What is the proper way to prune weeping cherry trees?They seem to grow straight up in the top, and I want those upper shoots to droop.
Velma Mitchell, Charleston, USA |
The shoots will droop eventually but they tend to grow upwards at first until they begin to get quite long and then they droop down.
The summer is the best time to prune plum and cherry trees and if any of these rising shoots are getting too tall then you can just prune them off. <<Back to gardening questions index |
My wife has wanted a Brugmansia for a long time. Is it too late for planting and is there is a specialist nursery I can buy one from? I have the facilities for over-wintering.
David Norden, Essex |
No, it is not too late to buy a Brugmansia especially if you have the correct facilities to bring it through the winter. A good specialist nursery for tropical plants is Mulu Nurseries at Wickhamford, near Evesham, Worcestershire and they do supply plants by mail order. They have a web site www.mulu.co.uk <<Back to gardening questions index |
I have about 18 leylandii trees in a space about 35ft long along the edge of a patio area. The problem I have is that some of the trees appear to be dying - there are light brown/beige stems and branches and some of these are very brittle and snap quite easily. I'm baffled why some trees appear to be growing very well and others don't.
Peter, Leeds |
If the trees were suffering from too much water they would tend to droop and the foliage wouild look a little yellow and then turn gradually brown.This would happen mostly from the bottom upwards.
Sometimes feeding the trees with a liquid natural seaweed fertiliser like Maxicrop or Vitax natural seaweed liquid feed does them a power of good. Check to see that there are no aphids (greenfly) on the foliage as this can cause irregular brown patches all over the trees. If so treat them with Bio Provado Ultimate Bug Killer. <<Back to gardening questions index |
Is it possible to control the height of a palm tree?
David Chambers, Wirral |
This depends to an extent on what type of palm tree we are dealing with but one of the best ways is to grow the tree in a pot or container of some kind.
Once it is out on the garden soil then the only thing you can do is to remove the new fronds as they grow and arch upwards. <<Back to gardening questions index |
The leaves of my laurel hedge, which is about 15 years old and 6 feet high, have a white film on them and have started to fold and wither. It looks like some type of fungi. Have you any idea what it could be and if so is there a cure?
Keith Powell |
I think that your hedge is suffering from powdery mildew and should be sprayed with a fungicide like Bio Systhane Fungus Fighter or Scotts Fungus Clear.
It will take more than one application to clear the problem amd I would also keep the roots of the plants moist in order to minimise infection. <<Back to gardening questions index |
I have recently planted two honeysuckle in my garden - they were doing well but in the last two weeks the leaves have turned brown and fallen off. They appear to have mildew (a white powdery coating on leaves stem and old stem) but thre is also an orange coloured grub on the underside of the leaves, about a millimeter long. Can you help me?
David Condon, Bolton |
Yes, your plants have Powdery Mildew and should be treated with a spray like Bio Syusthane Fungus Fighter or Scotts Fungus Clear.
You will need more than one application to clear things up anmd it helps to keep the plants well watered top minimise infection, but avoid spraying water over the foliage. <<Back to gardening questions index |
I planted a concord pear last winter. About two months ago I noticed that some of the leaves curled up. Now the top leaves are black at the ends and there are orange spots on about six leaves. Please help!
Julian Moore, Bath |
Your pear tree has a fungal infection, try to remove the worst affected leaves and spray the tree with a fungicide like Bio Systhane Fungus Fighter.
Also feed it with a high potash feed like rose fertiliser. <<Back to gardening questions index |
My builder is digging out soil for my foundations. This soil is green sand - can I use it mixed with compost for topsoil? I am told it is very good soil.
Jo Heaton, Pewsey, Wilts |
If the soil is good yes use it by all means, I would go for a 50/50 mix with a multi-purpose compost.
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| I planted a Passiflora caerulea last summer. It has had lots of flowers on it this year but they only last for two days. Is this normal? Colin Harris, Ashford, Kent |
Yes, passiflora have lots of blooms but each one tends to be quite short lived.
Boost your plant with a couple of doses of liquid tomato food about 10 days apart. <<Back to gardening questions index |
I have grown three echium pininana plants from seed. The biggest is only about 12ins to 14ins tall at the moment and the stem is looking purple and hairy and very robust. It is in a 10ins pot but I am wondering if i should plant it out. Are these plants hardy enough to withstand our winters?
Mr Fearnley, Sheffield |
This plant is not reliably hardy outdoors if we get a usual British winter but they may well survive in a wll drained and sheltered spot over a mild winter but it will need some protection from cold weather.
<<Back to gardening questions index |
Why are my cupressus macrocarpa goldcrest all turning brown?
D Brooks, Grantham |
If they are going brown gradually from the bottom upwards then it is likely to be dryness at the roots.
If the brown patches appear all over the trees at random then Cupressus aphids are the likely culprits. Spray the tree with Bio Provado Ultimate Bug Killer to clear them out but it will require more than one application. <<Back to gardening questions index |
I have a three to four year old Stella cherry. Each year lots of cherries appear but while they are still quite small, they all drop off. Help please! Also, how and when do I prune a very leggy clematis which the bottom half is all wood?
Val Richardson, York |
Make sure that your Stella cherry is well watered when the fruit are beginning to set and develop and I think that a dressing of garden lime around the root area in autumn will help a lot, as calacium is needed to set the stones in the fruits before they develop. It would help me a lot if I knew what variety of clematis we are looking at as they have differing pruning requirements. From your description of the growth habit I would guess that it is one of the ones that flower from July on into the autumn. Cut the plant back to leave a couple of buds on the grren wood in mid February, then if there are several shoots cut one in three down to just above the soil. This should fill in the base. Feed the plant well with rose fertiliser after pruning it. <<Back to gardening questions index |
I have a seven year old cherry tree, but the last two years the fruit has been very sparse - appoximately 24 cherries are the harvest. It flowers in abundance, the fruits form, get quite big, then they shrivel up and die. The tree suffers with a little black fly, which we treat with insecticide. There are two pear trees, which give a good harvest, an apple tree which does okay, and a plum tree that fruits well. I am at a loss to know what to do to keep all the cherries on the tree - please can you help?
Yvonne Swann, Derby |
I would say that your tree needs to be kept well-watered and give it a dressing of garden lime in the autumn. The cherries need the lime in order to set the stones properly as the fruit develops around the stone once it has set properly. <<Back to gardening questions index |
I have a silver birch tree planted in a barrel and the leaves are turning yellow. Is it because the tree is getting too big for the planter?
Anne Taylor , Glasgow |
| Yes that is likely to be the reason and the tree could probably do with watering more regularly too. <<Back to gardening questions index |
| I have two wisteria growing up the house wall. We planted them eight years ago. We build a trellis last year and pulled one over it which has formed a great shaded area. Unfortunately the other plant which is about a yard apart from the other and in full sun (but has had full sun for the last eight years) has started to die. Have you any ideas why? Barbara Conlon, Rochechouart, France |
This is a bit of a shot in the dark but I have come across several cases of a root rotting fungal disease called phytopthora attacking wisterias.
You could try watering around the roots with a product called Armillatox at the rate advised for honey fungus, but it is to be taken off sale in mid-July in its current guise as it contains tar acids which the EEC do not like very much. If this is the cause it is about the only thing to try. <<Back to gardening questions index |
