The Old Vicarage B&B, Little Ouse

The supermarkets and other high street bargain shops have a mixture of shrubs, roses, fruit trees, seed potatoes, Dahlias etc. this time of year. I always buy them as soon as soon as I see them on display and get them either into the ground straight away (weather permitting) or potted up if the area is not ready. If I pot them, I will usually try to leave them for a year for the roots to recover.

There are a couple of blueberries hiding in there as well. These are potted up in ericaceous compost.

With the heat in the shops, they have already started into growth. They will expend all the moisture they were packed with and die very soon. They need to be removed from the packaging immediately.

I check them for damage, label them and get the roots soaked in a bucket of water for a minimum of an hour before planting or potting up. I know that many gardeners turn their noses up at these supermarket plants, but it is the cost. I am planting a two acre garden, so £2.50 for a small bush and £6 for a fruit tree is ideal for me. Yes, they are small, but nothing that a year or so can’t resolve. I’m planning on them to start looking reasonable in five years. If I want something immediate, I’ll go to the garden centre and pay for a plant that has been grown to the size I want. Saying that, the majority of the plants In the garden are from local garden centres. I usually visit every few weeks throughout the year, to find what looks good.

The same routine with the fruit trees. get them out of the packaging and into water for at least an hour before either planting or potting up. The fruit trees seem to be on a Colt root stock, which should give a mid sized fruit tree.

All potted up and in a sheltered area. When I buy bare root trees and shrubs from a mail order nursery, I normally plant these straight in to the garden and expect a good success rate. With Supermarket ones that are near enough bare root wrapped in cellophane, I don’t know how long they have stood, so I like to get them potted and established before planting out. The root system on these supermarket ones are compromised as part of the packing, so the less competition they have with other plants in the first year the better. They go in the Intensive Care Ward for plants. Also, my soil is Fenland peat which is very rich but free draining. So keeping them grouped in pots makes it a lot easier to keep them damp in the summer.