The Star: February 14, 2019

The Star Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
Thursday February 14 2019 27
Gardening
Inject some colour with geraniums
• By Henri Ham
WANT TO inject some bright
colour into a super sunny spot in
your garden? How about planting
some geraniums?
These hardy, sun-loving plants
are perfect for those prime spots
in your garden that often get too
hot or are slightly too exposed for
other flowers.
Geraniums are a cute lowspreading
plant, with flowers that
push above its foliage – like little
posies.
Try violet and bulls eye mix
varieties, they bloom in pinks,
reds, and oranges, but if you’re
after a classic white they should
be in garden centres around
March.
Now, to plant your seedlings.
Choose a well-drained, moderately
sunny spot – geraniums like
four to six hours sun a day. I like
to dig some compost or general
fertiliser through the garden first,
to give them the best possible
start.
Dig small holes 8cm deep,
roughly 25 cm apart. If you’re
after suggestions on what to grow
with your geraniums, livingstone
daisies, lobelia and alyssum are
my top picks. They all like the
same conditions and look lovely
together.
Give your geraniums a good
initial watering, and keep this up
for the first few weeks to really
help them get established. Once
you’ve got them going, you can
relax a bit more on how much
you water.
In around four to six weeks
you’ll start to see come colour
coming through on top of their
dark leaves. Deadheading your
blooms will encourage more to
come through. And pinching the
stems will promote bushier rather
than leggier flowers.
If you’re not sure what pinching
is – it’s simply breaking off the top
2cm of the growing tip of a plant
to encourage it to grow out wider,
VIVID:
Geraniums
grow well
in pots or
as bedding
plants.
before it grows up. The same
way you pinch off the very top of
your basil (and other herbs) so it
doesn’t go to seed.
Geraniums make great bedding
plants, but are also perfect for
pots. If you plant in pots, always
start with a fresh, good-quality
potting mix.
Adding stones or old broken
pots at the bottom of the pot will
help with the drainage.
If your pots are in an exposed
concrete area think about how
hot they will get during the day.
You can always elevate them
onto some wooden batons or
bricks so they don’t conduct as
much heat.
Painting the inside of a
pot can also help retain its moisture.
Remember to check what
sort of paint or seal you’re using
first and whether it’s appropriate
for plants.
Geraniums also make for a
lovely indoor pot plant. Place
them near a window and if they’re
given enough sunlight, they can
flower all year long. Now that’s
almost plant perfection.
Keep planting lettuce seedlings to ensure supply
• By Henri Ham
LETTUCE SALADS have been a
headliner in my kitchen lately.
This hot summer heat we’ve
been having has kept me busy
watering in the garden, but there’s
been a lot of harvesting taking
place too. This also means I’ve had
to replant lettuce seedlings (every
few weeks) to continue my prolific
supply.
The good thing is, even for the
most novice of gardeners, you can’t
go wrong planting a few lettuces.
They’re simple to grow, quick to
produce and take up relatively little
room.
I plant my lettuces all year
round, but really ramp it up from
August through to February. To
ensure I don’t get bored of any one
type, I like to constantly mix up
the varieties I plant.
Buttercrunch and cos are
great for picking off their loose
leaves as you need them. Drunken
woman and great lakes are a larger,
more classic-shaped lettuce, that
I remember from my younger
days.
A new lettuce variety this summer
is tom thumb. It’s the perfect
little lettuce to pop in between
rows of other plants.
It grows small heads (about the
size of a baseball), which are ideal
as a gourmet lettuce for one.
Tom thumb has a lovely mild,
sweet taste. But the reason it’s a
great lettuce to grow at this time
of year is it tolerates high temperatures
very well, and resists bolting.
Once you’ve got your seedlings,
look for a well-drained and
sheltered place to plant them. I
like to dig in some new compost
and sheep pallets at this point too.
Then dig some little holes – 3cm
deep and 15cm apart.
After this, simply water regularly
and watch for slugs. In around
four to six weeks your tom thumbs
should be ready to be harvested.
HARDY: Lettuce is easy to grow and takes up little space
in the garden
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