Q and A with Gardener Phil McCann

[RachelMumsnet]

He's back by popular demand! Following the highly popular Q&A he took part in this summer, Phil McCann from The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has returned to answer your autumnal gardening questions.

The RHS is the UK's leading gardening charity. It helps to bring gardening into people's lives and support gardeners of all levels and abilities. Phil McCann, PR Manager for RHS Gardens, with support from gardeners at the four RHS Gardens, will be answering questions from Mumsnetters throughout this week. And he's here on the Food talk boards to celebrate the harvest, following what can only be described as a 'bumper year for courgettes'! Whatever your query - from container growing spuds to protecting your peaches over winter - Phil and the RHS team are on hand to give you advice and information.

The final day for questions is Friday 22 October and to celebrate his return to the talk boards, the RHS is offering Mumsnetters an exclusive RHS membership offer. When you sign up for RHS Joint Membership by Direct Debit, you will receive a free Crabtree & Evelyn Gift Set for gardeners. Visit www.rhs.org.uk/mumsnet or email [email protected] with 'Mumsnet' in the subject line.

Phil, who was previously Assistant Producer on BBC's Gardeners' World, is a trained horticulturist and garden writer. He will be checking this thread each day and answering your questions as and when they come in.

[PhilMcCann]

@MoonFaceMamaaaaargh

Thanks Phil!

Can I sneek in another (feel free to ignore!)...do you have any tips for overwintering chilli plants? Have heard it is possible and we like red chillis!

Of course - keep the plants frost free but they can get cool. A frost free greenhouse is fine, a heated porchway OK. Reduce the watering as you can imagine a combination of soggy soil and cold air isn't that good for anything like chillies. Increase watering when growth starts in spring and off you go again. Saying all that, they are easy to grow fresh from seed every year! The teams at the gardens will help you out during Taste of Autumn ( and actually any time you go!)Oh, and be careful of greenfly keeping going over winter on the plants. Just wipe any colonies off with your fingers.

[GertrudetheDog]

Oh yes, completely forgot. I did have a question about Cercis canadensis "Forest Pansy". I love these but very rarely see one looking very happy. Any tips?

[PhilMcCann]

@AmpleBosom

Hi Phil,

We have got a massive cordyline in our very small garden which has just grown and grown. It is now about 7ft tall and very palm tree like. I'm not very green fingered and to be honest had no idea it would grow this large!

Can you give me any advice regarding how to dig it out in one piece without damaging it?
Could somebody re-plant it in their garden? It would be such a shame to kill it.

Thanks

Dear AmpleBosom,
Cordylines do get big and to be honest, 7 ft is a tiddler! They can be moved and now is the time to get your spade out and get digging. The soil is still warm, there's plenty of moisture about and if you do it carefully the plant won't even know it's been moved. Dig deep and quite a distance from the trunk. I'd suggest three feet away from the trunk and dig all around the tree. Dig for I'd say about two feet. Then start digging under the tree. Once all the way underneath the rootball carefully lift the plant and rootball onto a plastic sheet. Wrap it up and transport to its new home and replant at the same depth straightaway. Water it in ( even at this time of year) It should be fine next spring. It'll take some effort but seeing it regrow next year will be just rewards.
Good luck.

[PhilMcCann]

@AnnMumsnet

Hello. Roses - when should I prune them and how much? I have 2 in my front garden, proper roses - and they have done v well this year but are getting tall (ie 1.5m tall( but I'd rather they were shorter with same amount of flowers). Any tips - feel such a fool as feel I should know but I just don't - always play it by ear but would like to know properly what to do! Thanks. Ann

Dear AnnMumsnet,
Now then - a head office question - best behaviour!
Rose pruning is one of those questions that actually lots of gardeners have different answers to - so don't worry about not really knowing what to do.
So, for the record here's my 'in a nutshell' way....
Shrub roses: prune in mid spring; cut out all dead and diseased stems and anything that is crossing over another branch. Cut the main stems back by a quarter. Job done.
Bush roses ( or as you say proper roses!): do the dead, diseased etc pruning as above in mid spring then cut main stems back by a half. Job done!
Always use clean, sharp secateurs and always do that pruning 'just above a bud and slope the cuts away from the bud to prevent rotting' tips you always read about.It works.
And if you like roses look out for a superb new rose garden at Wisley, currently under construction and due to open next year.
Hope that helps.

[PhilMcCann]

@Bucharest

Hello from the south of Italy (which is not as nice as it sounds...)

We don't have a garden, just a balcony, but after spending 2 mths every summer with my Mum in the UK (who has huge garden, veg, and is a member of all these gardening organisations) dd really wants to "grow things we can eat". We've done tubs of carrots (which were very very small, but did actually grow and get eaten!) herbs, and tomatoes, which bizarrely, were a total disaster.

