| How can I get two separate evergreen laurels that grow about 2ft apart to merge and grow together? There is a huge conifer stump between them which is too big for me to dig up! Nina McCarlie, Gayton |
If the two laurel bushes are planted about 2ft apart they will gradually spread to cover the stump anyway particularly if you feed them with some general fertiliser like Growmore. You could always train some of the branches to grow more towards each other over the stump to speed things up a bit. <<Back to gardening questions index |
My wife is constructing a gravel garden. We have bought some 'patio and decking fabric' to go under the gravel. Should we puncture it to allow for drainage, or will this encourage weeds?
Mr J Young, Hucclecote |
There is no need to puncture the patio and decking fabric as it will allow water to pass through it while it does not allow weeds to grow. Making holes in it would, as you suggest, allow weeds an exit point to get to the light.
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I have planted some arum lilies in a 6ft x 4ft bed in my front garden which I have transplanted to coastal Sussex from London. What can I do in terms of soil and feeding and watering etc to help them grow as big as they were in London? I have had them in a holding bed for a year and they are only half as big as before.
Helen, Hove |
Your lilies are likely to take a year or so to settle in to their new home so that is one reason why they were not as large as usual last year. Now these need plenty of moisture if they are to do well and they really hate being disturbed so no wonder it has taken them a while to settle down. Support the new stem with a bamboo cane and feed the plants using tomato fertiliser every 10 days from when the buds start to appear until well after the flowers have died. It is only after this year's blooms have faded that the bulb can start to accumulate food for the following year and initiate good flower buds. Look out for lily beetles. If they do attack the only remedy is Bio Provado Ultimate Bug Killer.
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What is the best place to plant a dwarf blueberry ('Top Hat')
Kim Johnson |
Blueberries like an acid soil and plenty of moisture so if your soil is alkaline you will have to plant it in a tub with some ericaceous compost. If the soil is OK plant it in a sunny spot, preferably in a moist spot.
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Can you recommend flowering plants for most seasons to plant on a rather isolated grave, which will not be eaten by rabbits, mice etc. I have tried variuos plants eg polyanthus, violas, but the rabbits get them all. Bulbs are OK, but I would much welcome other suggestions.
Martin Hall |
If you would like a low maintenance suggestion, I would go for heathers as they are evergreen (or gold if you go for the colourful foliaged Calluna varieties) and by mixing in some of the winter-flowering Erica carnea types you would have all year round interest. You may think that they are all acid loving but the carneas, hybridas and mediterranea types are quite tolerant of lime in the soil. You could even add a dwarf conifer and pop a few spring flowering bulbs in between them. Rabbits do not tend to attack them much and if they do your plant will soon regenerate.
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I would like to buy some Amaryllis bulbs, (extra large ones) to take back to Malaysia. Where can I buy some really high quality, guaranteed-to-bloom ones? I have been searching the net and can only find some places in America which who will only send some over to the UK if I buy over $1000 worth of bulbs.
Koon Beh |
Two UK-based suppliers are Jaques Amand Middlesex, email John.Amand@btinternet.comor Van Tubergen UK Ltd, Norfolk, email van.turbergen@tesco.net
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What type of fruit is called the Norfolk Giant?
M Griffin |
Norfolk Giant is an old variety of raspberry which used to be a late cropper, much loved for jam making. I think that it is no longer on sale but the best place to check would be at the Brogdale Horticultural Trust in Kent - their website is www.brogdale.org.uk
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I have planted a fig tree three years ago. I only learned recently that the roots should have been restricted. So far there has been no fruit. Do you advise I dig it up and replant it, restricting the roots? If I need to do this, when will be the best time?
Elaine Jolly |
Yes, this would be the best idea if you would like to get some fruit in a reasonable period of time. If the roots remain unrestricted the plant will just grow and grow without pausing to set much of a crop. Lift it next autumn amd re-plant it in a hole lined with large paving slabs side by side, on the sides and bottom.
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I have a leylandii hedge that keeps the garden private but the maintainence is becoming tiresome. Is there a readily available growth inhibitor that I could purchase that would stop or slow the growth rate whilst not actually killing the trees.
Robert Butler |
Yes, there is a product which reduces the speed of growth of hedges called Scotts' Cutlass. It is available at some garden centres but many do not stock it as it is not cheap.
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Will Hedera helix 'Lady Francis' cling to a stucco wall?
Gary Frings |
Yes, your ivy should be able to stick itself to just about any surface using its strongly adhesive young aerial roots that emerge from the stem. The older aerial roots will not stick to anything as they will have dried out so if you are having trouble getting the plant to start climbing the wall cutting it back hard would be a good idea. The new shoots that this will encourage should stick well.
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Please could you tell me what is infecting my soil. It smells of fungus and has white threads running through the soil and amongst the plant roots. I have a feeling it is something nasty - help!
Lis Mountford |
The question is, are your plants looking healthy? I suspect that they are and you just found this suspicious fungus when you were cultivating the area. It seems to me to just be a soil-living fungus that is going about its business of decomposing some organic matter in the soil, this could be anything from something you have dug in like an organic fertiliser, or garden compost or some already dead plant remains, like old roots. This type of harmless fungal growth is often found under bark mulches too. Probably what you are frightened of is a root disease called honey fungus, but this shows up a black root like things that resemble old leather bootlaces.
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