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We have a huge selection of pots at a 50 % discount, making them a very cheap buy! Plant up some pots to colour up your deck, patio or garden.

Pots 50% off

We have a great selection of quality ornamental shrubs, ornamental grasses, and herbaceous perennials in 2L pots for just £9.90! Great if you have got a space to fill quickly.

4 plants for £9.90

Derwen Garden Centre

<p>This <strong>perennials made simple guide</strong> will help you to understand perennials and how to care for them.</p>

<p>This <strong>perennials made simple guide</strong> will help you to understand perennials and how to care for them. A garden full of perennials springs to life year after year and provides a variety of colours, textures, fragrances and attracts pollinating insects along with other wildlife. It is only in the winter months when perennials have died back that the colour will disappear until the following spring.&nbsp;</p>
<ol>
<li>What is a perennial&nbsp;</li>
<li>How to plant a perennial&nbsp;</li>
<li>How to care for perennials&nbsp;</li>
<li>Perennials for containers&nbsp;</li>
<li>What to plant with perennials</li>
</ol>
<h2>1. What is a perennial?&nbsp;</h2>
<p>Especially if you are new to gardening, the names of plants and gardening activities can seem confusing, but one word to know is perennial. A perennial is a plant that grows, dies back over winter and regrows again from spring. It will live year on year, with the right care, and provide plenty of interest for many months during the year.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<h2>2. How to plant a perennial?&nbsp;</h2>
<p>Where you plant your perennials will depend on the species and its preferences, but how to plant it is really easy with a few tips.</p>
<ul>
<li>Dig a hole as deep as the pot the perennial is in and a little bit wider.</li>
<li>Add some well-rotted organic matter and plant the perennial in the hole.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Backfill with soil and water in well. Water well as they are establishing.</li>
</ul>
<h2>3. How to care for perennials?&nbsp;</h2>
<p>This does depend on the species; for example, some will need more watering than others, but generally, all will need watering in dry weather if you mulch around the plant with well-rotted compost or leaf mulch that will help to retain moisture. Spring flowering plants can be cut back after flowering, and summer flowering plants can be cut back in autumn or leave the seed heads and stems for winter interest and wildlife, cutting them back the following spring when new shoots have appeared.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>4. Perennials for containers&nbsp;</h2>
<p>Many perennials grow really well in a container, so you needn’t be restricted by space. If you have a shady patio, balcony or garden, try Hostas, Cranesbill, Heuchera, and many more. Given the right size pot, feeding and watering (pots will require more water than a garden bed), most perennials will grow really well in a container.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>5. What to plant with perennials&nbsp;</h2>
<p>Perennials give so much colour and interest in the garden and, if mixed well, can provide colour from spring all the way until autumn. But what happens in winter? If you plant perennials around evergreens, the evergreens will ensure you have structure, texture and colour even in the depths of the winter months. If you have gaps around your perennials that you would like to fill, plant colourful bedding plants or scatter annual seeds such as Cosmos, Nigella or even wildflowers.&nbsp;</p>
<p>We have a wide variety of perennials suitable for all gardens in store and our friendly team on hand to advise you.&nbsp;</p>

Perennials made simple guide

<p>You don’t need a big garden to <strong>grow your own fruit</strong>, just a pot on a sunny patio or balcony. Choose the right plants, follow a few simple steps, and you’ll soon be enjoying delicious harvests of your own fresh-picked fruit.&nbsp;</p>