Any suggestions? (esp for a tomato which would be balcony-friendly- we are on the south east coast, so it's either hot or windy, but always humid)

Thankyou!

PS In real life am from Nth Nottinghamshire so can vouch for Harlow Carr being fab!

Dear Bucharest,
Nth Notts - I live there! And my toms were great this year - but you should be growing superb toms in Italy. What's going wrong? Maybe you had beefsteak varieties and they can struggle in pots and on balconies. Go for smaller, juicer and in my opinion tastier varieties such as Sungold or one of the Tumbling varieties. They are virtually guranteed to crop well. Next thing is to maybe thing about the watering - humid and windy = bad news for lots of plants. Regular watering is the key. And make sure the compost you are using has some heart to it ( old muck at the bottom of the pot is brilliant) I'd also go for basil and any of the herbs.
How can Italy not be superb as I look out at the drizzle and gloom of a Nth Notts night?

[PhilMcCann]

@SoloBlackWidowSpidersWebSite

Hi Phil,

Would you like a challenge? come and make me a garden please...! It's a jungle. ^^

Dear SoloBlackWidowSpiderWebsite,
I love a challenge but after researching your name.....!
Get the garden tamed, make it a place you want to go into ( even turf the lot or sow wildflower meadow seeds everywhere) and it will be a 100% better.
Go on - don't give up on it - turn it into your piece of paradise.

[PhilMcCann]

@HeadFairy

I thought you were going to tell me there was something magical I could sprinkle on it :o Thanks for your answer Phil, I will keep at it. I will indeed go to Hyde Hall if we're ever round that way, it's a bit of a trek for us, but I'm sure it's worth the effort. We go to Wisley all the time and I love it, do most of my Christmas shopping there!

While I'm on here... is there anything I can do about the puffball mushrooms growing in the lawn? Everytime one grows I either dig it out (useless I know because they have underground whatsists) and it leaves a big horrible hole in the lawn which I then have to fill in. Is there anything I can do to stop them growing?

Puffballs decide when they don't want to grow - of course there are chemicals you can slop around to kill fungi but that's not really my thing. Keep picking and you will weaken those mycelial whatsits till they give up and move on.
See you at Hyde Hall or Wisley sometime.

[DoraBelvedon]

Oh! Phill thinks my magnolia is marvelous

Will have a small prune next spring. Thanks everso.

[PhilMcCann]

@aquamortis

Hi Phil

I've just taken on an allotment. It is dreadfully overgrown with brambles, grasses...you name it. There are four of us to work on it altogether, so we're not short of labour. But realistically, are we likely to get anything going in it before next spring? Is our best bet just to try to clear the dreaded brambles and then cover it with plastic over the winter to try to kill all the nasties? (Will that even work?)

Thank you!

Dear aquamortis,
Congratulations on your allotment and you already sound like sensible plot holders. It can be daunting taking on a full size plot ( full of weeds) so yes, decide on what is possible - I suggest half this year and get it cleared. It will take loads of digging, sifting and forking over the soil but you will get there. Cover the other half with tough black plastic sheeting ( don't use carpets as the chemicals can leach out) Get half looking good and it will be a place you want to go to as opposed to that dreadful 'oh no, not the plot again' feeling. If you need to use chemicals ( and it must be a last resort on a plot) use glyphosate. It neutralises on contact with the soil so is best of the chemicals.
Good luck - it will be hard work but great fun.

[PhilMcCann]

@GertrudetheDog

Hello Phil!

You are lovely . So much nicer than that Nick Clegg.

well thank you!!

[PhilMcCann]

@GertrudetheDog

Oh yes, completely forgot. I did have a question about Cercis canadensis "Forest Pansy". I love these but very rarely see one looking very happy. Any tips?

and what a fantastic shrub / tree at this time of year. I can just see my neighbours tree through the gloom - leaves turning orange and yellow - beautiful.
Nothing tricky about them - prefers full sun and can be a bit gangly in its youth. Better when more mature and well worth the wait.
Actually, the winds picked up here and the leaves are being ripped off the tree!

If you want Cercis and other classic autumn colurs you know where to go ( RHS Gardens of course) ...Wisley has an amazing Nyssa sylvatica 'Wisley Bonfire' just about to explode into autumn colour. It's a real treat. And a week on Saturday you can join in and help break the world record for simultaneous conker matches at Wisley. Oct 30th, midday, conkers provided and details at www.rhs.org.uk

Right - off to feed the family ( one permanently hungry 13 yr old and the other 5 yr old complete with large bump on head after falling from bike last weekend) Back in a bit.

[HeadFairy]

I don't like slopping chemicals about either so I shall persevere digging the little blighters out, thanks so much. We shall definitely be off to Wisley soon, ds loves the greenhouse and especially the waterfall!

