That said, peaches and apricots grown on walls do flower early in the year so it will be worth keeping an eye on them and draping the branches with muslin or old net curtains on cold nights to help preserve a degree or two and give them a better chance of setting fruit.
As for the snowdrops, as soon as they finish flowering they are in the best state for digging up, dividing and transplanting. I’m not suggesting you do this on a regular basis. The great thing about snowdrops is that once planted they can be left alone – no amount of overcrowding seems to worry them, they just keep on spreading which is what most of us want. But if you want to make more plantations, planting them “in the green” rather than as dry bulbs in autumn is a more reliable method of ensuring their survival.
Dig up a clump as soon as the flowers fade and divide it. Don’t waste your time separating the single bulbs, but break them into clusters of half a dozen or so and plant these mini-clumps about a foot apart, and at the same depth as they were growing before, in any half-decent soil in dappled shade or between shrubs. Or naturalise them in a corner of the lawn, planting them in the turf; they will wilt and look sad for a while but then they should pick up and eventually the foliage will die down and disappear.
Next year, just when you had forgotten where you planted them, up they will push and cheer you in the darkest months of the year. And hopefully next year they will push up in the more normal fashion, starting to flower at 4in high instead of at ground level. Well, you can’t say we don’t get variety!
Don’t miss Alan’s gardening column today and every day in the Daily Express. For more information on his range of gardening products, visit alantitchmarsh.com.
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