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Mixed Up by Bill Buxton 1997 Yearbook

Border Carnation growers have rivetted their attention on composts for many years now, some preferring this and others that, but is it all a load of rubbish? Technology has made its input; the muck and mystery mob has stamped their green wellies over it; and inevitably, as with all “cardy-wearing” gardeners, over individual ingredients, the word “fashion” has favoured one thing or the other. Many have been the weird and wonderful concoctions professed as being successful, and gardening being the inexact science that it is, they were probably all right. Or were they?
Let us start with the Titanesque Montagu Allwood, he of the inspirational carnation buttonhole. In his “Carnation Culture Up-to-date”, but circa 1912, referring to layering into the ground, he recommends a mixture of “some very fine, light sandy soil or road grit from flint roads being preferable”, three inches deep. So we start with grit added to garden soil.

By 1916 the editor of “Popular Gardening”, H. H. Thomas, in his “The Carnation Book”, stressed the importance of having specially prepared soil, his best compost being two thirds sifted loam with one third each of leaf-soil and sand, but his reason for using this mix is questionable. He says if layers were pegged down into the border, even if this was well stirred beforehand, it will be difficult to lift the layers without breaking many of the roots. I would have thought the danger of that is always there in the open, irrespective of the compost used.

Some years on, J. L. Gibson (“Carnations for Amateurs” – 1945) has progressed little further, preferring four parts of sifted turfy loam to one part each of coarse silver sand and leaf mould. This was the situation when I became interested in Borders for exhibition, but at that time the use of peat for layering was taboo. However I was always a bit of a rebel and I reasoned to myself that, if peat was a water holder, this was just what my layers needed. So I started to use a 50/50 mixture using peat and garden soil (this had nothing to do with the fact that I was newly married and cash was in short supply!), and surprise surprise, I had a lot of success, and this was only marginally affected by the improving skill I was acquiring at layering. Also, after increasing outcries from my knees, I began to make more use of growing in pots where the mix of compost was far more important.

It was a short step to the use of John Innes mixtures, which, of course, make good use of peat. By the way, a few years ago Eric Palmer, the late B.N.C.S. Secretary, asked me if I found J.I. No. 2 too hot for layers, but I assured him I had no trouble. Reverting to a layering medium, I would not argue with John Galbally’s one third each of soil, saturated peat and sand (“Complete Guide to Border Carnations” – 1966), or Fred Smith’s three parts sharp sand to two parts peat (“Plantsman’s Guide to Carnations and Pinks” – 1990).

This brief historical outline of the composts both for layering and general Border culture brings us nearly up-to-date. Growing in pure sand, with added fertilisers, is no improvement forme, the amateur, and in any event is a different ball game; as is the subject of the volume of air left in a pot of compost.

In the past ten years, however, the pressures of standardising composts, the “anti-peat” lobby, and the variable quality of some loams, has led to a diminishing supply of soil based mixtures being available to the amateur, and gradually there has been a move towards coir and timber residue mixes. I tried timber mixes in the heatwave years of 1995 and 1996 and found, after a while in use, my plants were in pots of concrete: or so it appeared by the feel of them! Neither was the perennial problem of wayward canes in peat mixes in high winds overcome. So it is back to J. I. No. 2 for me for 1997 (until the next marvellous cure-all explodes on to the market)- By ihe way, a propos growing composts, may I remind you, dear reader, that in 1750 Justice warned you never to plant carnations in earth where hyacinths have grown as those flowers are sure poison to the carnation!