Why do my marguerite bushes keep dying? I have purchased two over the last two years, protected them from frost but they still die off. Please can you help?
Ian Brownless, Gateshead |
Marguerites are fairly difficult to bring over the winter unless you have a greenhouse or conservatory as they need light as well as warmth.
I would cut them back to leave about 3-4 in of stem and keep them on the dry side without allowing them to dry out totally. <<Back to gardening questions index |
I have a problem spreading with my Bonsai Trident Maple. Several leaves seem to be showing signs of 'leaf spot' and a few seem very dry - cracking, turning brown and falling away. After asking a neighbour, he said that he believed it to be a fungal disease. Please offer me some help Reg, the Bonsai was a gift from my wife!
Nigel Robinson, Gloucester |
Yes, your tree is suffering from from a fungal disease and I would treat it with either Bio Systhane Fungus Fighter or Bio Dithane 945.
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I would like to know when is the best time to trim a hedge?
Ronnie Farmer , Long Thurlow |
To some extent this depends on what plant your hedge is made from but generally trimming at the end of June and the end of August is sufficient.
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How do I treat leaf rust on my nine-year-old rowan tree?
Sue Gowens, Northumberland |
I would collect up any fallen leaves and spray the plant with either Bio Systhane Fungus Fighter or Bio Dithane 945. <<Back to gardening questions index |
My courgette plants have lots of flowers but not much sign of courgettes! Is there something I should be doing?
Neil Lawrence, Southampton |
Your courgette should be having two different types of flowers on it - male and female.
The male ones are just yellow flowers on the end of a stalk, but the female ones have a baby courgette just behind the yellow flower. You must dip a child's paint brush into the male flower and then dip it into the female one in order to fertilise the blooms and make a courgette develop. If you have only male flowers present this is often the case early in the season, female blooms will follow. <<Back to gardening questions index |
We have an ivy that covers the side of a garage which has been infested severely with red spider mite. Can you advise on the best solution for this problem?
Wendy Bath, Anstey |
I would spray the plant over regularly with plain water as mites hate wetness and humidity.
The best insecticide to use is Bio Provado Ultimate Bug Killer, readily available at garden centres. This is a systemic insecticide which travels around in the sap of the plant killing sap-sucking insects. <<Back to gardening questions index |
How do I get more buds on my honeysuckles? They are all full of long runners and no buds, do I cut these off to encourage buds, and if so when?
Linda Sykes, Macclesfield |
You can cut off the long new shoots whenever you like and feed the plant with some sulphate of potash, readily available at garden centres. This will stimulate flower bud production.
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| Why is my new mimosa plant shedding its leaves and when can I expect it to flower? Susan Newton, Beckley |
I would think that your mimosa requires more humidity than it is getting at the moment.
Presumably it is in a pot so I would stand the pot on a saucer of moist gravel and keep the gravel moist as well as watering the plant when it needs it. Give it a feed every 10 days with liquid tomato fertiliser and it should be in flower any time in June or July depending on how old the plant is. <<Back to gardening questions index |
We have various tomato plants in a green house. All flower well but don't set fruit. They are quite packed in - could this be a reason?
Keith Tranmer , Anglesey |
Certainly if the plants are too closer together this could have an effect on the productivity.
I would try laying some white polythene on top of the soil at the base of the plants or alternatively use some cooking foil shiny side up. This will help to increase the light around the trusses of flowers and help them to set. Maintaining high huimidity around the flowers will help to increase the crop too, as well as feeding with a liquid tomato fertiliser. <<Back to gardening questions index |
I have a small patio blueberry shrub, which was growing very well and producing berries. Then suddenly the bluberries started to shrivel up and the leaves curl up and drop off. It is in a sunny spot but has been watered frequently with rainwater and is in the correct soil. We purchased it last year and I seem to remember it did the same thing. The instructions on the shrub said the leaves would turn a red colour in autumn but we had no leaves. Please do you have any idea what could cause this?
Jayne Stoodley, Bristol |
I think that your plant would do better if it was in a slightly shaded spot.
Blueberries like lots of rainwaterr and they do tend to suffer if they begin to dry out or get exposed to too much hot sun. <<Back to gardening questions index |
I have a row of leylandii at the bottom of our garden that, together with the fence behind, form an effective screen. The lower branches have now been cleared away and I'm looking for plants that will grow under the trees.
Peter Whitcombe , Horley |
I would get some log roll or old railway sleepers laid on their sides to form a sort of wall about 2ft (60cm) or so away from the bottom of the hedge and then fill in behind this wall with good topsoil in order to give your new plants a good rooting area free from interference from leylandii roots.
In this area I would plant herbaceous subjects like Alchemilla mollis, Geranium phaeum, Geranium nodosum, Geranium machorrizium, Doronicum, Pulmonaria, Epimedium Vinca illumination, Pachysandra terminalis and other shade lovers. <<Back to gardening questions index |
How do I get my acer Palmatum Osakazuki to go red in the autumn? It only goes a honey rust colour. I have tried ericaceous compost, and about to try sulphur chips.
Aslan Mordecai , North London |
I think that your sulphur chip idea is a very good one, or I would try giving a dose of sulphate of potash at about 1 oz per sq yd in the middle of August as this could well help too. <<Back to gardening questions index |
I have a small section of concrete next to my house that I covered with 7 to 8 ins of topsoil in order to extend our landscaping area. Because of the shade there, I decided to plant ferns and hostas. My wife seems to think that these plants need more than 7 ins of soil to work with. I assumed that once they went all the way down, they would then just spread outward. Can someone tell me what the minimum amount of earth is required by these two plants in order to grow?
Chad, New Baltimore, USA |
Well I'm afraid that I have to agree with your wife in this case, as the plants would be much happier in a deeper soil regime. Yes the roots would spread out sideways, but they wiuld not find that the soil wasa carring any more moisture. A much better soil depth would be about 12-18 ins (30-45cm). <<Back to gardening questions index |
On a newly planting spurge I put a 'euphorbia martini' in my garden but recently when I went to check it I noticed the stems were all broken. I have had a lot of rain and although the garden is sheltered I wonder if the weight of the rain lodging on the leaves could have done this. Otherwise a cat may be responsible. What should I do with the plant? If I staked and supported it would that be OK or should I cut the plant back where it has been bent, as it has more or less collapsed?
Elaine Jolly, Fleetwood |
I would cut the plant back to where the stems are still OK and it will re-grow from there very successfully. <<Back to gardening questions index |
