NOTTINGHAM AND NOTTS
FUCHSIA SOCIETY
FEBRUARY 2017 NEWSLETTER
What is happening in the Garden Centre:
It has been very quiet in the Garden Centre, only started to pick up this last weekend, thanks to the mild weather we have recently been having. Seed potatoes, shallots and onion sets are still on sale and primroses and pansies are also abundant (look out for the special offers!). It is also a good time to visit your local Garden Centre, if you are looking for a quick bargain. I am amazed at the many reduced items that are going through the till. If you are interested in hardy perennials and shrubs, this is the time to make a visit! Wildflowers are also on offer as well as potted bulbs (still!).
What is happening in the Garden:
- Fruit & Vegetables
My potatoes are chitting quite nicely in the garage and can’t wait to plant them in my new potato barrels. I have bought some garlic bulbs which also need planting and will soon be making a decision as to which vegetables to sow.
Perennials/Garden Shrubs etc
Unfortunately, I haven’t had much time in my garden as I would like, apart from noticing that my bulbs (especially my tulip bulbs) have shot up in the past 2 weeks and despite my earlier concern that the squirrels may have uplifted them, I am pleased to say, that they are all intact. In fact, I seem to have more than I had planted, which is confusing. I can’t wait now to see, what flowers. My snowdrops are nodding their heads, which is a good sign that Spring is well and truly on its way. My Dicentra, ‘Bleeding Heart’ is also showing signs of growth which is also good news. My hazel tree is full of catkins and looks a picture next to my Ribes which is budding up quite nicely.
Fuchsia Growing
I managed to check over my fuchsias today and relatively pleased with the number that are shooting. As normal, my small 9cm pots are struggling and will have lost many of them, but my bigger pots; standards and bonsai are looking quite promising.
Wildlife/Pondlife
As mentioned in last month’s newsletter, I participated in the RSPB Birdwatch. Immediately, I spotted two bullfinches in the back garden, along with half a dozen or more sparrows; a couple of blackbirds and the ever faithful robin. After around ten minutes, it fell very quiet, not a bird in sight. I was bothered that I had not seen any blue tits or great tits, which are birds that are regular visitors to my garden. Typical, just after my hour was up, along came a couple of blue tits and great tits – it’s as if they were teasing me!
Due to the mild weather, my fish are still quite active. I am pleased with the clarity of the water, but realistically, I know I really should consider dredging the pond, as there is a lot of rotting leaves etc at the bottom. Also the pump is on the sluggish side again, so I will be cleaning the pump and filter box on my next day off.
I always try to consider wildlife, when I am planting and chose new plants with this in mind especially plants that will attract our pollinating friends, the bees! CLIMBERS: Clematis; Honeysuckle; Ivy. PERENNIALS: Hellebores; Salvias. SHRUBS: Mahonia; Cornus; Hebe.
Homes For Wildlife:
All garden wildlife needs a place to set up home: Log piles at the back of the garden; compost heaps and long grass as well as a water source. For advice about creating habitat visit: wildaboutgardens.org.uk
GARDENS OF INFLUENCE – Sheila Over
Last month Sheila talked to us about her own garden and other gardens which have inspired her and felt they would be worth a visit.
To enjoy a good array of SNOWDROPS:
- Hopton Hall, Derbyshire
- Hodsock Priory, Worksop, Nottingham
- Felley Priory, Underwood, Nottingham
- Little Ponton, Little Ponton Village.
To enjoy a good array of BLUEBELLS:
- Felley Priory, Underwood – walk through Bluebell wood – CARE Hilly!
