I've got a young olive tree in a pot. I keep it in the conservatory. It exudes a sticky resinous liquid from the leaves, which drops off onto the surface below. Is this normal, and if not what might I be doing wrong?
Rob Archer , Bexleyheath |
If you look carefully at the underside of the leaves you will find some tiny limpet like creatures stuck fast to the foliage - these are scale insects. They suck the sap from the leaves but they cannot possibly digest all of it so they excrete it out of the back of them and it sticks to the leaves and drips off on to the floor. This sticky residue is called honeydew and often attracts ants and a black powdery fungus called sooty mould as the sugar in to is very nutritious. So we must control the scale insets by spraying either with Bio Provado Ultimate Bug Killer which is a systemic chemical and very thorough, or if you would like to be more organic then use Growing Success Bug Killer. This contains rape seed oil which must be sprayed well over the underside of the leaves as it kills the insects by blocking their breathing pores. The organic spray must be used about three times at three day intervals. Usually one spray with the chemical lasts for six weeks. <<Back to gardening questions index |
I planted some raspberry canes in early spring after I had kept them in their garden-centre polybags over winter not the thing to do I know, but most of them have survived! Now the lower leaves of many of the plants have a chlorosis between the veins. I think this is induced by the relatively high pH of the soil - 7.5. Is this likely to be a correct solution, and if so, what can I do to rectify the problem? I have spread ericaceous peat as a mulch around the plants, but after six weeks the chlorosis is still present.
Mike Workman, Badgeworth, Cheltenham |
I would treat the plants with sequestered iron which should remedy the immediate problem as it works faster and more intensely than just ericaceous compost. Another thing to dress the rows with is sulphur chips, sold mostly as Chempak Sulphur as these will make the soil more acid for a longer period.
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I have two cordylines, about three years old, and looking well. However, near the base of the trunk it is norrowing therefore making the plant lean over. Can you help please? Name -
David Webster, Kent |
If the base of your cordyline seems to be narrowing I would suggfest that there is some sort of fungal infection attacking the stem.
Check to see if it is soft at the narrow point which would mean a soft rot or it might be a type of canker eating away at the tissue. Dust the infected area with sulphur dust ( green or yellow) to arrest the fungus. If the plant is in a container plant it a little deeper to stabilise it. If it is in a garden bed take an old plastic pot at least 9in in diameter, cut off the bottom and cut all down one side. This can then be clipped around the trunk of the cordyline and filled with John Innes compost No 3. Keep this watered and the plant will make new roots in the pot which will help to stabilise the plant and create a new root system to sustain the growth. <<Back to gardening questions index |
Do you grow a jasminum polyanthum in a pot or in the ground?
Liam Foy, Dublin |
Jasminum polyanthum is not totally hardy outdoors even in Dublin, so I would grow it in a pot. You could put it outside for the summer but bring it back in again at the end of September.
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I have a Japanese maple (acer) and every year the leaves come but then die off. They come back and die off again, this happens all summer - what can I do to prevent this?
Fiona Sweeting, Rotherham |
This is one of the most common questions I get and the answer is usually to do with the situation that the plant is placed in.
Japanese maples naturally grow in slightly acid soil under the canopy of taller deciduous trees. So your plant should be away from wind and bright sunlight. The soil or compost should also be free draining as they hate getting water-logged and at the same time they must not be allowed to dry out. Late sptring frosts can also be a problem, so the plants must be sheltered from them too. If your soil is very heavy the plant would probably be better off in pot of John Innes compost with about 20 per cent composted bark and 10 per cent horticultural grit added. If you intend to move the shrub do so in the autumn while it is dormant. <<Back to gardening questions index |
How can I make good compost quickly (perhaps by using a shredder and worms)? Or is it not worth the effort and I should throw all weeds away and buy manure every year?
John Tinmouth, South Shields |
Compost making is not a quick process really as it takes the material some time to break down into good friable compost.
Compost heap worms tend to turn up naturally as your heap rots or if you wish to introduce them get some brandlings from a fishing tackle shop. If I was going to begin compost making I would get a some sort of compost bin to contain the material, help it to warm up and keep it from getting too dry in summer and too wet in winter. Perhaps you were thinking of getting a worm composting bin or wormery, in which live hundreds of worms that digest your waste material. I feel that one of the best brands is Can o Worms as you can harvest the compost easily from one of these. <<Back to gardening questions index |
Please could you tell me how to line a tub which is cauldron-shaped with a top diameter of about 24 inches. The sides are made of metal bars which are about three inches apart. I have tried woolmatt and moss but they fall through the bars, particularly when the birds peck at them.
Liz Benoist, Leicestershire |
Yes, the birds do peck at many basket lining materials at this time of year as they are lining their nests.
I find that ones of the best materials to line large containers is a product called EASI-MOSS, which is stocked by many garden centres on a bulk roll and you buy it by the foot. This enables you to get the size required easily and it is backed with polythene so that if the green fabric is pecked off the basket remains lined. Plants will grow down over the plastic to hide the baldness. <<Back to gardening questions index |
Why is my pinus ponderosa shaped (clear stem, 35-40cm girth) turning brown?
Karen Dickerson, St Andrews |
I would suspect that it is being attacked by conifer aphids or mites, especially if the needles appear to be a little sticky.
Spray the plant with Bio Provado Ultimate Bug Killer, make sure it remains moist and give it a feed using a rose fertiliser.
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My laburnum is not flowering. The tree is about five years old, soil is chalky and the tree looks healthy and grows well but has never flowered. Why could this be?
Joanna Oxford, Salisbury |
At five years old your tree is still only very young but it should be starting to flower soon.
You can encourage it by applying a dressing of about a handful to the square metre of sulphate of potash in late July. This will help to stimulate flower bud production. for the following spring. <<Back to gardening questions index |
My lawn used to turn yellow very as soon as the weather was a bit dry. Thinking that it was the quality of the grass I took the whole lawn off and turned the soil over and re-sowed grass seed. The grass has come through now but the grass, specially at the bottom in places is turning yellow. What is the problem?
Mehdi , London |
he problem appears to be in the soil, is it either very free draining or holding lots of water. I tend to think that it is the latter as we have not had any dry weather lately but plenty of rain.
If water tends to drain down to the yellow patches then, if you can walk on the grass, spike the areas with a fork to aerate and drain the soil. Also give the grass a boost with a lawn fertiliser, but you must not useone with a weed killer added as I think that your grass is too young. <<Back to gardening questions index |
My garden is surrounded by mature leylandii, and always looks totally colourless. Please let me know which plants I can grow to give my garden some oomph.
Paula Grosswald, Middlesex |
If you wish to grow a climbing plant up your leylandii hedge the classic is tropaeolum speciosum, a sort of high class perennial nasturtium with red flowers but it does need a high rainfall to do its best.
A good alternative is eccremocarpus scaber, which can be grown from seed or bought as a plant. This has orange/red and yellow flowers and performs much better in most conditions. If you wish to grow herbaceous plants under the hedge then first build the soil up behind some lengths of 45cm (18 in) log roll stood on end. This will provide a decent bed of soil without any conifer roots in to so that the plants can establish without too much competition. <<Back to gardening questions index |
