³ÉÈËÂÛ̳

Q – I recently bought a Saskatoon berry bush to grow in a pot.Ìý Can you give me any tips?

Ìý

Christine – It’s an Amelanchier and as a garden tree is beautiful.Ìý But I don’t like the berries.

Ìý

Chris – Great hedging plant and takes pruning well

Ìý

Q – My friend and I bought identical plum trees (I thought ‘Victoria’) and she had a good crop after two years, I’ve never had a blossom.Ìý What can I do?

Ìý

Chris – I think you’ve been given mislabelled trees or you have a wayward root stock

Ìý

Q – Can salt and vinegar be used as a weed killer?

Ìý

Christine – Vinegar (ascetic acid) is being widely used.Ìý Salt will work but it can build up in the soil and cause other problems

Ìý

Matt – You could use soft soap too

Ìý

Chris – The Rhus family are interesting to look at as natural weed killers and Ailanthus altissima has a knockout effect on a lot of garden weeds

Ìý

Q – I inherited a number of roses and I want to move them to my new house.Ìý How can I move or propagate them?

Ìý

Christine – Not worth moving them as propagation is easy

Ìý

Chris – Try the layering technique (take a lithe stem at end of summer and touch it to the ground, scrape of a bit of bark, bury and cover).

Ìý

Q – I have had Giant Hogweed, Himalayan Balsam and Japanese Knotweed over the years. What problems have the panel had?

Ìý

Christine – Ground Elder – I’ve been fighting it for 26 years!

Ìý

Chris – Hairy Bittercress.Ìý Lesser Celandine.Ìý

Ìý

Matt – The purple-leaved Oxalis

Ìý

Q – Could you advise on the care and propagation of a three-year old Bougainvillea?

Ìý

Chris – If you’ve got a warm, south-facing, frost-free conservatory that’s best.Ìý Soil-based John Innes No 2 in the pot.Ìý And keep it moist even through the winter.Ìý To propagate: layer it into an adjoining pot.

Ìý

Q – We have an annual plant fair on the second Sunday in May. What vegetables can I grow to donate?

Ìý

Christine – I do everything on the dining room table next to the window.Ìý Start sowing now and you can grow pretty much what you like.

Ìý

Q – What suggestions could you give for a lower-maintenance garden?

Ìý

Chris – Employ a gardener!Ìý Also, go for ground cover plants like: ground cover Geraniums (Geranium biokovo or macrorrhizum).Ìý Get some shrubs too.Ìý