[PhilMcCann]

@DoraBelvedon

Oh! Phill thinks my magnolia is marvelous

Will have a small prune next spring. Thanks everso.

no one mentioned prunes - I thought it was magnolias!! Oh come on, not that many jokes in gardening!!

I'll tell you something though - you mumsnetters have some gorgeous plants. Without going back and purely from memory we have been chatting about Cercis, Mecanopsis, Magnolia grandiflora ( and not wanting to sound like Bruce Forsyth on Strictly - it's my favourite!) and a whole host of beautiful veg. I can feel a mumsnet garden design coming on!
Anyway, I'm back for the evening - Freddie ( 5 yr old) is fast asleep, Jack ( 13 yr old) is grazing his way through the fridge and cupboards listening to music and I'm toying with putting the heating on. And while I wait for you to think of a question or two I'll have a look at the new seed catalogues and plan my veggie beds for next year. Life in the fast lane!

[DoraBelvedon]

ba-da-bing! [hgrin]

best smell in the whole world.

[PhilMcCann]

@HeadFairy

I don't like slopping chemicals about either so I shall persevere digging the little blighters out, thanks so much. We shall definitely be off to Wisley soon, ds loves the greenhouse and especially the waterfall!

Wisley is a special place and the root zone in the glasshouse is superb. If you are planning to visit go for Oct 30th if you want to be a record breaker ( we are trying to beat the biggest number of simultaneous games of conkers - we need 200 games to be played at midday on Oct 3oth. We supply the conkers and it is how conkers should be played - gloves off and no H&S malarkey ( OK, none of the silly stuff anyway) Or go from this weekend and get loads of Taste of Autumn experiences - tastes and sights of autumn ( still lots of late summer colour and trees on the turn) Or go for November and children will eat free in the cafes or December for the Christmas events - in fact, go every week! I'm down there a couple of days in the next fortnight so say hello if you see me.

[PhilMcCann]

@DoraBelvedon

ba-da-bing! [hgrin]

best smell in the whole world.

you're not far wrong ( ba-da-bing?!)

[ib]

Can you advise on something not in the UK?

We have just put up a chainlink fence at our son's school in southern spain (inland). It is partly in sun, partly in the shade of a pine forest. It looks awful.

What rampant plants (climbers or shrubs) could we plant to soften it bearing in mind that watering is likely to be slack (or nonexistent!) over the summer break?

Morning glories seem to be rampant around here, but the other parents reacted in some horror to the suggestion, as they are regarded as a pernicious weed around here. They suggested honeysuckle. Any other ideas?

[DoraBelvedon]

appreciaton of your 'joke'

[PhilMcCann]

@ib

Can you advise on something not in the UK?

We have just put up a chainlink fence at our son's school in southern spain (inland). It is partly in sun, partly in the shade of a pine forest. It looks awful.

What rampant plants (climbers or shrubs) could we plant to soften it bearing in mind that watering is likely to be slack (or nonexistent!) over the summer break?

Morning glories seem to be rampant around here, but the other parents reacted in some horror to the suggestion, as they are regarded as a pernicious weed around here. They suggested honeysuckle. Any other ideas?

Dear ib,
My brother used to live in inland Spain ( Madrid doesn't get much more inland) and he had loads of honeysuckle growing alongwith jasmine. Both love your climate. I would suggest any fast growing annuals from seed - plus the Scrabble sensation Eccremocarpus scaber is a winner - tubular red flowers on scrambling plants. It's also called Chilean glory vine. There's a nice looking shrubby climber ( more of a leaner!) called Sophora and that would love your conditions. Large yellow blooms on the variety 'Sun King'.It does grow in the UK but can get bashed by harsh winters. You could of course grow shrubs near the chainlink fencing rather than try and clothe it - it might give the area more depth. Create a bed of blooms. If you fancy that then rosemary, lavender, Euryops and Cistus would be great. Lots of blooms, all tough enough to stand a bit of drought and easy to grow.
Hope that helps and good luck with the project.

[PhilMcCann]

@DoraBelvedon

appreciation of your 'joke'

What? That wasn't a 'joke' - it was a joke!!!

[AmpleBosom]

Thanks Phil, i've never had a question actually answered before

[PhilMcCann]

@AmpleBosom

Thanks Phil, i've never had a question actually answered before

My pleasure and I'm sure the cordyline will survive the move.

[ib]

Thanks, those sound great!

[SoloBlackWidowSpidersWebSite]

I would like to Phil, thanks! I'll have to kill the lot off first and see what I can do next year now :)

It would of course be much easier with an expert such as yourself

[Iamcountingto3]

Thanks for your response Phil (hadn't checked the thread ).
Now, Swiss chard. It is very, very pretty. But I always assume it's going to taste like the perpetual spinach I remember with horror from my childhood. Is it a vegetable likely to terrify (reasonably veg-friendly) small children? Be honest now...

(And you don't want to know what happens at 3/5 ... isn't that the whole point...??)