If you’re looking for a low maintenance plants with interest throughout the year, then Nandina or heavenly bamboo as they are commonly known could be the plants for you. This versatile member of the Berberidaceae family has become more widely grown in recent years with the introduction of more varieties suitable for containers and in borders. The original species introduced into Britain 1804 is a slow growing upright shrub to around 2m. In spring its new growth is a bronzy-green accompanied by white flowers in summer which are followed by red berries which persist through the winter.
One of the most colourful of the new varieties is N.d.‘Obsessed’ this dwarf hybrid to around 80cm has pinkish-red new foliage in spring with the same white flowers and red berries as the species. As the cooler temperatures arrive in autumn its foliage turns a brilliant crimson remaining this eye-catching colour throughout the winter. Another variety N.d.’Curly Obsessed’ has the same habit and colour but with curly foliage.
If you’re a lover of variegated foliage N.d.’Red Light’ is the perfect choice with its green and white streaked leaves and eye-catching new shoots of reddish-pink. Growing to around 60cm it’s a perfect plant for a container or front of the border. Nandina are adaptable plants and grow well in most good to well-drained soils. They will tolerate some shade but produce their best colour in full sun.
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Correa glabra
Native to the eastern half of Australia where it’s called the ‘rock correa’ this delightful evergreen shrub bears its pendant greenish-yellow flowers throughout autumn and winter and sporadically the rest of the year. In its native country it can grow to 3m. It’s unlikely to reach that size here and is easily trimmed in spring to keep it compact. It will take few degrees of frost but in this country its best grown as a container plant so it can be given some protection in severe weather, a little extra effort but well worth it for the winter colour.
I have decided to remove my box hedge after years struggling with caterpillars and blight. Which plants are a good alternative, my hedge was around 60cm tall?
There are several alternatives depending on your soil and planting situation, one of the most common is Ilex crenata (Japanese holly) which thrives in well-drained neutral to acid soil. If you have chalky soil or live near the coast, Euonymus j. ‘Green Spire’ is a good alternative. It’s neat and tidy and trims well, preferring full sun but tolerates shade well. Taxus baccata is also a good choice. Despite being a large shrub, it can be kept at 60cm with trimming and comes back well from hard pruning. It also grows well in most soils except waterlogged. There are several other species worth trying including Sarcococca for shade and Cotoneaster or Osmanthus for sun or shade.
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Apply a winter wash to fruit trees to help remove any overwintering pests.
Cover any wall trained peaches or nectarines to protect them from winter wet and help prevent peach leaf curl.
Avoid moving Christmas cacti (Schlumbergera truncata) when in bud and flower as this may cause them to drop.
Remove any fallen leaves and debris from around alpines to them to give them plenty of light and air through the wet winter months.
Treat Christmas trees as cut flowers; remove a few centimetres from the bottom of the trunk and place immediately in a water holding stand, topping up the water regularly. After Christmas take the tree to a recycling centre where it can be put in the green waste for composting.
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