Whitehalls Plant of the Month

Whitehalls plant of the month is the Penstemon. Penstemons have become very popular over recent years particularly for their flowers. They are available in a wide range of colours which produce stunning blooms over a long period during the summer. Our store stocks

Apple Blossom, Blue Springs, Garnet, Heavenly Blue, Patio Coral, Patio Wine, Raven,

Sour Grapes and White Bedder all at £7.99 in a 3Litre pot.

Grape Vines

Grape vines are a great fruit to grow. The selection of vines has progressed rapidly over the past 10 years. It is now possible to grow a choice of varieties outside that will provide dessert and wine grapes. Vines are also good as they are all self fertile and most of the outdoor varieties are self thinning and do not require much attention.

When planting grapes there are some factors that need to be considered. They need as much sun as possible so it is good to choose a south facing wall. Well drained soil is also important and if water logging is a problem for you it is advisable not to attempt growing grapes. The best soil to plant grapes in is gritty or sandy soil enriched with organic matter. Most soils can be used except clay and chalk. It is good to plant grapes in October to November or February to March. There should ideally be a space of 1.5m between each vine.

Some popular vines include Chasselas, Phoenix, Regent and Thompson Seedless.

Bedding Plants

Bedding plants are a wonderful way to brighten up your garden and add some instant colour. These plants can go in borders, beds, baskets and tubs. As the risk of frost is now over it is safe to put them straight into your garden. Pansys, Busy Lizzies, Geranium and Osteospurmum are amongst some of the popular bedding plants. Bedding plants need to be watered regularly and dead headed to allow new growth. Multi purpose compost is fine for general bedding plants. You may want to add a fertiliser to the soil when planting such as Bone Meal, to give it extra nutrients and help with growth. General bedding like to be grown in a sunny position but will tolerate slight shade.

Top 3 plants for May

Clematis Montana Var Grandiflora- This is a lovely climber which produces single white flowers with cream anthers. These are produced for about 4 weeks at the end of spring beginning of summer. It also bears wonderful foliage throughout summer and is a quick climber.This clematis can grow upto 10m tall and 4m wide.

Allium x Hollandicum-( please see image) This is an upright bulbous perennial. During the summer period it produces thick, round heads of many star shaped purple flowers. Many people dry the attractive seed heads out during the autumn as they are good for dried flower arrangements. Alliums prefer to be grown in the full sun but will tolerate light shade. They like fertile well drained soil and can grown to 1m tall.

Choisya Aztex Pearl AKA Mexican Orange Blossom- The Aztec pearl is a robust evergreen shrub. From late spring to late summer is produces pink tinted white flowers with a sweet scent. The leaves are a glossy green and provide a lovely aroma. These plants like to be grown in the sun but can tolerate part shade. They can be planted in multi purpose soil and the flowers should be deadheaded so the next lot of flowers are healthy

Removing Pond Weeds

Your pond should be cleaned out early to prevent weeds taking over. Blanket weed and Duckweed are two major pond weeds that should be cleaned out. Duckweed is particularly difficult to get rid of if it becomes established. It can be easily be removed using a net and scooping it out of the pond.
Blanket weed is an algae which looks a bit like candy floss. Again it is easily removed, all you need to do is twist it around a garden cane or old broom handle. Once it has been removed leave it at the side of the pond with an end trailing into the pond so that pond creatures can easily go back into the pond. After that it can be added to the compost bin. To reduce the likelihood of these weeds try adding Oxygenating plants to the pond as they help to reduce the growth of algae.

Gardening Tips for May

-Protect your plants from Slugs

-Use water fertiliser on aquatic plants

-Take care of your lawn by feeding, weeding and mowing regularly

-Prune spring flowering shrubs that have finished flowering

-Finish planting evergreen shrubs

-Protect your crops from carrot fly

-Continue sowing vegetable plants

-Plant Dahlias near the end of the month.

Setting Up a Tropical Fish Tank

Its not just plants we offer at Whitehall. We have a fantastic aquatic and reptile centre and here are some tips they have given us when setting up a tropical fish tank.

If you are new to keeping fish it is a good idea to talk to the people in an aquatics centre. The first thing you need to do is buy a tank and decide what fish you would like to keep. The size of the tank will determine how many fish you can keep depending on their size. You should also find out how big the fish grow to, to make sure you have room for them as they get bigger. When you have your tank, the position you put it in is rather important. It should be quiet, away from sources of hot and cold, easily accessed to water for when you are changing the water, away from direct sunlight and away from any hazards.

Once you have got a good position for your tank it is time to buy the right equipment for it. There are three main items of equipment that you should buy, these are: filter, heater and light system. The Filter removes toxic ammonia and solid waste from the aquarium making it a healthy environment. The heater controls the temperature in the tank which is important to the well being of fish. The light system can promote plant growth and lets you see in!

Once you have all of the above in place you can add decoration to your tank, this will give the fish things to hide and swim in and make it astatically pleasing. Also the bottom of the tank should be covered in a layer of gravel or aquarium sand.

Now everything is in position it is time to fill your tank up! Never use mineral water, rainwater or water from a household softener to fill in your tank. Tap water is usually fine however it will have to be neutralised to get rid of chlorine and heavy metals. Tetra Aquasafe can be added to the tap water and be added every time a water change is done. Once it is filled up your filter and heater should be turned on and the thermometer added.

When it is stable Tetra Bactozym should be added to the tank to promote the development of good filter bacteria. After about 2 days the first fish can be added. The tank should be stocked slowly to allow the filter bacteria to cope with the amount of ammonia.