<p>You don’t need a big garden to <strong>grow your own fruit</strong>, just a pot on a sunny patio or balcony. Choose the right plants, follow a few simple steps, and you’ll soon be enjoying delicious harvests of your own fresh-picked fruit.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Growing strawberries in pots</h2>
<p>Strawberries grow well in pots and even in hanging baskets, with pretty white or pink flowers in spring and delicious red fruits in summer. Planting them in hanging baskets also means they’re safe from slugs and snails, although not necessarily from other hungry garden wildlife such as squirrels and birds!&nbsp;</p>
<ul>
<li>Choose a pot or basket with good drainage, place in a sunny position and fill it with multi-purpose compost.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Space the plants around 25-30cm (10-12in) apart.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Water regularly and feed fortnightly with a high potash feed once the flowers appear.</li>
<li>Cut off the runners in autumn.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Growing blueberries in pots</h2>
<p>Because blueberries will only grow well in acidic soils, it’s often easiest to grow them in containers. Choose a compact variety like ‘Bluecrop’ or ‘Bluegold’,&nbsp;and, if you have space, plant two different varieties, as cross-pollination will produce bigger fruit.&nbsp;</p>
<ul>
<li>Start plants out in a 30cm diameter pot filled with ericaceous compost, then repot into a larger container when necessary.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Water with rainwater whenever possible, as tap water will make the compost more alkaline, especially in areas with hard water.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Feed monthly with a liquid fertiliser suitable for ericaceous plants.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Net the bushes once the fruit starts to ripen to protect it from birds.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Growing apple trees in pots</h2>
<p>Yes, it is possible to grow an apple tree on your patio or balcony. Look for trees grown on dwarf rootstocks (the M9 and M26 rootstocks are best for pots) and choose self-fertile varieties that can produce fruit without needing another apple tree nearby for pollination.&nbsp;</p>
<ul>
<li>Choose a pot around 45-50cm in diameter and fill it with loam-based compost like John Innes No. 3. Add a slow-release fertiliser to the compost mix before planting.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Water your apple tree regularly.</li>
<li>Replace the top 5cm (2in) of compost every year.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Growing fig trees in pots</h2>
<p>Fig trees grow well in large pots, and with their attractive lobed leaves, they make excellent specimen plants and provide delicious fruit. Varieties like ‘Brunswick’ and ‘Brown Turkey’ are hardy and well suited to our temperate climate, fruiting reliably even in poor summers.&nbsp;</p>
<ul>
<li>Start small plants off in 30cm (12in) pots filled with a loam-based compost like John Innes No. 3 and re-pot into a slightly larger pot every two years. Place the pot in a sunny, sheltered spot.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Water weekly during the growing season and feed fortnightly with a liquid high potash fertiliser such as tomato feed. Tiny fruitlets appear in late summer and will ripen the following year.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Cover the tree with fleece in winter to protect it from frosts, or move the container into a frost-free greenhouse.</li>
</ul>
<p>We have a fantastic range of fruit trees and bushes in the centre, so visit us today and get set for a delicious harvest!</p>

Growing fruit in pots

<p><strong>Sempervivum</strong> means ‘always alive’, and it’s a good description of these attractive and <strong>easy to grow succulents</strong></p>

<p><strong>Sempervivum</strong> means ‘always alive’, and it’s a good description of these attractive and <strong>easy to grow succulents</strong>. Sempervivums come mainly from mountainous regions and cope well with both drought and cold. With their neat, geometric rosettes of fleshy leaves, they look great all year round in troughs or pots in a sunny spot, needing very little care.</p>
<h2>Where to plant sempervivums</h2>
<p>Sempervivums don’t need much to grow – they will thrive in cracks in walls and have traditionally been grown on the roofs of houses, hence their common name of houseleeks. They like plenty of sunshine and can be grown in the ground in very well-drained soil or pots filled with well-drained compost.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Plant Sempervivums in pots in a 3:1 mix of loam-based compost such as John Innes No. 3 and horticultural grit. Place them sitting slightly above the compost level so that there is space to top-dress it with a layer of grit. As well as looking good, this stops the compost splashing onto the leaves when it rains and causing them to rot.</p>
<p>Sempervivums don’t need regular feeding, but it’s a good idea to repot them into fresh compost each year or feed them annually with a balanced liquid feed.</p>
<p>Once a rosette has flowered, it will die, but will quickly be replaced by offsets – these are smaller rosettes that grow from the main stem.</p>
<h2>Propagating sempervivums from offsets</h2>
<p>Propagating sempervivums from offsets is very simple. Here’s how it’s done:</p>
<ul>
<li>Cut offsets off the main plant with a sharp knife, ideally with some roots attached.</li>
<li>Remove most of the fleshy leaves from the offset base, leaving just a small ring of leaves in place. This reduces the risk of leaves rotting off.</li>
<li>Fill individual small pots with a 50/50 mix of loam-based compost such as John Innes No 1 and horticultural grit.&nbsp;</li>
<li>With a dibber or pencil, make a small hole in the compost in each pot and plant an offset in the hole. Firm the compost gently around the offset.</li>
<li>Water well and place the pots somewhere sheltered. After around 3 months, the offsets should have rooted and can be planted out.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<h2>Sempervivum varieties to grow</h2>
<p>There are so many beautiful sempervivums to choose from, and it can be hard to know where to start! Here are five of our favourites:</p>
<ul>
<li>Cobweb houseleek (Sempervivum arachnoideum): rosettes of red-tipped green leaves, with a delicate cobweb of white threads over the tips of the leaves.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Sempervivum ‘Pippin’: deep green leaves tipped with deep maroon-red.</li>
<li>Sempervivum ‘Purple Dazzler’: narrow pointed leaves, green at the tips and deep burgundy red at the centres. The colour gets more intense in winter.</li>
<li>Sempervivum ‘Eddy’: spoon-shaped red leaves, darker red at the centres</li>
<li>Sempervivum ‘Brunneifolium’: large rosettes of pale pinkish-grey leaves with a metallic tinge.</li>
</ul>
<p>Whether you’re planting up a pot or filling a border, you’ll find plenty of plants to choose from in our great ranges. Visit us today and add some extra colour to your garden!</p>

