How about a gardening thread?

[Odile]

Yeah - one good reason I keep my OH indoors - he is truly a menace in the garden, especially with this petrol strimmer! (he came via South Africa and Indonesia, via UK, so particularly dangerous!).

[Belgianmum]

	Quote:	Tom1234
	I'm still hoping that one of our Japanese maples will spring back into life but I think that's just wishful thinking now it's got to late May.

Me too but I'm slowly beginning to lose hope. We brought ours from Belgium with us and it was fine last year but I've got a terrible feeling that this winter has done for it.

[lmerkel]

LOL on this. My OH killed half of my rosemarys. So we have an agreement, I manage the garden, the car maintenance, cleaning, cooking...and he does???? Just as long as I say 'ne touche pas' in my garden.

	Quote:	Odile
	Yeah - one good reason I keep my OH indoors - he is truly a menace in the garden, especially with this petrol strimmer! (he came via South Africa and Indonesia, via UK, so particularly dangerous!).

[Jennifer W]

I reviewed this thread and found some suggestions for trees and shrubs that can survive on terraces, but wondered if anyone knows whether I can pot a lilac for my terrace. I live near Lausanne, about half a mile from the lake. The terrace is south-facing, gets full sun, and has some corners where it could be protected in the winter. Alternatively, I could move it to my garage for the winter. Any thoughts?

[JanerMacP]

You can definitely pot lilac - I have 2 pots of the trees in my yard....I don't plant them so I don't know how old they are, we inherited them with the house.

The pots are approx 1m long, 0.4m wide and 0.5m high. The lilac trees bloomed this year, I can't remember if they did last year.

[Belgianmum]

	Quote:	Jennifer W
	I reviewed this thread and found some suggestions for trees and shrubs that can survive on terraces, but wondered if anyone knows whether I can pot a lilac for my terrace. I live near Lausanne, about half a mile from the lake. The terrace is south-facing, gets full sun, and has some corners where it could be protected in the winter. Alternatively, I could move it to my garage for the winter. Any thoughts?

Yes you can pot a lilac although I would choose one of the dwarf varieties as the are much better suited to pot growing. In winter if you put them in a sheltered corner with some fleece for protection they should be fine. Don't forget to water them occasionally!

[meloncollie]

	Quote:	sups
	looks like everyone is very busy gardening. I need advice. my new dwarf cherry tree has been attacked by loads of black aphids...cheap disgusting creatures mutilating the baby leaves n the tree. I tried spraying soap n oil mixtures, spraying coffee, ant sprays...no success they just come back with vengence. Could anyone reccommend me a good therapy against these****bugs.

Here's a fairly comprehensive discussion of the various nasties that plague cherry trees:

http://www.gartenbauvereine.org/text...m_kirsche.html

Could yours be Kirschfruchtfliege (cherry fruitflies)?

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirschfruchtfliege

How you treat it depends on if you are in a designated Bio farming area, or not.



I, too, am having cherry tree woes. I suspect my cherry tree is infected with Schrotschusskrankheit (Shothole):

http://www.hortinform.de/obst/suessk...rotschuss1.htm

It seems that chemical sprays that might fight this are strictly forbidden in Switzerland (and Europe from what I can tell) regardless if one lives in a bio zone or not. Most sites I've read recommend that affected branches be cut back, fallen leaves regularly collected due to danger of infecting other trees in the area. In serious cases, the tree may need to be cut down.

(I fear my tree might not make it. What a pity - it has given me the best cherries...)

When I planted it, I really didn't know much about cherries. I just went to a local garden center and chose a 'pretty' tree on a whim - I don't even know what variety it is. In the interveneing years I've read a lot more about the varieties available, and realize that I should have planted something both disease resistant and suitable for high altitudes. For instance, A Büttner's Rote Knorpel, a Kordia, a Schauenberger (sweet cherries) or a Hallauer Aemli or Morina (sour cherry).

FYI, here's a handy little chart from Haeberli, showing which of their fruit trees are high/low altitude, robust/disease resistant, and what kind of pollinator is needed, if any:

http://www.haeberli-beeren.ch/sortim...8a6f60b6d073d7

http://www.haeberli-beeren.ch/sortim...b5435659376343

(I've had good luck with most of my Haeberli plants - how I wish I had known about them back when I planted the cherry.)

[sups]

thought this thread was lost...went over the search engine gave in "garden thread" and it couldn^t place the thread.

[sups]

meloncollie...I finally bought some pesitcide tabs from coop bau n hobby which i have to burry in the soil, so kids and pets are spared.Keeping my fingers crossed.

[smoky]

	Quote:	Tom1234
	Please don't let anything loose into your garden that isn't native to Switzerland. The worst pests in my garden are those that have got to Switzerland from Asia recently as stowaways (or via another European country).

Oh wow YES! Reminds me of my own Horror Scenario!

The other mother-in-law came over for a visit a few years back, and (before asking or informing or whatever) gaily sprinkled a little packet of SA wild flowers into a patch of our garden! Nothing came up (luckily) EXCEPT "something" - only one - luckily as it turned out. I watched this plant, it seemed strange so I thought it could be a native Swiss thingy. But then it began to develop rather familiar flowers, which turned into Big Fat Seed Pods which I DID recognise! A non-indigenous pest in SA! I think it could have been the Castor Oil plant.

