down and all the
smoke bushes pruned by the end of the day.
Sunday we started and finished on the second garden bed in front
of the hatchery. We got out as quick as
we could to make the most of the frozen ground. After taking all of the grasses to the compost
we cleaned out the garden beds as best we could. We started by raking out both
garden beds to get out all the leftover grasses and shrub branches. After we raked the gardens as well as we could
we used the power blower to clear off the hardscape and clear out the rest of
the garden bed. All spent annuals, daylilies and debris has been cleaned up out
of all gardens in front of the hatchery. For the end of weekend and day we put away all
tools, swept out the garden shed and classroom.
It has been a great weekend at Cuddys, we finished our tasks
and it was great to see all the tropicals doing well. The highlight of the weekend for sure is
seeing a bird of paradise in bloom.
Galanthus
nivalis
Botanical
Information
|
Family
|
Amaryllidaceae
|
|
Genus
|
Galanthus
|
|
Species
|
nivalis
|
|
Category
|
Bulbs, Perennials
|
Origin- Native to Europe and southwest Asia-
eastwards from the Pyrenees and northern Spain to the Ukraine, and southwards
from Germany and Poland to southern Italy, Albania and northern Greece.
Details
|
USDA Hardiness Zone
|
7b - 8a
|
|
| |
|
Canadian Hardiness Zone
|
7
|
|
| |
|
RHS Hardiness Zone
|
H5-H7
|
|
| |
|
Temperature (°C)
|
-15 - (-9)°
|
|
Temperature (°F)
|
5 - 15°
|
|
Height
|
20 cm
|
|
Spread
|
15 cm
|
|
Growth
|
Fast
|
|
Flowering Period
|
March, April
|
Opinon- This marvelous woodland flower is surely a
sight for sore eyes as it is generally the first bulb of the season to bloom.
The shoots emerge from the partially frozen ground giving all hope that Winter
is over.
General Description- Bulbous perennial that marks
the end of Winter. Grows to 20 cm tall with blue/grey leaves and a small white
dropping single flower.
ID Characteristic- This plant has stems that reach
the 15-23 cm hold a single flower that becomes pendant. The leaves are
blue/grey in colour. It is a woodland bulb that is perennial.
Propagation-
Four different methods can be used for propagation of this plant;
Division, Seed, Twin Scaling, and Chipping.
o
Division- Mass clumps can be lifted
and divided once the foliage turns yellow, plants can be divided as small as
one bulb. Replant to same depth.
o
Seed- Seeds collected and sown as they ripen should germinate once
temperatures rise after winter.
o
Twin Scaling-
A complex propagation method which can produce many plants in a short
amount of time. This method takes a bulb
divides it in four and then grows on four bulbs.
o
Chipping- Again a complex propagation method
similar to twin scaling, however, you will have flowering plants more quickly.
Cultivation- Moist, rich, and well draining soils in part
shade are preferred. Under deciduous trees that allow full sun in early spring
and then shade plant for summer is the ideal place for this plant. Bulbs should
be planted 5 -8 cm deep and spaced 5 – 8 cm. This plant, under optimal
conditions, will naturalize by self-seeding and bulb offsets.
Pests-
can be susceptible to narcissus bulb fly, slugs and grey mould
Notable specimens- A.M Cuddy Gardens, Strathroy,
Ontario
Rock
Garden in Kew Botanical Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, UK
Habitat- This plants natural habitat consists of
moist woodlands, mostly deciduous some coniferous. It can also be found in
pastures or meadows, near rivers and on stony slopes.
Leaf description- leaves are smooth,
65mm
in thickness, and are blue/green in colour
Stem- Stems are 15-23 cm in length
Flower- The white flower from which this plant
gets its common name is 2.5 cm in diameter. It is a single flower with 6
tepals, 3 long and outward, 3 shorter and inward.
Fruit- A spherical capsule which is 1-1.2 cm in diameter
Seed- Seeds are pale brown in colour and 40 mm in
length.
Bibliography
Galanthus nivalis - Plant Finder. (n.d.). Retrieved March
28, 2015, from
http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=k300
Galanthus nivalis. (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2015, from http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/162168/0
Galanthus nivalis (common snowdrop). (n.d.). Retrieved March
28, 2015, from
http://www.kew.org/science-conservation/plants-fungi/galanthus-nivalis-common-snowdrop
Snowdrops. (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2015, from http://www.chicagobotanic.org/plantinfo/snowdrops
Snowdrops. (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2015, from https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=703
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