How to grow sempervivums

<p>These <strong>top five alliums to grow</strong> will fill your garden with pretty colourful spring and early summer colours each year.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Our <strong>top 5 alliums to grow</strong> have been picked from the many Allium varieties available for gardeners that are all lovely bulbs and bloom into some of the most wonderful of all spring bulbs. The balls of lilac, white and even slightly blue or green are a must-have for any garden from a cottage style to something more contemporary. These top five will fill your garden with pretty colourful spring and early summer colours each year.&nbsp;</p>
<ol>
<li>Allium ‘Hair’</li>
<li>Allium ‘Art’</li>
<li>Allium ‘Purple Sensation’</li>
<li>Allium ‘Gigantium’</li>
<li>Allium ‘Globemaster’</li>
</ol>
<h2>1. Allium ‘Hair’&nbsp;</h2>
<p>This Allium is both interesting and freaky all in one! The flower head looks like a mop of hair sticking up and all over the place, but even with that description, we can guarantee you they are gorgeous and most definitely a talking point in the garden. It’s a great choice of allium.</p>
<h2>2. Allium 'Art’</h2>
<p>Another fascinating allium with unique flower heads that look like crazy hair. They are indeed a piece of art! These alliums flower between May to June, and Allium ‘Art’ is an exceptional addition to any garden border.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>3. Allium ‘Purple Sensation’&nbsp;</h2>
<p>This Allium is most definitely one of the more popular alliums. With tall stems and deep purple flower heads, which are made up of many star-shaped flowers. They look great in garden borders or pots and containers. Don’t forget allium foliage dies back before the flowers fully form, so ideally, you’ll want to plants something around them to hide the faded leaves.</p>
<h2>4. Allium ‘Gigantium’&nbsp;</h2>
<p>Gigantium alliums have bright globes of purple florets and on stems as high as 1.5m. They are stunning in any garden as the deep globe colour contrasts perfectly with the paler green leaves.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Planted in swathes in a garden border or dotted about in amongst other plants.</p>
<h2>5. Allium ‘Globemaster’&nbsp;</h2>
<p>Globemaster has won many awards for its huge flower heads of star-shaped violet flowers that grow up to 25cm in a cluster. It’s a stunning variety that flowers for a long period, and the seed heads look just as great in the garden as well if you leave them.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>How to plant Alliums</h2>
<p>Alliums are attractive for bees and other pollinators and easy to grow. Plant them during autumn in well-drained soil, and don’t forget to label where you have planted them, so you don’t dig them back up again. They need to be planted about 4 times the bulb's diameter directly in the garden or a container. Your garden will be awash with lilac during the following spring, and you will be so pleased that you planted them. Why not choose from some of our top 5 and get your garden ready for next spring.&nbsp;</p>
<p>We have a selection of spring bulbs in store, so please do come along and visit us.&nbsp;</p>

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Gardens

Pots 50% off

4 plants for £9.90

Derwen Garden Centre

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Address:	Derwen Garden Centre, Guilsfield, Welshpool, SY21 9PH
Office:	(01938) 553015
Email:	[email protected]

Mon - Sat:	9.30am - 5.30pm

Sunday:	11am - 5:pm