Monthly Archives: October 2019

Lilies

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This question was asked by
– M. Cutts

I want to buy 50-70 lily bulbs but don’t want sift through all the details to find which ones are HARDY enough to leave out in pots in a savage Derbyshire winter (which most of my current stock do, and survive quite well).
Can you give me a quick summary list of the hardiest types, preferably on 2-3ft stems?

Hi – all our lilies are hardy! In fact, they like a cold dormant phase. They can withstand minus 20 degree celsius temperatures. They just don’t let to get waterlogged as your lily bulbs will rot if they get too wet. If you would prefer the shorter varieties of lilies, then I would suggest looking at the Oriental or Asiatic lilies. The Oriental Trumpet lilies are the taller varieties, so avoid these if you don’t want them too tall.

The Hart Family

Forever Susan bulbs

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This question was asked by
– S. Williams

Hello
I bought 6 of the above named lillies from your stand at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Festival and I am delighted with them, so I wanted to let you know 🙂 I would send you a pic but Im not sure how to. Superb quality bulbs and stunning flowers. Thanks

That’s so lovely to hear. We would love to see your photos. Please either send them to our email address by replying to this or you can share them with us to all our Facebook friends if you’re on there.

The Hart Family

Aftercare for my Roselily bulbs

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This question was asked by
– J. Coulson

These bulbs where amazing such a delight, I planted all 10 bulbs in one large container. Should I leave them in or take them out and let them dry out, protect from frost and replant next year.
Also what is the best thing to prevent Lily beetles ?
Thanks
Jackie

When the Lily has finished flowering, cut any seed heads back and allow the foliage to die back naturally. Do not be tempted to cut the stem back until stems becomes hollow and brown. Lilies can tolerate very cold conditions but they do not like to get wet. So they can left where they are just ensure they don’t get waterlogged. If your lilies are planted in pots, it may be an idea to tilt the pots on their side in the winter to prevent waterlog. You can feed your lilies with a Tomato Feed to stimulate and strengthen your lilies when you start to see signs of growth. Make up your tomato feed with half the recommended dilution (written on the instructions on the bottle) and feed once every 3 weeks.
To prevent these insects from from ruining your lovely display of lilies, we recommend inspecting plants regularly and picking off any adult bugs and wipe any grubs off the backs of leaves. We also recommend using the Lily Beetle Prevention Spray. This Spray (Grazers G4) will also stimulate growth of your lilies.

Lily Beetle Prevention (SKU17972)

The Hart Family

Helping the community

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This question was asked by
– T. Abram

Hello
I am writing to you from the NeuroMuscular Centre (NMC), a centre of excellence for people with Muscular Dystrophy (MD), a progressive muscle wasting condition. For 29 years NMC has supported thousands of individuals with MD, their families and carers. Think physiotherapy, vocational training (graphic design and other training courses) and employment opportunities (we have a social enterprise on site which does design and print work).
Based in Winsford, Cheshire, the NMC is set in beautiful grounds and this year we have been working to make use of our lovely surroundings, encouraging visitors to the centre to get outside and experience the physical and mental health benefits that gardening gives, by growing plants and vegetables. We have built accessible allotments and took part in National Gardening Week and The Big Butterfly Count.
We want to continue our gardening activity over the winter months and as such, I am writing to ask if you could help us by making a donation of bulbs for a bulb planting workshop we are planning. I understand that you must receive a large number of requests but we would be happy to receive any donation, no matter how big or small and any donation you could make would really help with providing opportunities for the people who attend the centre. In return, we would be happy to tell people about your organisation, in our newsletter, on our website and on our social media pages and obviously, we would tell all the people growing your seeds too.
We would also like to extend an invitation for you to visit the centre, to see what we do for yourself. Should you be interested in paying us a visit, please get in touch so that I can arrange this.
Thank you for reading our request.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Toni Louise Abram
Training and Development at NMC
My working days are Monday and Tuesday
Address: The NeuroMuscular Centre, Woodford Lane West, Winsford, Cheshire, CW7 4EH
Telephone: 01606 863064
Website: www.nmcentre.com

Hi Toni
Thank you for your email and for explaining all that you do. This is something we would be very happy to contribute towards and help in any way we can. I would be interested in visiting you at some point in the future but in the meantime I will most definitely send you a collection of Spring flowering bulbs to you in the post.

Kind regards
Victoria Hart

The Hart Family