Katie's Garden Plant Centre
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  • Home
    • News >
      • Recommended
    • Sign up
    • Shops and shows
    • Contact us
  • Visit
  • Shop online
    • Shopfront
    • Summer bedding
    • Delivery information
  • Our Plants
    • Planting Themes
    • Bedding and Annuals >
      • Hanging Baskets
    • Bulbs
    • Roses >
      • Rose pruning
    • Hedging
    • Trees
    • Shrubs >
      • Conifers
    • Perennials
    • Fruit & Veg
    • Shade plants >
      • Ferns
    • Grasses
    • Herbs
    • Lavenders
    • Alpines
    • Climbers >
      • Clematis pruning
  • Advice
    • Slug proof
    • Rabbit proof
    • Deer proof
    • Plants for shade
    • Exposed sites
    • Long flowering perennials
    • Evergreen perennials
    • Coastal sites
    • Plants for Pollinators
    • Dry & sandy soil
    • Damp soil
    • Clay soil
    • North-facing walls
    • Plants for pots
    • Plants for slopes
  • Flourish
    • Flourish flashback
  • About
    • Gallery
    • Trade services
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Reopening delayed

25/2/2021

 
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We have pushed back our reopening date until Saturday 6th March.

We apologise for any disappointment caused, but we hope you will find it worth the wait. We have been very busy working on several projects to improve the site.


We will update here soon with details of opening hours and site rules.

In the meantime please make use of our home delivery service which is having new items added on a regular basis, including online exclusives!
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Trees planted in our new garden area!

19/2/2021

 
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It's not a garden without some trees!

We have planted four silver birches amongst the new beech hedge along the side of our new garden area.

Although bareroot trees can only be planted in winter, potted trees such as we sell can be planted almost anytime: just avoid planting in the heat of summer and when the ground is waterlogged or frozen.

There are several approaches to planting trees, so you might prefer different methods to those we used:
1. Give your tree a good watering about 30-60 minutes beforehand.

This gives enough time for the water to soak all the way through and for the roots to drink it up. This helps to plump up the roots and protect them from damage during the planting process, and also makes the tree easier to get out of the pot!

2. Dig a hole! Some people favour square holes: the theory is that roots will follow the outer curves of a round hole, as it is less effort than breaking through the undisturbed soil that surrounds the planting hole. Whereas with a square hole it is more effort for roots to make a 90 degree turn at the edge than it is to carry on going.

The more spread out the root system the better: the tree will be better anchored to the ground, and it will be able to draw on water and nutrients from a large area.

We have a loose, sandy soil at Newbourne so we doubt the shape of the hole makes much difference - no roots could be that lazy!
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3. Some people think that adding organic matter to the planting hole - such as manures, composts and soil improvers - will deter the roots from spreading out into the less fertile surrounding garden soil, as they will prefer to stay where it is nutrient-rich.

As we have low-nutrient sandy soil in Newbourne, we think the trees will need a little help. Also, as the trees are growing in pots, they already have rich soil surrounding their roots.

So as a compromise we dug our holes much bigger than needed and backfilled with compost mixed into ordinary soil, to give a graduation from the pot compost to ordinary soil.

On the higher levels of the holes we just used the unimproved garden soil as we don't want to encourage the roots to head towards the surface for nutrients.
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4. People often like to use root builders to help trees and shrubs settle into new surroundings.

Traditionally bonemeal was used, which is high in phosphorous, one of the three main chemicals plant need to grow (phosphorus for the roots, nitrogen for leaves, and potassium for overall health including flowers and fruits).

Ever more popular are mycorrhizal fungi. Abundant in nature these are bought in powder form to be dusted onto the roots and planting hole to help establish a bond.


5. Have some sort of stake or cane to hand so you can check you are planting to the correct depth.

Just lay it across the hole next to the bottom of the trunk with either end on normal ground level.
6. Tread down the soil mix with your feet. You are trying to firm down the tree and remove any large air pockets: you are not trying to concrete it in place so don't get carried away!

While you are doing this make sure the trunk is straight from all angles: you don't want it on the huh before it's even had a chance to get going! Ideally a second person will be able to give you help with this ("Lean it towards me a bit, now that way a bit, no, back a bit"!)
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7. Some people are against using tree stakes as they think it is mollycoddling the plant. However, our light sandy soil will make it difficult for the trees to firmly anchor themselves, and the site is relatively exposed to the wind, so we do think they will need the help.

The aim is not to immobilise the tree, just to stop it being blown over in strong wind. All plants need to sway a little in the breeze (even seedlings) - fighting against this is what builds up their "muscles" and makes them better, stronger plants. We went with using single stakes, put in diagonally.

Our most problematic winds come from roughly the direction of the BT Tower at Martlesham, so that is the direction the tops of the stakes face (think of when you lean yourself into the wind when walking along the seafront!).
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8. Water in well!

Depending on weather and conditions, trees can need watering weekly for about the first year you have them, probably twice a week in the first summer.

Make sure you give a good drench so the water soaks down - you do not want roots heading towards the surface to drink from light waterings.

We used one watering can worth per tree.
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Request plants for home delivery

5/2/2021

 
For the health and wellbeing of our staff and customers we encourage everyone to make use of our home delivery service.

We have added a large number of items to our online shop but if you do not see the plants you want please use the Request Plants listing.

Below are lists covering some of our current stock. We have many more varieties which are not on these lists, either because they are in small quantities or because they are still small in their pots.

We will be updating lists, so please keep checking back.
kg_request_trees_jan_2021.pdf
File Size: 134 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

kg_perennials_small_feb_2021.pdf
File Size: 101 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

kg_perennials_large_feb_2021.pdf
File Size: 107 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

kg_alpines_feb_2021.pdf
File Size: 88 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

kg_shrubs_nov_2020.pdf
File Size: 104 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

kg_climbers_nov_2020.pdf
File Size: 88 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

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The clock is ticking to plant new hedges

1/2/2021

 
Hedges are best planted before March so the clock is ticking to order your plants.

Help the birds and other wildlife with bareroot native hedging, and create screens, windbreaks and privacy with our selection of evergreens.

Prices start at just £1.50 for bareroot hedging, up to £45 for premium ‘instant effect’ plants.

We are practising what we preach, and have made a start on our very own hedge on site, which will provide a windbreak for our new garden area and a touch of privacy for our neighbours.
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First step, mark out the planting area. Stakes in the ground either end, with twine tied round them to make sure we kept straight, and a few extra canes along the way to make sure nothing got knocked out of place.

We decided on beech hedging and as we want a quick result spaced them 4 per 1 metre (approx one plant every 10").

Because our plants were going to get planted close to one another we dug a long trench rather than individual holes.

The soil at Newbourne is very light and sandy (which did make digging easy work!) so we added a little compost to the bottom of the trench, mixed in with the surrounding soil. Enriching the planting area too much can mean plant roots don't explore any further but we did think the new hedge plants would need a little goodness to help them get started.

If you are planting next to lawn we recommend getting some plastic sheeting to protect the grass from the piles of soil you will be digging out - it will be much easier to get it back into the trench once you are done without leaving a terrible mess!

To speed up the thickness and screening effect we staggered the plants either side of our guideline so they were diagonal to one another. With some hedging plants you can also get a fuller effect sooner by pulling branches horizontal and tying them to the branches of plants either side!

With a trench it is then a pretty quick job to place the plants and backfill the soil. The other benefit of having a guideline is that if you set it at ground level you can check your plants are not too deep or too high.

Then it is just a matter of watering in, making sure the plants don't dry out for the first year, and keeping the area clear of weeds and other plants. Easy!
Click to order hedging now
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