🌷🌸🌷Gardening Corner🌷🌸🌷

Luchia

Hey everyone!

Since “How does your garden grow” was so popular I wanted to start my own post for the gardeners of the community!

Would be great to share advice and tips with others or even just post what new plants you have purchased

Today I bought 6 young rhododendron which I know are a bit controversial but couldn’t resist, I’ll be growing them in pots and planters as I know it’s illegal to allow them to spread outside of your own garden(Well I didn’t know until the garden centre rep told me)😱

Sandy_123

Oh wow I didn't have a clue did they say why

Albus_Scope

I didn't know that either, but had a quick google!

Rhododendron, especially Rhododendron ponticum, is invasive in the UK, spreading rapidly and outcompeting native plants. It forms dense thickets that reduce biodiversity, alters soil composition, and hosts harmful diseases like Phytophthora ramorum. Its toxicity also poses a threat to livestock. While not illegal everywhere, its spread in the wild is heavily controlled to protect ecosystems.

michael57

its not illegal to actually grow them in your garden its illegal to let them spread into the wild as they are classed as invasive

Luchia

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/911270#Comment_911270

As long as they stay on your property they are perfectly legal but if they manage to escape it’s illegal, it’s mainly the Ponticum variety but now they just treat any variety the same

Luchia

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/911283#Comment_911283

Yet they still allow Bindweed to grow freely and that stuff is terrible 😣

Luchia

Ponticum is the main issue but they just treat all varieties the same 😣

Sandy_123

Ohh Google ...spreads quickly through rain, can effect large areas of trees, infect plant material and soil and debris on boots and tires. 🙄

Luchia

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/911290#Comment_911290

If grown in pots and well maintained it is absolutely breathtaking, I bought 3 different colours

Sandy_123

Yeah ideal for pots mint also as it takes over

Luchia

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/911292#Comment_911292

Mint is super useful but yeah I’d only grow that in pots too as it does like to take over and very rapidly

Albus_Scope

Bindweed is currently my nemesis. My neighbour has loads of it growing in their very unkempt garden and now it's infested our garden too. 😖

Luchia

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/911294#Comment_911294

It’s an absolute nightmare, we had problems with it where we lived before(also caused by a neighbour) and no matter what we did it managed to come back

michael57

now i have a question could we have this located to stay up the top i think we have on the other gardening thread proven that we are not a bad bunch or reprobates

Luchia

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/911303#Comment_911303

@Albus_Scope is this something that’s possible?

michael57

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/911294#Comment_911294

best way to eradicate bind weed is to keep cutting it at ground level and eventually it will die due to not being able to photosynthesize us old farmers know a thing or 2 lol

Sandy_123

Same here with next doors garden and weeds

Luchia

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/911317#Comment_911317

We were doing that with old neighbours bindweed that made it into our garden but as we couldn’t get to the base of it more just poured in, thankfully we moved so that solved it

Albus_Scope

Thanks @michael57 it's always useful having a farmer on the community. 😆

I've made it my morning routine to hobble around the ggarden, pulling up any I find. But there's always bits I can't get to or miss. But I'm slowly winning the battle!

I like Luchias idea of just moving though haha.

I'll ask the team if it's ok to sticky the discussion, but no promises!

Luchia

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/911506#Comment_911506

Moving was cheaper than getting a permit to bomb the bindweed lol

It really is horrible stuff when left to take over which is a shame because it’s actually quite pretty well it’s well maintained but I imagine that would be a full time job

michael57

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/911596#Comment_911596

we have a little in our garden if you can contain it and keep on top of it its a lovely flower and the bees love it everything in moderation is good