I have a beautiful shrub in my front garden which is admired by all who see it in flower.  So much so, that when it’s in full swing in May, I put a large name label on it so that people can read what it is, which at least stops some of them from knocking on the door to find out what’s making the red fireworks.  The name of the plant I’m talking about is Callistemon Viminalis ‘ Captain Cook.’  I put it in 16 years ago, when we first moved to this house – back then it was something of a novelty (the Australian man who ran our local plant shop also introduced me to tree ferns).  Thankfully, these days you can find different species of Callistemon in all good garden centres, but people are still worried about how to look after them.

Seed, branch and cutting of bottlebrush

In their native Australia, bottlebrushes come in different shapes and sizes: some with weeping habit, others with pink rather than red flowers.  They tend to cross-fertilise in the wild, so, if you want a true replica of the plant you are looking at, the only way to do it is with cuttings. It is possible to take cuttings from semi-ripe wood in July or August, but I’ve found that on the whole these have a very poor success rate compared to other shrubs.

The best method for Callistemon seems to be propagation by seed.

I’m sowing two lots in the greenhouse this February, the first is  Callistemon Rigidus from Johnson’s seeds.  The seed is so fine it should be sown on the surface of finely sieved compost.   Unlike other seeds, bottlebrush seems to like sitting in a tray of water while it’s making its mind up to germinate.  Take the seed tray out of the water once the seedlings have emerged and pot them on individually.   The other batch I’m sowing in the greenhouse is from seed taken from the plant in my front garden.  If you look at a bottle brush stem, you will see two (occasionally three) different groups of round seedheads.  Those produced the previous year are the group closest to the tip, those produced two years ago, and the most viable in fact, are the seed heads further along the stem.

Seeds of callistemon are released after a day or two

In order to collect the seed you will have to cut a stem then bring it into the greenhouse.  After a day or two, the seed pods open and release their fine, dusty seed.  These are sown as per above.

Bottlebrushes tolerate a range of soils (though they are not keen on chalk).  They do need some frost protection, especially if you live further north, and young plants are more vulnerable to the cold than older ones.   Once it gets going, Callistemon could not be an easier and less demanding plant, responding well to a good prune in late summer if you need to keep it in shape.

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A belated happy 2010 to all visitors to this site.

I’ve been off air for a couple of months, taking care of family life, and, in this last week, before the Siberian winds set in, preparing the soil on the allotment for the warmer weather to come.

A strange thing always happens to me at the end of the season: like a wilting perennial, my urge to garden seems to disappear. Then for some inexplicable reason, and on no particular day, the sap mysteriously rises.  The urge to garden again begins - suddenly I am a frenzy of activity.

I know I’m not the only gardener to experience this ‘salmon to the spawning ground’ phenomena.  This week my dear neighbour from the allotment came round in something of a slump.  We  cracked open no fewer than 30 seed packets together to share, but still he was feeling despondent about gardening. Even the prospect of the annual sunflower growing competition (‘Russian Giant’ 8-10ft  Vs. ‘Mongolian Giant’ 8-10ft) failed to move him.  His time will come. No doubt next time I see him he will be unstoppable.

Having a heated greenhouse gives me such an enormous advantage at the start of the season.  Of course I can’t hurry mother nature, so it’s pointless starting off a lot of things that won’t be able to go out till the frosts are over in May.  (I reckon about 6 weeks is all plants want in a greenhouse if they are vagabonds passing through rather than exotic permanent paying guests).

I am fortunate enough to have electricity in my greenhouse which means two things: first that I can use a thermostatically controlled heater without the bother of having to turn it on or off every day. Secondly, I can work in the greenhouse in the evening: we are in the first week of February and there has already been a frenzy of sowing.

For the vegetable garden

Shallots or onion sets can be started off in soil or sand now.  I’ve planted ‘Jermor’, a French type with good keeping qualities.  It’s too cold and wet outside, so in a few weeks I can put them out, once hardened off,  they’ll have developed a good set of roots.

Broad Beans can be sown in the autumn, but since I missed the boat, I’ve started mine off in the greenhouse and will put them out in a month or so when they are 6 inches tall, once acclimatised to the cold.  I take an old plastic crate, line it with newspaper then fill it with multi-purpose compost. The beans are inserted inside and produce a fabulous network or roots.

Chilli peppers should also be started now.  Someone sent me a packet of Naga Jolokia (Thompson &Morgan), which say on the packet they are the world’s hottest chilli.  When it comes to torture, I take the view that just because you can, it doesn’t mean you should. Instead I am growing Fresno (South Devon Chilli Farm), which is mild and plenty hot for most people.  I am also looking forward to growing ‘Black Pearl’, a new offering from Unwins. Its fruits are very hot and edible, but it’s greatest value is as an ornamental, with dark, almost black leaves.

Garlic can also be started in pots in the greenhouse if you missed an autumn sowing.  I’ve opted for ‘Marco’, which has good keeping qualities and a strong flavour.  I’ve not had as much success at garlic as my allotment mate up in Rugby who grows huge heads. I have a feeling the beds I grow them in are a little too acidic, so an application of lime a couple of weeks before they go in may well make all the difference.

When you’re planting up the vegetable garden, never forget flowers. Marigolds and other beneficial flowers can be started later in the season, but if you didn’t get round to sowing sweet peas last year, now is the time.

Sweet Peas provide scent and colour in the garden, but also help to attract pollinators to the vegetable patch.  If you like dark colours, you might like to try a new variety brought out by Kew Gardens called ‘King Size Navy Blue’.  As well as huge, dark, rich flowers, it’s also highly fragrant.  Sow the seed in a propagator with some bottom heat using a tall pot to accommodate their long root run. Pinch out the tips when they are an inch or two tall, then harden off and plant out.

Sweet Pea King Size Navy Blue

Potatoes can be ‘chitted’ or sprouted in the greenhouse before planting.  Amongst the ones I’m growing: ‘Isle of Jura’, an early maincrop variety that has come out well in various taste tests.   ‘Pink fir apple’ because it’s knobbly and has a tasty skin (late maincrop), and Blue Danube (early maincrop), a purple skinned variety, because in gardening, as in life, everyone needs to try something different once in a while.

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