After three years of anticipating a beautiful yellow flowering Laburnum I have had nothing. But this year it looks a little different. Do you think it is going to produce a blossom if so what month does this usually happens thank you
The ivy in my back garden is now falling away from the wall. This is the first time this has happened in over 30 years. Would you have any idea why this is happening?
I planted this at the front wall of my house thinking it would grow over the wall but it seems to just grow upwards and seems to sprawl all over the place. I’m not sure how to look after this plant and make it look nicer than what it does. At the moment it just … read more
I have a magnolia tree that was planted 3 years ago. It is in a sunny position and seems to be flourishing with plenty of new leafs but it has not flowered yet. Is there anything I need to do to get it to flower for next year?
I have to train a large Virginia creeper up a wall but I can’t screw anything into the wall as it is hollow (I think it’s externally insulated). Is there any clever method for attaching something to the wall that the climber can then use?
I have a Cedrus Atlantica ‘Glauca Pendula’ which is 5 years old. It’s about 5ft tall and the leader has now reached the ground. I am wondering what i should do next, if anything, to help it change direction?
The above tree, southern beech, was blown over a year ago. Its about 4 to five meters tall. I pulled it back up and staked it firmly. Its growing quite well but recently the tie broke. I fixed it I feel without the staked support it will fall over again. Can I dig it up … read more
i have a pauls scarlet for about 7 years. it flowers brilliantly but it never seems to have anchored itself properly. it has always been staked. last year i got a jcb to put down a post to support it to and it has been great but i know from the look of it that … read more
I have just planted two Cotoneaster hybrid Pendula trees, with the high winds at the moment I need to support them, can you suggest a good support please, was thinking of an upright timber support with a rubber type hold between it and the tree, I need to make sure I do not damage the … read more
I bought a potted weeping cherry tree in a garden centre and when i was putting it into the car i accidently ripped off one of the branches. its left some damage to the bark of the tree. will the tree be ok and is there anything i should do?
The old oak tree was cut down over 3 years ago. I have drilled lots of little holes in it, filled them with the appropiate tree stump decayer chemical every autumn and covered to no avail. It is still as solid as the day it was first cut.I do not want to have to go … read more
I have planted about six hydrangea plants approx two years ago and none of them are flowering. They are all doing well with leaves and growing but wont flower.
Would you please give me instructions for growing a willow arch – from scratch?
Our ivy leaves have large brown patches, holes in the leaves and look like they are being eaten or withering at the edges. I would really like to know what the problem is please?
We have a number of yew trees of different ages in need of shaping and pruning. Can this be done without damaging the trees? When is the best time to do this?are there any particular problems in pruning older trees? What is the natural lifespan of a yew tree?
I planted 5 ft leggy copper beech for retaining hedge last March (late) and then cut back in mid/late july as the plants seemed to flourish. I have mypex down and bark mulch on top. Any risk the frost will kill them. Some neighbours suggested I should not have cut back in year 1
Is there a product that will eradicate roots that enter water drains, as opposed to sewer drains. I have a listed willow tree in my garden and its roots sometimes clog up the drains. I was wondering if there is a product that will help with this problem.
We have a “Jacquemontii” planted approx. 16 foot from the back of our house. It is planted in a raised bed 4 foot from a boundary wall. The raised brick bed (6 inches in height) is underpinned by a small retaining wall ( 3 inches in height) which has been cracked by one of the … read more
about 3 months ago i started peeling the dirty bark off the whitebarked birch. i peeled too deeply and was left with what is now a cracked brown stem.i’ve often peeled the bark before but never so deeply and to this day i dont know why i din’t stop when i saw i was going … read more
Two weeks ago I burned a pampas grass (stupidly) and set fire to a thirty year old golden cypress. One section of the tree is now charred to the top but the remaining four fifths seems to be unaffected so far. Will the tree survive the trauma?
I’ve got another question about my two acers, having looked more closely I’ve realised they’ve both got grafting marks, how will this effect their growth/eventual size? And also why do people graft them?
Is it a good idea to let a closely clipped beech tree (3 metres high, dome shaped) grow into a tree now and forget about closely clipping it?
I have a wisteria planted near a wooden arch its about 3 years old how and what do i prune to get it to trail up the arch? It has flowered and now its put out pieces like runners!
i have a large heather bed some of it is going out of bloom when can i prune or how much can i prune
My lavender of about 6 years is gone “all over the place”. It smells nice in Summer but the shape doesn’t vaguely resemble a circle and there’s also tall grass growing up throughit. Is it time to dig it up and replant a new one or is there something I can do to save it?
I live in an estate that is about 10 years old and all of the trees in it have been staked since they went in. I have read in several places that it is best to remove stakes within one to two years and wonder if we should do so now. I would not query … read more
My beautiful 15 year old Cornus Controversa Variagata has some dead branches on it this spring and other branches are quite sparse with buds growing up instead of laterally. The rest of the branches look quite healthy. Should I cut off the dead branches and the buds that are growing upwards. Do you think I … read more
Is it possible to graft Crataegus laevigata ‘Paul’s Scarlet’ on to the ordinary thorn yearlings found in the hedgerows?
I have a 6 yr old Wisteria climbing over a small summer house. I want to knock down the house ,but I dont want to loose my Wisteria .There is nowhere nearby to retrail it over. I would like to therefore to convert the wisteria into a small tree .The wisteria trunk is upright to … read more
I am trying to remove an ivy from my mother’s house that has started to go up under the roof. I have managed to remove the ivy but it is leaving terrible marks on the walls that I cannot remove. Any advice on how to remove these marks.
My small-type weeping willow, fully grown now, was torn apart under its two forking stems three years ago. I tied the two parts together and it is surviving well. I also nailed two metal strips over the joint, and the bark starts to grow over them now. Should I remove (with some damage) and replace … read more
My 8 year old son and his friend have just stripped all the bark off a horse chestnut (one of a pair that have been growing for about 18 years each side of an entrance gate) up to a height of about 4′ 6″. There is not one piece left from ground level even on … read more
I have an escollonia hedge about 3years, I think it needs trimming but I’m not sure when the right time would be,
can branches be encouraged to grow on the “bare” side of the weeping mountain ash. all the weeping branches are on the one side at the moment. can i nick the bark on the trunk to encourage shoots
I have some miniature Azaleas in my garden, just wondering as the flowers fade on the shrub can you dead head them to help keep the shrub in bloom?
I had a cordyline ‘Red Star’ growing in a container for about two years, and when I planted it in the border last year it sprouted from ground level. As I would really like to preserve the original crown and gain height, would it help if I remove all the ground level growth?
We had a Virginia Creeper planted 4 years ago, to climb a ‘plain’ breeze block wall. I must confess we never really trained properly in the interim. Most of it collapsed over the winter. Before it starts to grow again what is the best approach to ‘retrain’ it to climb properly.
My Elephant Yucca has a large spine left after flowering. Should this be left as it is or what is best to do with it.