Event Report

Questions asked at the Gardeners’ Question Time Evening

20 March 2008

Chris Bird, a lecturer at Sparsholt College, chairs the Gardeners’ Question Time. It is an annual fixture in our programme and Chris always manages to be very informative and also very entertaining.

Q. Can I rejuvenate Euphorbia “Humpty Dumpty”?
A. The specimen shown is too far-gone. It needs regular hard pruning from the first year.

Q. Which are the better, hard wood cuttings or soft wood cuttings?
A. Hard wood are probably the better, taken when pruning.

Q. What can I do with an area of my garden where nothing grows, not even weeds?
A. Insufficient information given.

Q. Why doesn’t my Hawthorn thrive?
A. Almost certainly as a result of pest infestation, probably caterpillars.

Q. How can I tell if a plant is dead or dormant?
A. Look for any traces of tiny buds. Brush hard and see if any twigs fall off. Scrape with fingernail and look for trace of green.

Q. Could I make an Azalea grow on chalky soil if I water with ericaceous feed?
A. Yes, but if possible keep raised up so that the chalk is not constantly washed back in by rain.

Q. I tend to over water my houseplants. Is there one that can withstand this?
A. Try Ficus pumila, (Creeping fig), or plants with “drip tip” leaves.

Q. Can I grow strawberry plants in a greenhouse?
A. Yes. Try the new perpetual varieties such as Leonie.

Q. Can I save a 20ft Leylandii, which has been dying for 5 years?
A. No.

Q. I had a bad infestation of Potato and Tomato blight last year. Will spores be in the soil and infect future crops?
A. Ensure that all old potatoes and tomatoes are disposed of. Clean greenhouse well.

Q. A Pyracantha flowers well in the summer, but when the berries set they are brown and woody.
A. A fungal infection. Spay as the berries begin to set with Bordeaux mixture

Q. I succeed with main crop potatoes but not with earlies. Why?
A. Delay planting until soil temperature is at least 10º - 12ºc. Worm activity is a good indication.

Q. Do you prune all ornamental grasses in the spring?
A. Yes. Try pulling out, or using an Afro comb, otherwise cut down to ground level.

Q. A Photinia, “Red Robin”, hemmed in by other plants is going yellow.
A. Almost certainly lack of trace elements. Use seaweed extract and/or rock dust.

Q. How can I under plant fruit trees?
A. For the first three years leave 1 square yard clear. Thereafter, try crocuses, snowdrops, hardy annuals, and narcissi. Choose plants that flower before the apples. This will attract bees but will not compete with the apples.

Q. Plants are very confused and are flowering at the wrong times. Why is this, and if they have flowered out of season will they flower again correctly that year and in subsequent years?
A. Mild winters and early springs mainly responsible. Plants will normally flower again correctly, but may well be weakened and their life shortened.

Q. Can a well-grown eucalyptus tree be pruned heavily and turned into a shrub?
A. Yes. Cut down to 12 – 18 inches.

Q. A Phalaenopsis is infested with woolly aphids. I have tried eradicating with Provado Ultimate Bug Killer and finger and thumb, but should I also change to fresh compost.
A. Yes.

Q. Can Garrya be grown on chalk?
A. Yes. Prefers a north facing aspect.

Q. A Protea has developed brown blotches on the leaves.
A. Feed well. Place outside in summer. Needs increases light.

Q. Where do Niger seeds come from?
A. Not sure. Bring some next year for examination. (I have since checked with Google)

Q. Does Bracket Fungus on the branch of a Mountain Ash mean that the tree is dying?
A. The branch could be rotting internally, but should last for a further 10 – 15 years.

Lucy Frost gave a talk on Gardening for Wildlife. The emphasis was very much on organic gardening with lots of tips about attracting birds and insects. She had lovely photographs and her enthusiasm for the subject made for a very good talk.