RE: The over enthusiastic gardener

Dear Alison
 
First all commiserations...that is my worst nightmare other than havoc wreaked by very high winds ( which we have just experienced) and frost damage (which we have never had). But it will return!
 
We prune some plants in  November and early December and then others in Feb  (depending on flowering time). For instance I have only just pruned back hard my Lantanas because their orange/red blooms have been so cheerful.
For  really is a matter of just watching and deciding when something has had its day.  I don't know yet when to prune my Odontomema strictum or the Cestrum elegans purpura which have  been flowering non stop. the
 
Below is  my very amateur programme ......Don't take it for Gospel!! 
 
Aeoniums various  .....We don't prune
Artemesia ?caucasica   .....Don't have this plant
Carissa macrocarpa  .....Selective prune in November or Feb..mine need minimal pruning
Cistus various   .....Selective prune (not hard wood) November
Duranta repens  .....  Prune  Feb
Echium candicans   .....Prune back flowered stems  July/August
Euphorbia ?characias  .... Don't prune only cut off dead stems
Lavander dentata   ......Prune every 2nd year, if too big, into hard wood
Gaura lindheimeri ...... Prune to 1 inch of ground level  November
Murrayia paniculata ......Don't have...sadly!
Phlomi fruticosa   ......Mine are young but next year I will prune proably Nov
plectranthus argentatus  .......A great plant.  Not sure about this but I think I going to prune in Feb
Pittosporum tenuifolium. ...... Prune very selective dead wood .  Mine are quite compact at the moment
Perovskia  ......Cut to ground November
Polygala dalmaisiana  .....don't have it
Salvia officinalis  Hmm difficult...but I just prune over the year after flowering if they get leggy
Santolina  .....Don't have

 Best wishes
 
Pamela
 
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-medit-plants@ucdavis.edu [mailto:owner-medit-plants@ucdavis.edu]On Behalf Of Alison Richards
Sent: 31 January 2009 20:35
To: medit ucdavis
Subject: FW: The over enthusiastic gardener


 
From: asmrichards@hotmail.com
To: owner-medit-plants@ucdavis.edu
Subject: The over enthusiastic gardener
Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:46:55 +0000

Dear Medit gardeners,
 
I have an unusual problem, our new gardener who has the sunniest nature you could hope to find is doing too much work.
My garden is in Sicily 37.5 N12.5 E, but I live in London, so till March of last year, I had the familiar difficulty of the non resident Medit gardener, that when you leave, everything is
looking fine, but by the time you return, it has reverted to jungle.
 
Since March 2008, Guiseppe has been working like a beaver, and the place looks beautifully kempt on our arrival. However this time my plant garden, which was looking tidy enough in November has been cut back to within an inch of it's collective life now in January.
 
When maintenance was largely dictated by how often I could be in Sicily, a regime of cutting back and cleaning up in September, followed by another tidy up in January/February
seemed to work well enough.
 
I would love to know what your mediterranean maintenance regimes are,
and the reasons you do what you do when you do it.
 
I should add that Guiseppe's experience is with citrus and olives, not horticulture.
 
with best wishes
 
Alison
 
The plant list includes;
 
Aeoniums various
Artemesia ?caucasica
Carissa macrocarpa
Cistus various
Duranta repens
Echium candicans
Euphorbia ?characias
Lavander dentata
Gaura lindheimeri
Murrayia paniculata
Phlomi fruticosa
plectranthus argentatus
Pittosporum tenuifolium
Perovskia
Polygala dalmaisiana
Salvia officinalis
Santolina
 
Alison Richards
 

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