The weather is glorious and we are in for a sunny weekend in most parts of the country. A great chance to get out into the garden, if not gardening, just to enjoy being outside. This strong sunshine and warmth will quickly heat up the greenhouse and areas where plants are still under glass. Most vulnerable are the emerging seedlings and small plants. I still have some annuals and small veg in the greenhouse and it is surprising how quickly they can dry out.

If you do find a plant in a desperately dry state they need to be quickly re hydrated. The best way to do this is to fill a tug with water, and stand the plant pot in the water, so the roots and plant absorbs it. If a plant is very dry watering from above with a watering can is often not very successful as the water will tend to run off and not be absorbed. 

Seedlings, if they dry out may not survive, and just keel over which means over the dry warm spell keep an eye on them and water daily. If you are not able to do this move tender seedlings into shaded area or shade up part of the greenhouse.

Then sit in the garden and enjoy!

Plant labels are not all they appear to be. Sometimes, it doesn't matter. Looking at these two Clematis in the images below they look very much the same and both were labelled as Clematis montana " elizabeth". The plant in image bottom right was bought when not in flower. There is a difference between the two plants, although not one you could see, the Clematis in image bottom left is beautifully scented with lovely soft vanilla scent which is why I selected it for the planting scheme.  I created an area in the garden with a scented archway planting lavender, roses, honeysuckle and Clematis montana"elizabeth" to give scent from May, (starting with the Clematis,)  to October, and so it mattered that the Clematis was exactly the right one. The same thing would apply if  buying plants to create a white garden, you don't want to find out that one variety is slightly blue.

I am now going to have to dig up the rogue plant, and re plant another for next year which is not ideal, especially as I didn't keep the receipt so I cannot remonstrate with anyone but myself. This time I think I will give the garden centre a miss and go to a specialist Clematis grower on the internet and get an assurance it is the correct variety. Planting it twice is one thing, but I am definitely not planting again. I will try Thorneycroft or Taylors, and hopefully this time I will get the plant I expected. Clematis are a really popular garden plant and not as difficult to grow as their pruning requirements can suggest; more about Growing Clematis . Best tip: if buying Wisteria definitely buy one which is in flower. Wisteria can be tricky to get into flower, if you buy one that is in flower at least you know as a good starting point that  it can flower, after that it is all about pruning. The Wisteria left is flowering well and I have carefully pruned it twice a year; tips and advise on growing Wisteria

One thing which is not obvious when growing tomatoes for the first time, is that they are a very vigorous plant. Tomatoes grow very fast, throwing out loads of shoots and they need to be kept in check if they are to produce good fruits. Thinking about it, in April/May the seedling is bit like the ones on the left, and by the end of the summer the plant is over 1.5m tall even having been pruned and stopped back.

It's really important when growing tomatoes to restrict their growth, cut out side shoots and make sure once 3 trusses of fruits have set, you stop off the growing point. This means when you can see 3 distinct tiers of flowers go to the top of the plant and cut off the growing tip. You will need to keep doing this as the plant will just keep growing and growing. It will also grow more and more leaves, which at the end of the season you need to thin down. The plant will continue to produce and abundance of flowers and tiny fruits, which later in the season there will be no time to ripen into fruit so it's best to cut these off too. Growing tomatoes is great, but they need attention every week, not just because they are vigorous but watering and feeding is essential to produce good tasty tomatoes.

The image on the bottom left is of a tomato growing out of a pavement in a main city street which I took last summer. There is a bit of soil in the crevice and I think a discarded part of the sandwich included a tomato and a seed, and there it is growing, and I could not resist taking a photo. Not much chance of tasty fruit but a testament to the vigour of the tomato plant. More about growing tomatoes.

Whether you have bought small tomato plants on line or at the garden centre, or grown from seed, around this time of year April/May the small tomatoe plants will be ready for potting on. The plants in image top left are ready they have filled out the initial seed tray and need a larger growing space, but importantly not too large. If you are not sure check the bottom of the container, can you see the tomatoes roots if so they need more space. Look at the plant if it looks top heavy for the size of it's container it is more than ready to pot on.

It is not adviseable to pot on into the final growing container when the plant is still small, it may seem easier and quicker, but unfortunately the plant will not thrive. This means with Tomatoes it is necessary to pot them on into large pots maybe once, or twice, until putting them a big pot or growbag for the rest of the summer. 

Video How to Pot on Tomatoes

Tomato Side Shoots

Looking at the image bottom left, the plant has been potted on into a large pot and if you take a close look at the stem, there are no side shoots. Even when the plant is quite small, it will form side shoots and these need to be nipped out.  If left to grow unchecked the plant will put out more and more shoots, growth and leaves at the expense of flowers and fruits. You are aiming to have one upright and to stop the plant sending out side shoots and growing more branches. More information about growing tomatoes and illustration of a side shoot.