A Members' Posts

Free: Hostas (Kingsway) Six Hostas fortunei aureomarginata (I think), offered as two groups of three, newly divided from their parent plant. One picture shows them at present, the other shows the parent plant last year. Great foliage plants with pale green/yellow edging to the leaves. Can grow to a spread of 1 metre. They should be grown in shade, and you must be prepared to do battle with snails and slugs. They can be collected from my front drive this week whenever is convenient for you. When replying, please specify a date and time when you will commit to collecting them. Neil Forsyth

18h

Free: Garden plants (Kingsway) Gifted Six ornamental grasses, Hakonechloa macra, offered as two sets of three plants. Height and spread about 60 cm (2 foot). Green foliage in the summer, turning golden brown in late autumn. Provided you water them in dry weather, they are trouble free. The pictures show the plants as they are at present and a fully grown plant in late November 2021. I'm also offering a dogwood, Cornus sanguinea "Winter Beauty", newly divided from its parent plant. Eventual height and spread 2 metres or more if left unpruned. If pruned to ground level each year, it will produce new stems, yellow at the base, turning to red higher up. A great plant for winter colour. The picture shows the plant at present (in a pot which is in poor condition) and its parent plant this winter. It should be planted in the ground this spring. These plants can be collected from my front drive this coming week at a date and time to be agreed. When replying, please say which plants you would like and give a day and time when you will commit to collecting them, so I can keep track of who has taken what. Neil Forsyth

+2 +1

21d

Free: Garden plants (Kingsway) Gifted Three Sedums (now called Hylotelephiums) spectabile “Autumn Joy” – one to two foot (30 to 60 cm) high and wide; pink flower heads in September, deepening to dark red in October, then rusty brown in November. Good for attracting bees and butterflies. They prefer full sun and may need staking. No major problems with pests or diseases. (The picture of the flowers shows the plant in October when it has grown for some time. At the moment, they have been cut back and divided and are only just starting to grow.) They can be collected from my front drive (off Englishcombe Lane) this weekend at whatever time is convenient for you. When replying, please specify a day and time when you can commit to collecting them. Neil Forsyth

43d

Free: Carniverous plants (Kingsway) Gifted Three Cape Sundews, newly divided from their parent plant and looking for new homes as houseplants. Offered individually or as a set. They eat insects and have special requirements. You must: 1. Keep them continually moist by standing them in a saucer of rainwater, deionised water or water from a dehumidifier (not tap water). (The saucers are not included in the offer.) 2. Keep them in full light. 3. Put them in your garden from time to time during the day so they can trap the insects they need as food. 4. Use special carniverous plant compost (available from some garden centres) when the time comes to repot them. If you follow these requirements, they should be successful. They like a humid room such as a kitchen or bathroom. They can be collected from my house at a time to be agreed in the next few days. When replying, please say how many plants you would like and specify a day and time when you will commit to collecting them. Neil Forsyth

49d

Free: Bird feeders (Kingsway) Gifted Two Roamwild bird feeders with spring loaded feeding ports that close when larger animals land, automatically reopening for small birds. One feeder is intended for mixed seed or sunflower hearts. It only has one perch remaining. The other feeder is intended for crushed peanuts, mealworms or suet pellets. It has two perches. They can be collected from my front drive (off Englishcombe Lane) this weekend at a time to be agreed. When replying, please give a day and time when you can commit to collecting them. Neil Forsyth

+1

98d

Free: RSPB Bird Bath (Kingsway) Gifted An RSPB bird bath, made from lightweight weatherproof resin (100% recycled plastic) with a verdigris finish. It's 71 cm high and 51.5 cm with a shallow 7 cm dish for bird safety. It comes with three metal ground pegs to fix it to the soil or to a lawn. It can easily be cleaned with a disinfectant spray and a hosepipe, but this needs to be done regularly, and I haven't found the time to do it very often. Can be collected from my front driveway (off Englishcombe Lane) at an agreed time this weekend. When replying, please give a time when you will commit to collecting it. Neil Forsyth

