Phil McCann from the RHS answers your gardening questions

[RachelMumsnet]

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is the UK's leading gardening charity. As a charity the RHS helps to bring gardening into people's lives and support gardeners of all levels and abilities; whether they are expert horticulturists or children who are planting seeds for the very first time.

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. Whatever your query - from carrot fly to container vegetable growing, wisteria pruning to water-free gardening - Phil and the RHS team are on hand to give you advice and information.

Phil, who was previously Assistant Producer on BBC's Gardeners' World, is a trained horticulturist, a keen and knowledgeable gardener and allotment holder, a member of the RHS Vegetable Trials Committee and garden writer. Phil will be checking this thread each day and answering your questions on this thread along with his colleagues at the RHS. Final day for questions is Monday 5th July.

In return for posting a gardening question we will automatically enter you into a prize draw to win a pair of tickets to the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show next week. Each ticket will allow an adult and two children under the age of 16 into the show free of charge. Tickets will be valid on any day from Thursday 8 July to Sunday 11 July. For more information about the show visit www.rhs.org.uk/hamptoncourt.

[PhilMcCann]

Dear WhoDunnitInnit
I've dug out this link to an article in the RHS magazine , The Garden.

Might be of interest ( and to pannacotta !)

Many thanks!

www.rhs.org.uk/RHSWebsite/files/30/30b2a9f0-6576-4036-b762-bf7dee4c0c36.pdf

[PhilMcCann]

Dear Saker,
I think you know the answer - without going around to your neighbour and finding the source of the plant you'll never kill it off - although glyphosate should have a good go at it ( but it will kill any green plants it comes into contact with so be careful spraying or when painting on the chemical)
I do think it's a case of gloves on and get ripping and cutting.
If it's any consolation, the birds love it to nest in....I thought not!!

[PhilMcCann]

Dear nymphadora
Is anything forever?!!!
If you want me, I'll be back!

[PhilMcCann]

Dear taffetacatski,

• a great brassica!

[PhilMcCann]

Dear LaTrucha,
Now that's what I call multi tasking!!
Congratulations.
This is one heck of place to be!

[Earlybird]

Hello Phil -

Here is my dilemma (cut and paste from another thread), and I hope you can help:

One of the trees in my garden is turning brown, and is 'twitching' with little worm filled cocoons.

The chap who cuts the grass says they're bag worms and if not treated effectively immediately, the tree will die.

What should I do? It really looks like something from a science experiment or a horror movie.

If it matters, I'm in America and the tree is an emerald green arborvitae tree which is a sort of cypress ( Thuja occidentalis).

Urgent advice much appreciated. This tree is one of 12 in a border. If I lose it, these creatures are sure to move to most/all of the other trees.

By the way, I spent 2.5 hours this morning picking the cocoons off by hand, but I'm sure to have missed some and I'm not sure that is a long term effective solution anyway.

Thank you.

[PhilMcCann]

Dear deepdarkwood,
blushing again!!

[PhilMcCann]

Dear champagnesupernova,
Get Oasis on the ipod ( I'm guessing from your name!) and remove the grass. Don't skip it - find a quiet corner in the garden and stack the turves neatly grass side to grass side. They will eventually rot down into the best loam ( the best bit of soil) you will never have to buy.
Right - bare soil. It sounds like you are busy ( toddler escapee etc) so why not sow a wildflower mix of seed. It's relatively cheap and will grow and look fantastic in a year. It's late to sow now but start next spring. Before that, find, via the internet, suppliers of wildflower plug plants. They are best planted in autumn. Tell the supplier your garden conditions ( sun and dry?) and they will advise. Same for the seed supplier. In addition, I'd put a few ornamental grasses - even big things like the larger stipas, as dot plants across the back (randomly placed)
It will look terrific, it will be easy ( ish!) to do and your neighbour will think you've been gardening for years.
And never be embarrassed about not knowing what to plant where - if you did what would I have to do all day! Seriously, everyone has to start somewhere and it sounds like you have a great place to start. Have fun.
www.rhs.org.uk

[PhilMcCann]

Dear sybilvimes,
I'd love to - but that is up to the 'powers that be!!
I'll ask if you ask!
It has been great fun.

