hydrangeas

mrstommo

I have just purchased 2 hydrangea bushes from Lidls. They look healthy and I would like to keep them that way. Any advice as to how and where to plant them out and how to maintain them through the year.

I also bought a fig bush and would be grateful for any advice as to how to look after them - this is in a pot at present.

Leif

According to information I have read, a fig needs to have the roots constricted to ensure a good crop. One way to do that is to keep it in a large container, about 2 foot on each side.

Does anyone know if I plant a fig in a large terracotta pot, which is buried in the ground, so a few inches of the rim protrude, would this still need watering, or is the surrounding soil enough to ensure it stays moist? I like the idea of a fig, but not watering it.

Chris25

I love hydrangeas - my favourite flowering shrub.
There's some good advice here - http://www.hydrangeashydrangeas.com/planting_fert.html

Farway

I bought a fig from Lidl about 3 years back, planted out in a large terracotta pot

First year it sort of grew, no figs, but I never fed it 2nd year had 2 ripe figs, this year I have 15 ripening

Outside, against a sheltering wall, in Hampshire

I looked up care and pruning, so now I prune & fee with tomato fertiliser, which seems to have done the job

Leif - it will need watering, and fertiliser applied

demystified

Leif wrote: »

According to information I have read, a fig needs to have the roots constricted to ensure a good crop. One way to do that is to keep it in a large container, about 2 foot on each side.

Does anyone know if I plant a fig in a large terracotta pot, which is buried in the ground, so a few inches of the rim protrude, would this still need watering, or is the surrounding soil enough to ensure it stays moist? I like the idea of a fig, but not watering it.

It would have to be a very large pot. Terracotta is porous and any rim poking out does tend to act like a wick and suck the water out of the pot.

One fig I know is contained in an old galvanised metal water tank buried in the ground, only the top inch or so of the rim pokes out. The tree is fine and fairly small and produces a decent crop of figs.

Budget_Gardener

My fig grows decently enough and is in a standard large plastic pot. The hydrangea bushes are great - pretty much foolproof - but leave the old flower heads and stems on to protect the bases during the winter. They're susceptible to frost and I put newspaper over them in the cold but dry nights.