DFB's Greenthumb Project

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by GasoLane

How's your knowledge on grape vines?

Ornamental or fruiting?

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Ornamental or fruiting?

Fruiting, the main one is the green seedless type the other smaller one (out of camera range) has small red (black?) grapes ....'cept for last year when they sort've started growing then stopped

Just gave them they're winter haircut The Dragon Lady said I am supposed to spray them with some Sulphur stuff. She can't as she'll be in Hospital for about another week.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by GasoLane

Fruiting, the main one is the green seedless type the other smaller one (out of camera range) has small red (black?) grapes ....'cept for last year when they sort've started growing then stopped

Just gave them they're winter haircut The Dragon Lady said I am supposed to spray them with some Sulphur stuff. She can't as she'll be in Hospital for about another week.


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I would be spraying them with Lime Sulfur right now. This is a treatment best done in the winter to prevent burning the foliage. It treats a number of un-seen pests and diseases. You are going to hate doing it, the stuff smells really bad so plan on having a shower afterwards. Make sure to soak each and every part of the plant.

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

I would be spraying them with Lime Sulfur right now. This is a treatment best done in the winter to prevent burning the foliage. It treats a number of un-seen pests and diseases. You are going to hate doing it, the stuff smells really bad so plan on having a shower afterwards. Make sure to soak each and every part of the plant.

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Thank you, sounds like I'm in for a fun time tomorrow

[DFB FGXR6]

Today's eye catcher, Pieris japonica.



These are incredibly slow growing shrubs that require a shaded position. They require rich soil and plenty of moisture in summer. The tiny white or pink bell-like flowers appear in clusters at the end of winter. Pieris is a pretty boring shrub for most of the year, but really shine when in flower.

[Citroënbender]

Two weeks in, and my transplanted Photinia is past maximum wilt, new growth is starting to show where it was budding before I shifted it. I realise there will be a three-to-six month window where it shakes down, but early signs are promising.

The “condolences” chilli bush is hanging in there, too. It was a bare-rooted gift from the chilli-mad father of a friend of my younger brother. Delivered in a bag, wrapped in damp newspaper - he obviously had confidence either in his plant stock or my hands.

And one of the more flamboyant family friends sent a huge bouquet immediately after the recent funeral, it included prunus cuttings time-set to blossom in the arrangement. They did, and one even started budding - so in a pot it has gone! Waste not, want not.

[DFB FGXR6]

I posted in June about how the nursery I work for takes delivery of a large selection of bare-rooted trees. That is such a massive job, it keeps us busy for about 4 - 5 days sorting, labeling, pulling orders and then displaying them in sand beds. We then sell these through the winter without soil, hence the bare-root tag.





What doesn't sell is then potted. We also order surplus stock to pot so we can have enough to sell through to the next bare-root season. Now I say "pot", and while some of it does actually go into pots, the majority of the stock is put into 35, 45 or 75 litre grow bags. Do enough of those in a day and you will have a sore back like I do this evening!

This is only a small selection of the progress so far -




We order potting mix in bulk, stored in a holding bay and then loaded onto makeshift work stations, a trailer and a flat tray ute. It also means I get to play with these bad boys -





The whole process of retrieving the stock from the sand beds, trimming the roots, trimming the branches, preparing the bags with names, potting them, pricing them and finally carting them into stock ready for sale takes almost two weeks. It's a huge, huge job that coincidences with a big uptick in customer flow, so we are flat out. This year, the process has been slowed by Covid lockdown and staff shortages due to stop-and-stay orders.

So, next time you are at your local nursery looking to buy a tree, take a moment to appreciate the time and effort that goes into getting that item ready for you to buy.