[PhilMcCann]

Dear Earlybird,
What a way to finish the questions - it sounds horrific.
The bags are the protection around what will be clear winged moths.The caterpillars are really hungry and will devour most of the foliage on trees in a bad infestation - and yours sound bad ( twitching trees - I'll have nightmares)
The thing to do is to take as many as you can off by hand, rake any that might have fallen on the ground. I don't know about USA, but there is a biological control available - check it out ( called Bacillus) It could help. You might be able to buy pheremone traps and put them out in August. It's an age old way of trapping prey!! The moths cannot resist the smell of the phermones and get trapped. I won't go on about it!
But yes, do something now or they will all hatch and move on.
And good luck - it sounds awful but controllable.

[PhilMcCann]

Before I sign off....

Many thanks to everyone who sent in questions - and to those who haven't but still read the replies!
It has been great fun.
Hope to hear from you all soon.

Phil

[Earlybird]

Phil -

Thanks very much for your advice.

[isthatporridgeinyourhair]

Oh Phil, you've been lovely. And deserve a MN medal for all your gardening advice.

[mummylin2495]

Thankyou Phil,i hope you are coming back again as i would like to ask you another couple of things.I think you should now be an honoury member of MN !

[solo]

I agree with mummylin

[Ingles2]

Awww Thanks Phil
for your reply to my question (I've watered, mulched and tied in today)
and for being such a fantastic and thorough guest.
Please come back soon xx

[tjacksonpfc]

Hi Phil

am i to late now to ask a question only just seen the thread.

we took over an allotment 12 months ago that had been abandoned for 20 years it was in a right state. we are slowly clearing it but with in a week we go back and the weeds are knee high again. Some people ahve said if we put potatoes in it will clear the soil is this true? also how long doe sit take for weeds to die off if you cover them in plastic.

thansk it feels like we are drowning in weeds.

[JustineMumsnet]

On my way to flower show this am - hoping to meet Phil McCann and get some inspiration for my mudpit of a back yard.

[catinthehat2]

While you are there, could you leave a little trail of biscuits or something to entice Phil back for another Q&A, maybe in the Autumn?

I think we like this chap.

[RachelMumsnet]

Wow thanks to all of you who sent in questions. I think catinthehat has just summed things up when she says, ' I think we like this chap'. Huge thanks to Phil for joining us this week - and working so hard to answer such a vast number of questions. We'll be archiving this thread to make it a little easier to follow and we'll certainly see about getting Phil to join us later in the year for an Autumn Q and A.

A quick reminder that today is the last day for sending questions to Phil. As we said at the beginning of the thread, if you've sent in a question to Phil, you've been entered into a comp to win tickets to the RHS Hampton Court Flower show next week. We'll be announcing the winner this evening.

[mummylin2495]

gets questions in quickly in case i miss him !!! hi again phil ,firstly when a bottle brush has flowered do you cut plant right down or just under where it has flowered ? i have been told both ways and dont know which is correct.Also i am having a competition with my brother to see who grows the biggest sunflower,he is away at the moment so any secret tips to give me

[GrendelsMum]

Dear Phil

Thanks very much for all your time and hard work answering all these questions. The Magnolia will move forthwith (well, maybe in November). Maybe I'll see you at Hampton Court!

GM

[G0ingPostal]

Just to second GrendelsMum - thanks Phil for a great Q&A. You must have been putting in a bit of overtime to get all these answers back!

[SwansEatQuince]

Dear Phil,

I have found a group which are working for the preservation of apple trees in Tayside, especially with the old forgotten species like ours.

We now intend in creating an orchard rather than be coerced into removing any existing trees.

Many thanks for your advice on this plus all the other questions. You have gone the extra mile in trying to answer all of us.

[Saker]

Thanks Phil!