To enjoy a good array of WINTER-FLOWERING SHRUBS:
- Anglesey Abbey, Cambridge
To enjoy ALL-ROUND COLOUR:
- Ashwood Nurseries & Lea Gardens, Matlock
- Great Dixter, Christopher Lloyd’s garden
- Beth Chatto’s Garden, Colchester, Essex
- Hebb’s Farmhouse, Stoke Bardolph, Stuart Dixon’s garden
- Sissinghurst Garden, famous for its white garden
Other Gardens of interest:
- RHS Gardens – see ‘Dates to remember’
- Barnsdale Gardens, the late Geoff Hamilton’s garden
- National Trust Gardens
- Dorothy Clive Gardens
- Eden Project
- Naked Garden, Malmesbury
- Clyn Park, Swansea, Wales
- Botanical Garden of Wales
- Annick Garden
SLUGS AND SNAILS – IDEAS TO PREVENT
- Grit to deter
- Coffee Grounds (can collect from waitrose, starbucks and Costa)
- Egg shells
- Beer traps
- Salt
- Garlic wash – 1 clove to 1 gallon works well on hostas
- To protect hostas from slug infestation, start on Valentines Day
- Companion planting – plant marigolds around prize plants, you will in fact be sacrificing the marigolds in the hope of keeping your treasured plant.
- Smearing vaseline around the top of pot. Copper tape does the same job.
- CDS – crushed around the plant, creates a barrier.
- WD 40 sprayed around the pot.
PLANT SALES VENUES 2017
Coffee Morning at Wollaton Park Community Centre – again, we have been able to man a stall for the past 2 years. Date is yet to be confirmed.
Cossall Open Gardens – 11th June 2017 - last year, this venue was purely promotional, but this year, we will be selling plants which will hopefully bring in the crowds and give us the opportunity to talk to more people and promote our society and show.
Autokarna – date to be confirmed - this is our regular event which we hope will follow Cossall Open Gardens which will mean any plants left over from Cossall Open Gardens can be sold at Autokarna.
Please find below several articles taken from the latest edition of Fuchsia News found on the BFS website, should any of you want to read it in its entirety. (I have printed a few should any of you not have access to the website.)
Every year after the show, I submit data regarding our show to Carol Gubler, who collates all the results from other societies to produce the following summary. (Excerpt from January 2017 Fuchsia News): -
Top Ten 2016
2015 2016
1 London 2000 I’m in Charge
2. Ernie Lynne Patricia
3. Border Raider Lyndon
4. Lillian Annetts Lillian Annetts
5. Lynne Patricia London 2000
6. Brookwood Belle Elma
7 Lyndon Border Raider
8 I’m in Charge Alison Patricia
9. Sophie Louise Wigan Peer
10. Boogie Woogie Ernie
2016 has again seen a lot of changes to the Top Ten! Some years the weather and other factors mean that the old favourites do well and another year like 2016 – growers like to try some of the newer fuchsias. Last year the surprise entry was I’m in Charge – which was one of the ones being offered to new members – it was 10 points ahead of Lynne Patricia. After that only a handful of points separated the next 6 fuchsias and so it could have all been a bit different with a few more sets of results! Elma a small pale pink and white single from Holland had a good year. Brookwood Belle however hardly appeared in the results for 2016!
The 3 ½” pot classes produced the usual collection of small flowered fuchsias. Lyndon was the winner in 2016 for the first time. The others in the top 5 were –Border Raider, Toby S, Shatzy B and Sophie Louise Just outside the top five were Alicia Sellars and Ernie. Bill Wye from Chelmsford does seem to have produced a good show fuchsia that adapts to both small and large pots. Ray Birt is a great grower of these small flowered fuchsias he seems to have mastered the art of breeding them as well with half of the top six being his!.
In the baskets and hanging pots, there were again a number of changes with Time After Time coming first followed by Putt’s Folly Linda Grace, La Campanella and Janice Ann. Waveney Gem came 6th so maybe it is not the plant it was. Sylvia Barker seemed to have a really poor year maybe it will have a comeback in 2017.
Looking back over the years that I have done this for the BFS – there have been periods of time where the same plants are shown for many years – such as Mieke Meursing and then Shelford – now they are hardly shown at all. It keeps us all on our toes.
Sadly, with societies closing down or maybe just having evening shows I no longer get the quantity of show results that I did – so I appreciate those that I do get all the more. So finally my thanks to all the Show managers and their volunteers that compile the results on such a busy day – I couldn’t keep this project going for so many years without you!
