Garden Tips – Cypress grow in wet, swampy or marshy locations

Cypress wood has been used extensively for building, and the felling and lumbering of the trees a profitable business. Cypress trees are grown in plantations for wood and mulch and still are harvested from the wild.

Bald cypress usually is found in wet, swampy or marshy locations. Their roots are adapted to grow in low-oxygen soils. However, if watered well during the first year of transplant, cypress trees are beautiful in the landscape. They are slow-growing, pest-resistant and have a striking form and fall leaf color.

Organic mulches are good things around trees and in landscape beds. There is a popular notion that mulch made from cypress trees is resistant to rot and repels bugs. Research has proved this to be untrue; cypress is no longer-lasting or insect-repelling than other wood mulches. Read more

Hints & Tips Plant Irises For The Spring

Irises planted up to the end of November will develop a good root structure prior to the Spring flowering season to both extract the moisture and nutrients from the soil but also act as guy ropes to support the weight of the stem and flowers.

So don’t delay looking around to see what is for sale this autumn. Unfortunately the choice will not be that great in many garden centres but we are lucky to have Spain’s largest collection of bearded irises and mail order supplier right here on our doorstep and they still have dry rhizomes for sale for autumn planting as well as a few potted but more expensive plants for personal collection. A search of the catalogue section of their website www.iris-lomer.com will immediately demonstrate the enormous range of varieties that have been breed by plant breeders and there is probably something for your garden whatever your colour scheme. Read more