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This month`s gardening problems
 Q: From
Cyril:- I wish to convert the front narrow part of my lawn to a conifer shrubbery
mainly low growing, to retain the view. Can I use Round Up to kill off the grass? Then
plant up? Then cover with woodbark or chippings.? Any need to use a membrane?
A: Yes,
Roundup is OK to use, providing you leave it for 14 days so it can do it`s job by
getting right through the roots of the weeds. Roundup becomes inert on contact with the
soil, but be careful to follow the directions carefully.. I would personally use a
membrane before laying bark as it prevents further weeds from growing again, keeps
moisture in the ground and most importantly stops the bark from disappearing into the
earth, helped by earthworms and blackbirds..
Q: From Jimmy:- I
live in Ireland and have a yukka plant that is about 8 foot high. I would like to
cut 3ft off and put it into the conservatory. Would you recommend doing that or would it
damage the plant. Is there a right time to cut it and where should I cut it? If not would it survive an Irish winter?
A: I
am very tough with my plants I`m afraid. If something needs moving or
reshaping I take a chance and I`ve never lost anything yet..
I assume your Yukka is in a container in your garden..
It is perfectly safe to cut them anywhere and anytime.. It will possibly
weep a type of sap for a few days, but that will soon dry up. It might be a
good opportunity to repot it before you bring it in...
 Q: From Sheila: I have a
large well-established honeysuckle in my garden which doesn't flower. It gets the sun
until midday. It is fairly dense. Might it need pruning from inside the bush?
Any other ideas, please?
A: This is one of many queries this year from people whose honeysuckle is not
flowering and I don`t really have an answer for it. Honeysuckles usually thrive on
neglect.. You could check it`s cultural requirements are being met and try pruning it
back to see if this will do the trick.. It has been a particularly hot and dry summer
which could have put some honeysuckles off flowering.. I am sorry I could not be
more positive..
Q: From Brian:- I have
planted a honeysuckle this year it hasn't flowered but
shown a
lot of growth do I need to prune. My Canadian Maple is also newly planted. I
have five bushes all suffering to varying degrees from white mould on the leaves is there
any treatment?
A: I
have received several queries from people whose honeysuckles haven`t flowered this
year and I cannot find a reason for it.. Honeysuckles are notoriously easy to grow and
thrive on neglect. Yours however is newly planted and will possibly flower next year when
it has become more established.. Check that it`s cultural requirements have been met..
With regard to your maple, I believe this is due to the fact
that it has lived in a pot in a garden centre, where the air flow is fairly restricted,
rather than being planted in the soil. This is an explanation I was once given for a
similar problem and the tree was fine the following year. Do keep a check on these
two items though and inform the garden centre if you are not happy with
their progress next year..
your other bushes with mould or mildew are no cause for
concern, this being due to dry weather.. I have several plants and shrubs that are
suffering from mildew, due to the exceptionally dry summer we have had.
 Q: From Margret: My yukka which is 4
years old has flowered this summer. The flower part is about 2 1/2 feet long &
full of creamy pink bell shaped flowers. Can you advise me what to after it has stopped
flowering and will it flower every year, or every so many years. Also can you advise me
how to prune it to keep it under control.
A: You did well
for your Yukka to flower after only four years, so it must be happy where it is
growing.. It will probably flower each year now. Once the flower has died, cut the
stem off, just to make it look tidier. No other pruning is required unless it gets too
big, in which case just saw through the parts you wish to remove. You will need
a saw too, as the stems are like tree trunks..
Q: From Margaret: I have light, sandy soil in my garden and
many fairly large trees and shrubs. The garden does not get a
great deal of direct sunlight. I am finding that perennials do not seem to increase
in size and plants generally are not very prolific.
I
have also grown some runner beans in a more sunny spot but have had a very meagre harvest
despite the fact that my friend grew plants from the same source with great success.
I
live in Sandbach in Cheshire. Could you please advise me what process I should
undertake in order to enrich the soil.
A: It seems you have
two problems here: poor soil and lack of sunlight.If you have a mushroom farm
locally, you can buy a lorry load of their spent mushroom compost quite cheaply,
which is wonderful for enriching the soil. If this is not possible and obviously
you cannot produce your own compost whilst nothing will grow, the next best thing
is to buy in bagged compost from garden centres, which will be expensive for starters..You
could also add a general fertiliser such as blood fish and bone, or bonemeal, to the soil.
(Read instructions carefully)
You may need to dig up some of your perennial plants, enrich
the soil, then re-plant them. This is a good time of year for that sort of job.Your
large trees and shrubs will be taking all the nutrients they need for growth, so an area
set aside for plants, away from them might be an idea. This area alone could be enriched
with compost and fertiliser. You will need to weigh up the benefits of having large trees
and shrubs against the disadvantage of not being able to successfully grow flowers... Is a
programme of tree pruning perhaps indicated?
The runner beans could be planted in trenches previously filled
with plenty of newspapers to hold the moisture.. All planting however would benefit from
plenty of watering. We have had an exceptionally dry summer and most gardens are looking
very sad.
 We moved here four years ago and had the same problem with
poor, sandy soil. I planted new shrubs with plenty of bought compost to get them
started and over the years made my own compost using waste such as vegetable
peelings and tea leaves from the kitchen and the prunings and lawn cuttings from the
garden. I also bought in a couple of lorry loads of mushroom compost to help the soil
along. Now, just a few years on, the garden supports itself in compost and the soil is
becoming very fertile.
Q: From L Carter: How do you over winter begonias?
A: Stop watering and let the foliage die down, then remove the
tuber or corm and overwinter it in some sawdust.. Alternatively, you can place
the corm or tuber in a paper bag and store in a dry and dark place until spring, when it
can be started into growth in the usual way..
Q: Cynthia asks: I have 2 Yukkas. One has been in a pot for 18
years and never flowered. The other is the same kind, green and spiky with leaves just
above earth level. It has just flowered for the first time yesterday, reddish. They are
outdoors. I just wanted to know, please, how often do they flower and maybe why one has
and the other hasn't.
A: My guess is
that the yukka in the ground would appear to be thriving, whereas the one in the pot
merely existing..The potted plant would have it`s root growth restricted and not be
getting as many nutrients as a similar type in the ground, which has room to
expand..Situation would help too. Perhaps the yukka that has flowered is in a hot sunny
spot and the potted one in the shade?Yukkas usually flower each year once they have
started, but check out their cultivation requirements and see if yours are
growing in the best conditions.
* I often wonder how you each got
on with your gardening problem.. Did you take my advice or come up with a different
solution? Some of you do reply and I love getting follow-ups, so if you have a
moment to spare...
Previous editions of your gardening queries:
Edition 1
Edition 2
Edition 3
Edition 4
Edition 5
Edition 6
Please e-mail me
with your garden problems, comments, or ideas for this section of laterlife.
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