Excerpt written by John Nicholass from January 2017 Fuchsia News: -
New Cultivars available in 2017 John Nicholass
This is the best list I have been able to put together with the information and catalogues kindly sent or emailed to me. The list is in alphabetical order of names with the nurseries supplying these listed with a code underneath. A key to the codes is at the end of this article.
Bernice Elizabeth
This is a new introduction from Ray Birt from Windsor which has already done well on the show bench in 2015. A bushy upright and self-branching cultivar, it has attractive small to medium sized double flowers with a rose tube and sepals and a white full corolla with a rose blush and rose veins. It is free flowering for a double cultivar and has light to mid green foliage.
Available from LTB, PER, RYN and WDM.
Bryn Seren
This is a new introduction from Keith Lawrence of North Wales, a well-known showman at the Northern show. It is an upright bushy plant which is self-branching with dark green foliage. The flower is a small single with greenish white tube, white upswept sepals with green tips and a white corolla with ruffled petals making it easy to mistake for a double.
Available from BRO.
Colin Dorrington
Another new introduction from Keith Lawrence, this has upright growth, a medium sized single flower with a pale pink tube, pale pink sepals and a violet 88D corolla fading to purple violet 80B. The foliage is a mid to dark green.
Parentage: ‘Barbara Reynolds’ x ‘Fuchsia Pete’.
Available from BRO.
Flanders Field
This in a new introduction from Barrie Fleming, but is a seedling he has had in his garden for 20 years, so it is hardy in his growing conditions in west Cumbria. It has upright growth with small single flowers which have a red tube and sepals and a reddish purple corolla.
Available from LTB.
Freya Stanya
Another introduction from Gordon Goodwin, this is an upright with a medium sized single flower with a pale pink tube, pale pink sepals and a rose corolla.
Available from PER.
Isn't She Lovely
This is a new fuchsia hybridised by Barrie Fleming from Cumbria. This is one I have grown myself for a few years and is well worth a try. It is extremely floriferous with small white single flowers that have nice contrasting rosy pink anthers before the pollen breaks. Upright and reasonably self-branching it is one that needs to be pinched hard in the early stages as it can be a little long jointed.
Available from LTB.
Jodie's Joy
A new show quality double flowered fuchsia from Arnold Nicholls, this upright and bushy cultivar has flowers with a pink pale tube and sepals and a blue corolla.
Available from PER.
Just Annie
This is another introduction new for 2017 hybridised by Bill Wye from Chelmsford. It is a nice strong growing fuchsia which can be used for many different types of training. It has plentiful medium sized single flowers with a white tube and sepals and plum cerise corolla. The flower contrast nicely against the bright mid green foliage.
Available from PER.
Just Like Pat
Another introduction from Bill Wye this cultivar is a slightly larger flowered version of Just Pat. The flowers are a small to medium sized single with a red tube and sepals and a purple corolla.
Available from PER.
Just Sara
Another new fuchsia from Bill Wye this upright growing cultivar has small to medium semi-double white flowers.
Available from PER.
Lilly-Mae
A lovely new double cultivar hybridised by Peter Waving from Taunton. This has fully flared double flowers of a small to medium size with a rose tube, upswept rose sepals and a flared full white corolla flushed with violet pink and violet pink veining. It has nice bushy growth and attractive mid green foliage.
Available from PER.
Max Cobi
A release from Sid Garcia, this is a self branching and bushy fuchsia which looks as if it will make a nice show plant. The small to medium sized single flowers have a deep rose tube and sepals and a white corolla with rose veins. It is very free flowering.
Available from LTB, PER, CL, WDM and StM.
My Dad
A new introduction hybridised by Ray Weston, with small to medium sized single flowers with a red tube and red sepals with a purple bell shaped corolla.
Available from LTB and WDM.
My Little Dream
Another in the “My Little” fuchsias series hybridised by Gordon Reynolds from Walsall. It has attractive small to medium sized double flowers with a white tube, white recurving sepals with a blush of pink and a flared pale lavender-blue corolla. It has upright bushy growth and mid green foliage.
Available from PER.