I pulled it out, took off all it`s seed pods, wrapped them carefully into paper, crisped them over bbq fire, - then put the ashes into the Kacheloffen to make sure they were utterly destroyed.

I left the plant lying on the concrete in the hot sun to dry out so I could burn it too. Next day I experienced a sort of horror movie scenario! The plant was rising up! It`s baby flowers were rapidly transforming themselves into seed pods, and growing!!!! The plant seemed to be surviving on air! True Hitchcock style! I felt like it was a monster! It was not all wilted and weak, like a normal plant lying in hot sun on concrete, it was actually stretching itself out towards the soil bed - with fresh solid limbs!

Cutting it into micro pieces with scissors over newspapers I wrapped it all up, made a huge fire in Kacheloffen (despite the summer heat I was not going to chance an outside fire where it might escape) and burned it to cinder crisps.

Problems begin in countries when people transport foreign plants and/or insects, in innocence and bliss!

[Tom1234]

	Quote:	smoky
	Problems begin in countries when people transport foreign plants and/or insects, in innocence and bliss!

Like Japanese knotweed:

[sups]

	Quote:	smoky
	Oh wow YES! Reminds me of my own Horror Scenario! The other mother-in-law came over for a visit a few years back, and (before asking or informing or whatever) gaily sprinkled a little packet of SA wild flowers into a patch of our garden!

uhm smoky...how many mother-in-laws do you have?

[ulaula]

	Quote:	ulaula
	...we are desperately looking for vermiculite. Does anyone here know where in CH can we purchase it?

if anyone is looking for it - at the end we bought it here. It was very cheap, I think we paid 5chf for a 100l bag.

Much cheaper than any other shops. They also sell it to Landi for their soil mixture.

you can find more about their vermiculite here (in german & french only).

and no, I didn't get any discount for posting this here I just thought it would be nice to share this.

[J.Marple]

Slightly off topic, apologies in advance...does anyone know why it's virtually impossible to buy rooting powder? At least, around most of the German part (I looked everywhere).

[meloncollie]

I have a jar of Rhizopon Pulver that I *think* I bought at the local garden center - but this was years ago.

If a specialty garden center doesn't have it, ask if they can order it. The German is Wurzelhormon Pulver. I think there are gel forms now that might be more popular.

ETA:

Googling around, I see that it is no longer allowed in Germany since end 2008. Maybe also in Switzerland? I'll keep looking. Certainly the jar I have is older than that.

ETA 2:

Maybe it's my late night googling skills, but a search of Swiss sites seems to only bring up pages related to Hanf production. Perhaps that's why one can't get it here?

[ceppych]

	Quote:	J.Marple
	Slightly off topic, apologies in advance...does anyone know why it's virtually impossible to buy rooting powder? At least, around most of the German part (I looked everywhere).

As it's a hormonal product, it could possibly be due to fears of it finding it's way into general water supplies and consequent abnormalities in plants and, possibly, even human birth deformities.

[sups]

Rooting hormone...
after giving up desperately searching swiss shops for rooting powder i found this homemade substitute.
you can either use diluted ASPRIN or a willow bark tea. for more info pls google.

Presently trying to root softwood grape wine cuttings.*fingers crossed*

[J.Marple]

Thank you guys, I had no idea it could be dangerous.

I might try that home made recipe . I wanted a long border of lavender, and I didn't want to spend so much on individual plants, so I thought the rooting hormone could be the solution.

[lmerkel]

Guys-

Just a check in -- with the weather we have been seeing, my tomatoes and peppers (planted 2 weeks ago) are just not taking off. I think my tomatoes have a virus as the leaves are turning yellow and the blossoms are wilting. Peppers just look anemic and don't seem to be growing. Anyone else have this problem? Looks like I might have to start over when the weather warms up.

But contrary, basil is going gangbusters and I usually have problems with basil.

[meloncollie]

	Quote:	lmerkel
	Just a check in -- with the weather we have been seeing, my tomatoes and peppers (planted 2 weeks ago) are just not taking off. I think my tomatoes have a virus as the leaves are turning yellow and the blossoms are wilting. Peppers just look anemic and don't seem to be growing. Anyone else have this problem? Looks like I might have to start over when the weather warms up. But contrary, basil is going gangbusters and I usually have problems with basil.

Do you have your tomatoes under a roof?

Here in SZ, at ca 800 meters, on the dark side of the hill, one cannot grow tomatoes in an open garden plot. There is so much rain that they rot. Instead, everyone has a Tomatenhüsli to protect them from the worst of the rain. One needs a clear roof to let in the sun (what little we have) of course.

Growing them in pots under house eaves also works if on the sunny side of the house.

Oddly, the tomatoes are one of the few things growing well this year.

I'm having fairly good luck with 'balcony tomatoes' - no idea what variety they are other than that - the plants came from the Coop B/H. These plants remain small - no more than 60 cm. Good producers of a large-ish cherry tomato, seem to be rot-resistant.

Peppers are always difficult here - not sure why I keep trying. So far no rot, but no sign of fruit either.

My Basil drowned - so count your blessings there.

(Cherry trees are completely kaput due to Schrotschusskrankheit, the pear has only three pears on it, one apple is breathing it's last, and one has maybe a dozen apples. Fruit trees are a complete wash-out this year - so much rain means perfect conditions for fungus diseases. )