DFB's Gardening Thread

[DFB5.0]

Read the following article and became aware of the topic this AM.

https://www.theguardian.com/environ...itish-bamboo-crisis-invaded-my-beautiful-home

In the US, we have certain plants considered invasive or hard to remove. I never considered bamboo as being one of those. In general, there are two broad groups: clumpers and runners. While clumpers are considered safe, runners can create extensive damage and problems over the long term.

I've always known Bamboo can be incredibly invasive, but not THAT invasive. Crazy!

For the most part, garden centers focus on clumping varieties of Bamboo to avoid this sort of problem. I don't usually recommend Bamboo anyway, while it can grow quite quickly and produce height without width, I find it heavily reliant on summer watering, then it tends to shed a lot of foliage during our cold winters where I live, making quite messy and then unattractive. There are better alternatives, but many like to tropical look, despite not living in the tropics.

As for invasive species, we have out fair share of those.

- English/Iris Ivy is despised by many, its terribly invasive and resilient, and it can drink weed killer for breakfast. A vile plant that also has a habit of playing host to a number of insect pests.

- Morning Glory. There is nothing glorious about this stuff, which can easily spread and set down roots to create new plants. I'm actually about to tackle a moderate infestation next week...............not looking forward to it.

- Acer Negundo (Box Elder) is a maple that produces millions of seeds that easily disperse with wind and germinate with appropriate moisture. Because of this, they have a habit of invading native bushland and water ways. This applies to the parent varieties, the modern versions have been bred to be sterile.

- Agapanthus, while beautiful when in flower, have a habit of seeding into bushland. Again, supremely tough and resilient. Modern versions are sterile though.

- Arum Lilly, another plant that thrives along waterways and is generally resilient to most removal methods.

- Blackberry, a vile and aggressive weed that ruins native bushland. Also extremely resilient to most removal attempts.

I could go on and on, but you get the gist.
Weeds Australia

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[DFB5.0]

A couple of months ago, one our supplier reps left a display stand with the intention of showcasing in-season plants. The rep has then been supplying advanced potted specimens to give customers an idea of what they can expect each plant can do. This is all well and good, but my creative brain spotted the potential expand on the idea...................

This plant stand was made by a men's shed, presumably from reclaimed timber. Well, we have plenty of that on hand, with a stack of un-used pallets taking up space in the yard. Pulling them apart was going to be the challenge, so I bought a lever bar from eBay..................

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/355034833921

Before starting the project, I had measured up and drew out a layout plan mimicking the original, I then knew what amount of timber I was going to need.

It took me a bit to figure out the best way to use the lever bar without ruining the timber, but the tool made short work of stripping the pallets down. Following this, I removed all the nails and docked everything to length. Then the fun part of putting it together...............

Including the re-used timber, I also used up an assortment of odd-bod screws, so excluding the pry bar and my labour, I made something from nothing.

I plan to make more of these as time allows, which will be used around the nursery as needed. I was hoping to have a few of these made prior to the bare root roses arriving, they would display well in these.

 

[DFB5.0]

Vision achieved!

The goal wasn't to house all of them, rather to create some visual interest rather than a collection of black pots dumped on the ground. It also makes them more "shoppable".

I have had to shell out on some screws after raiding the odd-bod bucket, but even still, the outlay is minimal.................and I'm enjoying work again.

Those are "bare-root" roses by the way, a very old-school nursery practice. Roses are grown in fields before being dug up, bundled and sent out to retail nurseries throughout the winter months. We then unpack, label and group them together in holding pots. Because the plants are dormant, this means we can sell them without soil and a pot, each plant is simply pulled from the holding pot, which in turn saves the customer money. What we don't sell through the winter, we pot up and for sale through the rest of the year.

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