My Little Fairy
Another of the “My Little” series from Gordon Reynolds, this one is a small compact growing cultivar with small white flowers and is very suitable for small pot use.
Available from PER.
My Little Gem
Another of the “My Little” series from Gordon Reynolds, this is an upright fuchsia with single flowers of red and purple, very suitable for 9, 10 and 13cm pots.
Available from PER.
MyGal
This is a lovely small single flowered fuchsia hybridised by Peter Waving from Taunton. The single flowers have a short pale pink tube, pale pink sepals which are held horizontally with recurved tips and quarter flared white corolla. It is very floriferous, has compact, bushy self-branching growth and has mid to dark green leaves with a red central rib.
Available from LN and PER.
Nicky
A 2017 introduction from Arnold Nicholls, this is an upright cultivar with small single white flowers ideal for small pot work.
Available from PER.
Nordic Prince
This year’s new introduction from Mal Wilkinson. It is a single flowered cultivar with a white tube, white sepals and a
plum-blue corolla. I sure this one will be very popular.
Available from PER.
Our Sandra
This is a new lax cultivar which is very suitable for use in hanging pots and hybridised by Brian Dodman. The small to medium flowers have a short pink tube, half up pink sepals with recurved tips and a tight pink corolla with a slightly deeper picotee edge to the petals.
Available from PER.
Pam & Ted Love
Another new introduction from Tony Galea, this new fuchsia has upright growth and deep rose tube and long sepals with a violet corolla contrasting against pale foliage. According to Carol this one is very floriferous.
Available from LTB.
Phyll Hendy
This is an introduction from John Allsop. A medium sized flowered upright, the single flowers have a pale pink tube, pale pink sepals and deep lavender corolla with a hint of aubergine.
Available from LTB and WDM.
Samantha's Smile
This is another introduction from John Allsop. This is a double flowered cultivar with pink tube, pink sepals and a white corolla splashed with deep pink.
Available from LTB and WDM.
Sarcoma UK
This is not being released until the Chelsea Flower Show, however if you would like to support Ian’s initiative it can be pre-ordered from Roualeyn Nurseries.
Available from RYN.
Sid Garcia
Another one from Tony Galea. This is a large single flower with a red tube, long red sepals and a bluish purple corolla.
Available from LTB and WDM.
Sporting Chance
A new introduction from Chris Bright, this is a very nice compact self branching cultivar which is very floriferous. The flower is a small to medium sized single with a rose tube, rose sepals and a quarter to half flared violet corolla.
Available from BRO.
Stoke Poges Jewel
Another new introduction from the Windsor hybridiser Ray Birt, this is a strong single flowered cultivar named in honour of a local horticultural society to him. The plentiful single flowers have a rose tube and sepals and a lilac corolla and are held on upright growth against mid green leaves with slightly serrated edges.
Available from LTB, PER, RYN and WDM.
Sue Kylymnik
Another new one from Gordon Reynolds which I saw on the 2016 Black Country Stand at the Malvern Autumn Show. It is a small to medium sized single with a greenish white tube, greenish white sepals with green tips and a half flared pink-rose corolla. In the photograph taken at Malvern I can see some of the flowers are tending to semi-double.
Available from PER.
Tupence
This is a bushy floriferous plant hybridised by Gordon Reynolds and released by popular demand after it was displayed on the Black Country Fuchsia society stand at the 2015 Malvern Autumn show and a picture was published in the British Fuchsia Society 2015 Autumn Bulletin. The single flowers have a white tube blushed with pink, half down white sepals blushed with pink and a pinkish-mauve quarter flared corolla. Please note that the spelling of the name is unusual with a single ‘p’ rather than the normal double ‘p’. Please be aware the article in the January Garden News had the wrong spelling of this name, despite me spelling correctly and reinforcing it was an unusual spelling in the submitted text. Apparently a sub editor has seen it thought it was spelt wrong and changed it without checking up first!
Available from PER.
Key to the Nursery Codes
BRO Bromac Nursery; Tel 01270 780319/627025 ;
website http://www.bromacnursery.co.uk/: Mail Order.
