Time to ease back on watering
After a summer of continuous watering to keep garden and greenhouse plants alive and well, although there are exceptions, the time has come to ease back a little on anything growing under cover especially if there is no form of heating.
The combination of low temperature and excessive water can spell disaster for a plant whose root system is confined to a pot.
There are two watering regimes in our garden room/conservatory as we enter autumn and winter. The first being for plants currently in growth and flower production. Cyclamen, primula species, hippeastrum, forced bulbs etcetera. The second is for those entering semi-dormancy, such as pelargonium, fuchsia, olive, monstera, Ficus.
Both types stand in suitable cache pots with layers of pea gravel inside, covered in water which rises into the compost via the natural process of capillary attraction.
Semi-dormant plants that readily accept autumn pruning e.g. fuchsia and pelargonium, are greatly reduced in height to save space but retain some embryo leaves. When the winter temperature band remains in the 12 to 15 Celsius range, both active and inactive plants can perform and rest respectively.
This leaves the unheated greenhouse whose inside temperature was down to minus 4 Celsius at one stage last winter. Tough permanent residents (two grape vines and a peach tree) apart, it hosts winter guests such as chrysanthemums and semi-hardy herbaceous plants.
Two crops in active growth have our current attention. Five large pots of potatoes planted three weeks ago have recently developed shoots and are on course for festive dining. And a hardy leaf lettuce ‘Speckled Trout’, that will serve us throughout winter on a cut and come again basis is ready for planting into large pots and the greenhouse border!