105d

Free: Houseplants (Kingsway) Gifted Two more Aloes brevifolia, recently propagated from pups and now (I think but can't guarantee) rooted and putting on a little new growth in the centre. They are still very young and will need gentle care for a while, with plenty of light but preferably no direct sunlight. They should be watered once a fortnight (or when the compost dries out) from April to September (you can add cactus food to every alternate watering); and once every three or four weeks from October to March. I have included a picture of the parent plant to show how these plants should develop but I am not offering the parent. The two plants being offered are the two smaller plants on the other picture. They can be collected from my front porch this weekend at a time to be agreed. When replying, please say if you would like one or two plants and give a day and specific time (after 10 am) when you would like to collect them. (Please don't say "any time". Neil Forsyth

288d

Free: Houseplant (Kingsway) Gifted An Aloe brevifolia, recently propagated from a pup and now (I think but can't guarantee) rooted and putting on a little new growth in the centre. It's still very young and will need gentle care for a while, with plenty of light but preferably no direct sunlight. It should be watered once a fortnight (or when the compost dries out) from April to September (you can add cactus food to every alternate watering); and once every three or four weeks from October to March. When replying, please give a date this weekend and a specific time (after 10 am) when you would like to collect the plant. Neil Forsyth

302d

Free: Hanging baskets (Kingsway) Gifted A 14 inch hanging basket frame (with slight rust at the base) and a 12 inch hanging basket (chains are rusty; new chains can be bought cheaply online). I would prefer to offer them together but would consider giving them separately. Can be collected this weekend from my front drive, off Englishcombe Lane. When replying, please give a date (18 or 19 May) and a time (after 10 am) when you can collect. Neil Forsyth

+1

344d

Free: Houseplant (Kingsway) Gifted A Kalanchoe daigremontiana, better known as a Mother of Thousands plant, in need of a new home and some tlc. It may benefit from repotting and will do best on an east facing windowsill (which I cannot give it), where it gets sun in the morning but no direct sunlight later in the day when the sun is at its hottest. This plant is a succulent and only needs limited watering: every two to three weeks from April to September (with cactus food every other watering) and every three to four weeks from October to March. It gets its name from the many tiny leaflets that occur on the edges of the leaves. It is possible (though not necessary) to propagate a new plant from each of these leaflets. Can be collected from my house (off Englishcombe Lane) this weekend. When replying, please give a date (18 or 19 May) and a time (after 10 am) when you can collect this plant. Neil Forsyth

344d

Free: Garden plants (Kingsway) Gifted Three Penstemons "Castle Forbes", propagated from cuttings and just hardened off. They grow to a height of 60 to 75 cm, with a spread of 50 to 60 cm and produce tubular red flowers with white throats from July into the autumn. They are best planted on south-facing or west-facing borders, benefit from staking, may need winter protection in colder areas and should be cut back in late spring. Offered as a group of three plants, not individually. When replying, please give a date this weekend and a time (after 10 am) when you can collect the three plants from my house, off Englishcombe Lane. Neil Forsyth

1y

Free: Houseplants (Kingsway) Gifted Six Sansevierias, newly propagated and watered and yet to establish. They should only be watered again when the compost has dried out; I recommend using a soil moisture meter. Once established, these houseplants need little care and should only be watered once a month from April to September and once every two months from October to March. They can cope in poor light but prefer brighter locations, including full sun. Only repot when the plant has filled its pot. They can be collected from my front doorstep during the day this week, preferably this weekend. When replying, please say how many plants you would like. Neil Forsyth

1y

Request: Flowerpots (Kingsway) Received I am looking for 1 litre, 2 litre and 3 litre flowerpots (and sizes in between) to hold plants I want to divide and offer on Freegle. I am happy to come to your address to collect them. Neil Forsyth

