New products at Crocus
by Sarah - May 16th, 2014.Filed under: Crocus, New Products.
Crocus just added these new products
Rhododendron luteum (deciduous azalea) £12.99
Position: partial shade Soil: moist, well-drained, humus-rich, acid soil or ericaceous compost Rate of growth: fast-growing Flowering period: May and June Flower colour: yellow Other features: vivid bonfire shades in autumn Hardiness: fully hardy Sweetly scented, yellow, funnel shaped blooms in May and June and mid green leaves, which take on vivid bonfire shades in autumn. This vigorous, deciduous azalea looks great planted in a mixed border with other evergreen trees or shrubs. As long as it’s given moist, well-drained acid soil it will tolerate full sun. Garden care: Avoid planting too deeply. Apply a generous 5-7cm (2-3in) mulch of leaf mould around the base of the plant each spring.
framberry ‘Red Dream’ (framberry Red Dream) £7.99
Position: full sun Soil: any soil Rate of growth: fast-growing Other features: tasty, orange-red fruit (mid-June to mid-July) Cropping times may be brought forward or extended if you are growing them in a greenhouse or cloche tunnel. Hardiness: fully hardy A breakthrough in breeding has created this amazing new fruit. It looks like a strawberry, but it tastes like a cross between a strawberry and a raspberry….. your taste buds wont believe it! Garden care: Prepare the ground well before planting. Clear all the weeds and dig in lots of well-rotted manure. When planting out, space the plants at 45cm intervals with 75cm between each row and apply a generous layer of mulch around the base of the plants, being careful to avoid the crown. If training onto a support, tie them in as they start to grow and keep the runners off the ground. If you want to grow them in the more conventional way and let them trail along the ground, then put a thick layer of straw or use strawberry mats under the plants to stop the fruit touching the soil when they are starting to form. Sheets of black plastic mulch can also be used, and it will also help retain soil moisture, reduce weeds and encourage early cropping.
Iris ‘Jane Phillips’ (bearded iris) £6.99
Position: full sun or partial shade Soil: well-drained, moderately fertile, neutral to acidic soil Rate of growth: average Flowering period: May and June Hardiness: fully hardy Deservedly popular, this has delicate flax-blue, slightly fragrant flowers with spectacular, ruffled petals in May and June and fans of sword-shaped, grey-green leaves. This tall bearded iris is gorgeous planted en masse in a sunny, well-drained border or as part of a cottage-garden scheme. Garden care: Plant shallowly with the upper part of the rhizome sitting on the surface of the soil, incorporating a low nitrogen fertiliser in the planting hole. After planting remove the upper-most third of the leaves to protect against wind-rock. In exposed areas stake with bamboo canes in early spring. Divide and replant about every three years.
Iris ‘Superstition’ (bearded iris) £6.99
Position: full sun Soil: well-drained, neutral to slightly alkaline soil Rate of growth: average Flowering period: April to May Hardiness: fully hardy A stunning, bearded iris with dusky, purple-black flowers from April to May and grey-green, sword-like leaves. It looks fabulous planted in drifts in a well-d rained, sunny border, as a complement to other blue and purple flowers, or to provide a dramatic accent among paler flowers. Plant towards the middle of the border to fully appreciate the colour. Garden Care: Plant shallowly with the upper part of the rhizome sitting on the surface of the soil, incorporating a low nitrogen fertiliser in the planting hole. After planting remove the upper-most third of the leaves to protect against wind-rock. In exposed areas stake with bamboo canes in early spring. Divide and replant about every three years.