Growing with success | On the count of tree

By Riverside Gardens

Nov 16, 2023

In stock: pop of colour. Photo by Contributed

Larry Smith and the Riverside Gardens team talk all things pots, plants and pruning in their weekly gardening column.

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Time is ticking, and Christmas will be here before we know it. Our Christmas decorations went up last week, Santa and his reindeer are flying through the air in the middle of the shop, and our potted Christmas trees have started disappearing out the door.

With only 39 days to go, you start to realise that if you are planning on having pots of flowering plants, hanging baskets or seedling colour throughout your garden, then time is quickly running out.

These plants need to recover from transplanting, put on new growth, bud up and flower to be looking their best for Christmas and to give you the impact you are looking for. A flowering colour can really brighten up a garden or an alfresco area.

Pretty in pink: Get your hands on these. Photo by Contributed

Seedling plants such as petunias, begonia, impatiens, coleus, alyssum and marigolds planted now and nurtured should be in full flower in time, if we get the right run of weather.

These can be grown from punnets of seedlings or from slightly more advanced plants in pots that will give you a better guarantee of flowers regardless of the weather. Roses given a light trim now will also flush into bloom in time for Christmas and the new year.

Consider using calibrachoas, which come in a huge array of colours in single, double and bi-coloured flowers; they make a wonderful display in pots and hanging baskets in a full sun to semi-shaded area. Calibrachoas are a bi-annual low-growing groundcover that in our region is best treated as an annual plant.

They will flower their heads off for most of the summer months, being almost covered entirely in flowers. With their bright, happy-looking flowers spilling over the edge of hanging baskets, they look stunning and give you a great visual return.

Fuchsias, geraniums, plectranthus, ferns and dichondra silver falls all come up well in hanging baskets as well and can really add a highlight to your patio or alfresco areas. These would need to be purchased as established plants to have them flowering in time for Christmas.

Having a look: Get in store to check these out. Photo by Contributed

Hydrangea plants will also be starting to flower by mid-December and will certainly brighten up your garden in those semi-shaded spots. There is quite a range to choose from, from large ball-shaped flowers to conical and flat sprays of flowers that will keep flowering through to late autumn.

If you are thinking of giving plants as Christmas gifts, you should get in early, as some varieties start to run out or can be hard to find as summer approaches.

Fuchsia, gardenia, hydrangea and hanging baskets can all make lovely gifts. If you are worried about looking after them until Christmas, we can hold them at the Garden Centre until a few days before Christmas for you to collect.

From next Tuesday onwards, we will also have the ever-popular traditional Christmas poinsettia in stock. They make a great statement piece on any Christmas table or can be placed on a bench as part of your festive season display.

So, call in to the Garden Centre this week and see if we can inspire your Christmas ideas, and while you are there, see if you can find our Elf on a Shelf hidden in the shop.