1y

Free: Garden plants (Kingsway) Gifted Take your pick from the following plants, which have recently been divided: Seven Sedums spectabile “Autumn Joy” – one to two foot (30 to 60 cm) high, wide pink flower heads in September, deepening to dark red in October, then rusty brown in November. Good for attracting bees and butterflies. They prefer full sun and may need staking. No major problems with pests or diseases. Four Hakonechloas macra “Aureola” – low-growing ornamental grass with beautiful yellow-green striped foliage – eventually reaching two foot wide. Any soil is suitable. They need watering in periods of drought and cutting back in late autumn. No problems with pests or diseases. Every garden should have one. (The pictures show the plants when they have grown for some time. At the moment, they have been cut back and divided and are only just starting to grow.) These plants can be collected from my front drive (off Englishcombe Lane) whenever is convenient for you this weekend. When replying, please let me know how many of each plant you would like. Neil Forsyth

1y

Free: Bird feeder (Kingsway) Gifted A Roamwild nyjer seed bird feeder with two perches. Small birds can feed from the perches. When a large bird, squirrel or rat lands on the perch, the perch hatch moves downwards blocking off access to the food. This feeder can only be used for nyjer seeds, as the seed holes are quite small. In my experience, goldfinches will eat some nyjer seeds. However, I have decided to concentrate on providing sunflower hearts in other Roamwild feeders, as the goldfinches prefer them. The feeder can be collected from my house, off Englishcombe Lane, at a time to be agreed. Neil Forsyth

1y

Free: Standard lamp (Kingsway) Gifted An Ikea Taggen combined uplighter and reading lamp, 1.86 metres (6' 1") tall, in good working order. Can be collected from my house, off Englishcombe Lane, at a time to be agreed in the next seven days. Neil Forsyth

1y

Free: Computer speakers (Kingsway) Gifted A pair of Bose speakers for a computer, height 22 cm (8.5"), width 8.5 cm (3.25"), depth 10 cm, with the necessary wires and plugs, including a jack plug to connect them to the device. Good sound quality. The only problem is static electricity on the jack plug, which causes noise if the speakers are not switched off before the computer. Can be collected at a time to be agreed this week from my house, off Englishcombe Lane. Neil Forsyth

1y

Free: Aloes (houseplants) (Kingsway) Gifted Two Aloes vera, offered separately, recently divided from their parent plant. The division was rather rough, so I cannot guarantee they will take, but they are robust plants and look happy at the moment. These succulents are easy houseplants and like full sun. From April to September water once a month and feed with cactus/succulent food once a month (space out the feeds and waterings). From October to March water once a month. They are likely to need dividing and/or repotting each spring. Each plant can be collected at a time to be agreed this week. When replying, please give the area where you live and suggest some possible times between 11 am and 8 pm to collect. Neil Forsyth

1y

Free: Geraniums (Kingsway) Gifted Seven Geraniums Rozanne, recently divided from their parent plants and not currently in flower. They will grow within two years to a height and spread of 60 cm (2 foot) with pale blue flowers from early summer to early autumn. Happy in full sun and in partial shade and in most soils with some drainage. Shortlisted for the Chelsea Plant of the Centenary for the decade 1993 to 2002 and winner of the public vote. Unfortunately, I have had problems with Geranium beetle in my garden, so I am getting rid of them. They can be collected from my front drive whenever is convenient for you this weekend. When replying, please say whether you would like two or three plants. Neil Forsyth

1y

Free: Garden plants (Kingsway) Gifted Seven Alchemillas mollis, recently divided from their parent plant. They will grow to about 40 cm high and about 50 cm wide, with attractive scalloped foliage and small yellow flowers. They are easy to grow (and self-seed quite a lot), happy in sun or shade and will tolerate any soil, though they prefer it moist but free-draining. I am offering one group of three plants and two groups of two. They can be collected from my front drive (off Englishcombe Lane) whenever is convenient for you between now and 14 May, but I would prefer if you would collect them over this weekend. When replying, please say how many you would like. Neil Forsyth

1y