japanese garden rotation -wk 4

For today's rotation Adam is away, so I am happily paired with Ken who looks after the Japanese and French Memorial collections as well as a number of smaller surrounding areas. Today the first job on the 'to do' list is to plant some Azaleas in the Japanese garden in a freshly empty bed.

Placing the Azaleas

We set about with some placement spacing before realising we will be a few plants short. After a quick phone call to order some more, we donned the gloves and set about with getting the ones we had in the ground. Ken's planting advice includes a decent hole with enough depth to have the plant level with the surrounding soil, a small scattering of fertiliser in the bottom, then pressing firmly around the plant to prevent any air pockets and a good water in. The other very important practice at RTBG is burying the white plant label with the plants database number , just to the left of the plant. This is to confirm the Genus and species which comes in handy if the plant ever needs to be re-identified, removed or replanted elsewhere. After finishing planting all of the Rhododendron 'Red Wings' Ken realised from the plant labels that 6 plants of a similar shade meant for different area of the Jap garden have also been accidentally planted by us. This was easily fixed however and a good mistake for me to learn from - to always check our plant labels before planting.

Finished job!

After lunch we tackled a small bed near the pond and wheelhouse that we found to be surprisingly dry after some inital digging and extremely water resistant. After a decent amount of deep digging, turning and watering as well as an application of Hydraflo (a liquid soil wetting agent), the four azaleas (2 existing and 2 new) were replanted in the newly improved soil and you could almost hear the sighs of relief from them.  This was a very interesting task for me as sections of my garden beds at home suffer from water resistance as well.  I really learnt first hand (or two hands, 1 boot and 1 spade!) that surface watering is not enough. You have to get in, dig deep and really work the water in to make an improvement. Following this up with regular watering will prevent the same condition from returning as well as increasing the organic matter in the soil which helps to retain moisture.

It really was quite satisfying for me to take pride in the appearance of this bed as well.  I really wanted to get a lovely even, moist texture to the soil and a careful raking after planting ensured it look tidy and worthy of a public garden bed!

The other task we tackled today included pruning a large shrub just around from the wheelhouse. Ken was fantastic at demonstrating his pruning technique to me. He tries to avoid a straight line edge cut but instead prunes back to a new shoot, leaving the new shorter young growth to somewhat hide the pruning cut. This has the effect of the bush retaining its natural shape and appearance rather than a harsh unnatural shape that something like a hedgtrimmer would give.

The pruning task at hand.

Last tip I picked up today was learning about 'sooty mould' that was present on some azaleas next to our pruned shrub. Ken explained how the sap sucking pests who feed on the plant and take up residence leave a sticky residue behind (called honeydew) that coats the leaf and makes it susceptible to mould clinging to it. Treatment therefore must first include getting rid of the pests (a sharp spray with the hose or light soap based spray) followed by cleaning or wiping off as much of the mould as possible (to give it back it's chance to photosynthesise) and promoting good air circulation around the plant (pruning out diseased or crossing growth and trimming neighbouring plants to give it room and airflow). Perhaps as well, looking at the big picture and paying attention to the plant's soil condition and general health (enough organic matter, adequate water and correct ph levels) so it can be at it's best to apply it's own natural defences, instead of being in a 'weakened' state and attractive to the pests in the first place.

The guilty sap suckers!

Sooty mould

Big thanks to Ken today for letting me tag along. I found him to be a great teacher, quietly and generously sharing his knowledge and thoughtfully making my day varied to maximise my learning opportunities. Great fun.

Me hassling poor Ken for his mugshot in the break room!

ps. I also had my first experience ever today of being stopped by a member of the public asking "what tree is that? - it's just so beautiful!" My heart a-thumping and thank GOD i knew what it was, i replied "Ah... that is a Fraxinus angustifolius - a beautiful Narrow Leafed Ash!" She cooed about the autumn colour, never suspecting my nervousness and happily wandered off as I sighed with relief and had a little smile to myself,  enjoying feeling a bit like a real horticulturalist for the first time ever!