Easy Woodland Plants. Why grow woodland plants?

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1 Volume: 09 Info Leaflet: Easy Woodland Plants Easy Woodland Plants The woodlands of the world are the home of a large number of very attractive plants. Woodlanders can be used in your garden where many other plants will not flourish. Why grow woodland plants? Here are just a few good reasons: While many rock garden and alpine plants need full sun to give their best performance in the garden, woodland plants do well in shade. You don t need a woodland to grow them, any shady area will do. Most woodland plants need little or no care and attention; they can be left to their own devices; a boon to the busy gardener. Some woodlanders are very tolerant of dry conditions. AGS 2008 Tel: The north side of a building, often a difficult place to plant, can provide an ideal home for them. Cyclamen Hederifolium

2 Preparing the ground. Woodland soils are naturally rich in organic materials: deciduous trees contribute fallen leaves to the ground surface each autumn, and even conifers shed their older needles over time. As these materials gradually decompose, worms steadily mix them into the upper layers, and nutrients leach down to the plant roots. If you are preparing an area for woodland plants for the first time, it is a good idea to enrich the soil with as much organic material as you can manage. This can be garden compost from the compost heap, leafmould, composted bark, or one of the many proprietary soil improvement products. It is not necessary to dig these deeply into your soil, as many woodlanders only have a comparatively shallow root-run. It is perfectly satisfactory to enrich just the top 15 cm (six inches) of soil. This is a counsel of perfection; many woodlanders will perform quite well in ordinary garden soil, but with a little extra effort they will be superb! Choosing plants. Pot-grown plants can be bought at any time of year. We are all attracted to a good-looking plant in flower and want to buy it there and then! When buying, do ask the nurseryman whether the plants are suitable for your garden conditions. While all woodlanders will tolerate shade, some need the soil to be moist in summer, some will tolerate very dry conditions, and some will grow in either situation. In the plant list below, these are marked W, D or W/D. If you choose the right plants, you will not need an expensive irrigation system, an important consideration these days.

3 Planting out. The best times to plant out are in early spring or autumn, when the weather is comparatively cool, and the soil moist and warm. At these times of year the roots will settle in easily and the plants will grow away well. Knock the plant out of its pot and inspect the roots. If they are congested, use your fingertips to gently tease out the root tips. Dig a hole larger than the size of the root ball and place the plant in it, spreading the roots out in the bottom of the hole. Fill the hole and firm the soil gently with the fingers. Then give one thorough watering and the job is done. If you plant too late in spring, and a hot, dry summer follows, it may be necessary to water if the soil becomes dry, until the plants become well-established. Aftercare. The dead leaves on herbaceous plants may be tidied away and added to the compost heap in late autumn, although the leaves of many woodlanders die away so tidily that this is hardly necessary. Remember that the organic materials in the soil will gradually decompose. It is a good idea to top up the supply each spring by spreading a fresh layer of mulch (garden compost etc) over the soil surface, just as the herbaceous plants begin to grow. It is not necessary to dig it in; after all, nature puts the fresh layer on top.

4 Recommended woodland plants. The plants listed below are easy to grow, and most are very readily available. Astilbe glaberrima (W) The native Wood Anemone. It is tough, easy to grow, and increases well; what more could one ask for? The flower colour ranges from white through lilac to blue. This is very adaptable to a wide range of soils and moisture regimes. There are many named cultivars. Its hybrid with A. ranunculoides, A. x seemannii is equally good, and bears many pale yellow flowers. Clematis alpina (W/D) With bronze-tinted leaves and white or pink summer flowers, this is a little gem. The tiny clustered flowers give the heads a fluffy look. Only cm tall. Anemone nemerosa (W/D) The alpine clematis can be found in mountain woods all across Europe. This is a wonderful plant to climb up a tree, or to train on a north-facing fence or wall. In Spring it produces showers of four-petaled flowers in a wide range of colours: white, lilac, purple and pink. There are many good named clones available. Buy in flower in summer.

5 Clematis integrifolia (W) Epimedium (W/D) A non-climbing clematis! Best allowed to ramble up through a low bush, it will typically make m tall, and produce nodding flowers with reflexed petal tips in Summer. The usual colour is lilac-blue. Something a little different. There are many good species and cultivars. Try E. x versicolor Cupreum with pink flowers and reddish young leaves, or E. ecalcaratum with yellow flowers. Most are very adaptable to a wide range of conditions. Erythronium tuolumnense (D) Cyclamen hederifolium (D) Perhaps the finest of all plants for dry situations. A group of tubers can give flowers from early July to late October, and carpet the ground with leaves from September to May. The leaf patterns are infinitely variable. Buy in flower in the autumn and plant at once. It will seed down if left to its own devices. This tongue-twister of a name belongs to a Dogstooth Violet with intense deep yellow flowers and dark glossy green leaves. It will flourish in deep shade and very dry summer conditions. If you cannot easily locate this one, E. x Pagoda has paler yellow flowers. E. denscanis is almost as good, but with white, pink or lilac flowers in late Spring, but it needs rather more moisture for the best performance.

6 Haberlea ferdinandi-coburgi (W) Paris polyphylla (W) A hardy relative of Saintpaulia (African Violets). This makes rosettes of deeply-veined dark green leaves and, in late Spring, sprays of pale lilac flowers. It will tolerate very dry periods, but gives of its best with constant moisture. The related H. rhodopensis Virginalis has white flowers. Tiarella wherryi (W) This is often described as quietly attractive. The Summer flowers are green, but with a fascinating, complex structure. Primula vulgaris (W/D) The white or pink flowers are borne in early Summer and the leaves are often mottled with maroon. A tough but delicate-looking plant. Our native Primrose. Although usually thought of as a plant for moist places, it is surprisingly droughttolerant in the garden. Flowers are very freely produced in spring (or even earlier in mild winters.

7 Polygala chamaebuxus (W) A low, mound-forming shrublet with shiny, leathery leaves. The somewhat pea-like flowers come in two colour forms: white and yellow, and white and rose-purple. At its best in good light in a north-facing situation, it will tolerate quite a lot of sun in moist soils, and often flowers several times each year. Saxifraga fortunei (W) A very variable plant, with flower stems produced in Autumn, from cm tall. In white or shades of pink, the flowers are very unusual, with the two lower petals much longer than the rest.

8 Uvularia grandiflora (W/D) The common name of this plant is Merrybells. The pendant flowers of pale yellow have unusually twisted petals which look most attractive in early Summer. Hepatica nobilis (W) A plant which looks charmingly delicate. The flowers emerge in late Spring, before the new leaves develop, and are enormously variable. This is one of the few plants in this list which look best if the old leaves are cut off before flowering. tel: ags@alpinegardensociety.net web: AGS Centre Avon Bank Pershore Worcestershire WR10 3JP UK Version 1