CL Clay Lane Nursery; Tel 01737 823307;
website http://www.claylane-fuchsias.co.uk/: Mail Order
LTB Little Brook Fuchsias; Tel 01252 329731;
website http://www.littlebrookfuchsias.co.uk/: No Mail Order
LN Lonsdale Nursery: Tel 01278 452046; No website: No Mail Order
PER Percival’s Fuchsias; Tel 01787 222541; No website:
Mail Order for rooted cuttings
RYN Roualeyn Fuchsias; Tel 01492 640548;
website http://www.roualeynfuchsias.co.uk/index.php;
Re-introducing Mail Order for 2017
StM St Margaret’s Nursery: Tel 01329 846006;
website http://stmargs.co.uk/: No Mail Order
WDM Woodmoss Fuchsias; Tel 07849 080244; No website: Mail Order
SOCIAL MEAL – Date for your Diaries:
The Coopers Arms,
Weston Hall, Weston-On-Trent, Derbyshire, DE72 2BJ
REMEMBER – IF YOU WANT TO JOIN US on the 17th MARCH 2017, PLEASE ADD YOUR NAME ON THE LIST OR SEE ME TONIGHT AT THE LATEST!
FUNDRAISING
The easiest way for all internet users to help raise funds for our Society is simply by every time you search the Web you use easysearch. Easysearch combines results from Yahoo!, Windows MSN Live Search and Ask.com in one simple search, the address is http://nottsfuchsia.easysearch.org.uk Please try it and encourage others too. Don’t forget if you make any purchases on the internet, to go through our webshop to make sure we receive commission from the retailers (currently over 2000 well known retailers), the address is http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/nottsfuchsia
In last August’s Newsletter, I set you a challenge and that was to grow fuchsia cuttings and donate to the society to sell at our show or any of our forthcoming sales events. Find below some of the suggestions:
- Free ‘NAMED’ Cutting – In February all members receive 2 cuttings: 1 x unnamed cutting and 1 x named cutting. If everyone could take at least ONE cutting to pot on to sell at the show. How great would that be!
- Your Favourite Fuchsia – Everyone has a favourite; one that strikes easily for you. Again, when you are taking cuttings, consider doing extra to donate to the society.
- Top Ten Fuchsias – Look at the list of Top Ten fuchsias which Carol Gubler produces on an annual basis. These are fuchsias which are regularly seen on the show bench up and down the country. If you have one or two, try taking cuttings and donate to the society. (see attached list)
- Winners Classes – Every year, I produce a list of Winners (1st, 2nd and 3rd) of all the classes in our show (see attached document). Review this list and if you have any of these cultivars, try taking cuttings and donate.
Remember our next meeting
Will be
Tuesday 28th March 2017
And our speaker
is
Alan Soloman
Talking on FUCHSIAS
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25 Mch |
Long Eaton & District Horticultural Society SPRING Show - held at the United Reformed Church, Midland Street, Long Eaton. 10.00a.m to 4.00p.m. ADMISSION FREE
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17 Mch |
Social Evening – Meal at The Coopers Arms, 7.00p.m for 7.30p.m. Map and directions to be included in February’s Newsletter.
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28 Mch |
Monthly Meeting: Alan Soloman talking on Fuchsias
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7 – 9 Apr |
RHS Flower Show, Cardiff
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25 Apr |
Monthly Meeting: Trevor Strickland talking on Fuchsia Species
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11 – 14 May |
RHS Malvern Spring Festival
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23 May |
Monthly Meeting: Colin Nicklin talking on Hanging Baskets in General
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23 – 27 May |
RHS Chelsea Flower Show
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7 – 11 June |
NEW! RHS Chatsworth Flower Show
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27 June |
Monthly Meeting: Geoff Smith talking on Fuchsias
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4 – 9 Jly |
RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show
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8 Jly |
Long Eaton & District Horticultural Society SUMMER Show - held at the United Reformed Church, Midland Street, Long Eaton. 10.00a.m to 4.00p.m. ADMISSION FREE
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19 – 23 Jly |
RHS Tatton Park Flower Show
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23 - 24 Sept |
RHS Malvern Autumn Show
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