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.

[ImSoNotTelling]

Hello Phil

Welcome to MN

I have a Cammelia which my dad bought for me 4 years ago. It seems quite happy where it is - it's in a position where it gets some sun in the morning and more shade the the afternoon. It has grown a bit, most the of the leaves are green and cheerful looking although some of them are a bit yellow. Anyway the thing is that every year it always produces a lovely flower, but just the one, always in the same place.

My neighbours all have enormous camellias which produce abundent blooms so I imagine the soil is OK for it. I'm at a bit of a loss. I tried watering it with the plant food for acid loving plants but it made no difference.

Anything you can suggest for me to try would be great.

Thank you!

[Granny23]

We have had a patio pear tree in a huge pot for 7 years now/ Every year it blossoms and sets to fruit but the tiny pears turn black and fall off. Last year we had two that grew to eating size and the year before only one. This year they have all blackend and fallen off. Next door has a huge pear tree covered in pearlets as usual - so what is wrong with ours?

[inthesticks]

Hello Phil,
I live on a large corner plot. When our house was built 20 years ago I planted a yellow Leyland hedge for privicy. It has been clipped every year and is kept at 5' high.It's about 150' long. It normally looks very smart.

It's suffering from conifer die back , which I believe is quite common now and in the last few weeks huge brown patches have appeared all over.

With hindsight I wish I'd planted yellow privet but I can't bear the thought of starting again and waiting years for the the garden to feel enclosed again. Not to mention the cost of getting someone in to pull the old hedge out.

Is there anything I can do to stop it getting worse? I know the dead bits won't grow back. Would it help to cut out the dead branches?

[isthatporridgeinyourhair]

Hi Phil

I grow veratum album, viride and nigrum (very slowly) but have yet to think of really good plants to grow with them to set off the pleated leaves and restrained flower spikes. Can your gardeners think of any inspiring combinations?

Many thanks.

PS been a member for 15 years. Like the magazine and love the RHS gardens (smile)

[diggingforvictory]

Dear Phil
I planted a pear tree 3 years ago and it still hasn't flowered, let alone produced pears. Is it just a case of keep waiting, or should I be doing something? It's a Beurre Six on a Quince A rootstock bought as a maiden. I'm in Kent, and the pear is planted in a field in full sun all day.
Thanks

[LaTrucha]

Dear Phil,

I've got two questions I'd love to have answered. We live on the coast of West Wales and have a very small, windy garden. The back garden becomes a bit of a wind tunnel.

Are there any small fruit tress I could grow in a container and have any luck with?

Are there any climbing plants that would survive these conditions to grow up a pergola. The honeysuckle and the clematis try it each year but get blown to smithereens. Clematis Montana does well at the front but the leaves get wind-burnt to a crisp at the back.

Thankyou very much.

[GinaFB]

Dear Phil,

We are growing vegetables for the first time this year in raised beds in our garden. Everything is doing well but we have a small problem the broadbeans which are covered with black insects. Other than this they are very healthy and there are hundreds of flowers on them.

Please help! How can I get rid of them?

Many Thanks

[WhoDunnitInnit]

Dear Phil,
I want to have a border with loads of lavender. I've seen lots that have gone long and straggly, and some which still look thick and strong after years and years. Any tips? Does it need cutting back?

Also, I have a Mulberry tree I would like to move. It is about 6 years old, and about 8ft tall. When would be the best time to do this? Any other tips, I have never done anything like this before.

Also, Whilst you're at it, what the devil is the plant I have on my profile picture. It is a highly scented climber, the flowers are a delicate pinky green. It flowers in May, and I think it's evergreen.

Thank you!!!

[Earthymama]

Dear Phil, thank you fir coming to MN, I was wondering whether I should post on a forum with my question and here you are!!
I I have spent the last 15 years establishing the plants in my tiny back garden in Valleys South Wales. We are next door to a rented property so have grown ivy and honeysuckle over a trellis on top of an old wall. There is a berberis and a weigela in there too, and a lovely yellow rose.
The bed is about 5 feet wide and about 10 foot long. I have planted underneath it; aquilega, (my fave) spirius, hardy geraniums, bulbs in Spring, daylillies, foxgloves, Solomons Seal, lily if the valley, achemillia mollis, alliums.
The problem is that I took my eye off the garden while establishing the allotment plot and the hedge has taken over. The plants are all reaching out for the light, it's in full sun til midday, and creating wierd shapes.
So why don't I just cut it back, get a fence?
It's home to a family or three of sparrows, loads of birds come into the garden and I'm worried about depriving them of a home.
Any advice, should I accept that will have to be a shady border or can I cut it back so it is tall and thin but still home to birds?

[Dazmum]

Dear Phil, we put in some Autumn Bliss raspberry canes last year, but had no flowers and of course no fruit. This year there are lots of new canes, and a couple of flowers so far. What do I need to do to get more raspberries in future: lots of new healthy new growth, but I want raspberries!
Thank you.

[nymphadora]

Welcome to MN!

We have a long narrow(4m in places) garden (East to West roughly) , South side has a 6 ft wall and north side has a small fence so all the light is on the north. IN ths summer the whole garden gets sun although the south side only gets it for a few hours a day.
We are revamping the garden and are now up to getting the raised beds for veg. What are the best things to plant in the bed that will be by the wall? And is it worth planting things in there in the winter when it doesn't get much light or should it just be covered over?

Thanks!

(Whoever asked about carrots- I do mine in pots and window boxes,which do Ok. Started them in the green house this year and they have been growing much faster. They take ages to germinate normally.)

[williewalshsballs]

Oh Phil! They call me brown fingers

We have a lovely long garden, but it's just lawn and a few apple trees. Every plant I buy dies, and I don't know why

Could you recommend some very hardy plants that require minimal maintenance. Would love a climber to go along the shed and a flowering plant with a good scent for next summer. Please advise as you would a class of 5 year olds.

Thanks in advance!

[happywheezer]

I have a quince tree (get me), and it flowers beautifully every spring then little quinces appear.
Shortly after this, the leaves become brittle and brown and all the leaves drop off the tree, leaving me with no quinces, but the tree seems perfectly fine and grows more leaves for the summer and autumn before dropping off in a normal fashion.
what causes the leaves to fall off in the first place? It's in a nice place in the garden and i'd love to have some quinces eventually!

[mustrunmore]

I bought a fig tree this year, and the instructions say its better to leave it potted to produce plenty of figs, and also so it can be brought in from frosts. Is that really true? I've seen most fig trees just planted in the ground! But if it should be potted, how do I know what size pot?!

Also, why is my new pear tree wilting, even though its had plenty of water and is in good soil (good in terms of our garden!)?

[catinthehat2]

Dear Phil -
I put some new raspberry canes, bought from a reputable garden centre in Spring 2009.

In the last week or two the earliest summer rasps have turned into brown sticks, the later ones have got terrible lurgy (virusy green patches on teh dark green leaves) and the autumn canes are starting to go the same way. Yes - I have watered fed weeded etc.

My question is, should I blame
i) the soil (allotment dug out of waste ground on allotment site in the last 3 yrs),

ii)other raspberry growers on the plot with their hideous sick and suffering raspberry canes

iii)the garden centre for selling duff stock

iv) myself for being a bad person who has not made adequate offerings to the god of raspberries?

Your thoughts on blame/punishment/whether to grow new canes on the same allotment in future much appreciated

CatintheHat x

[Fuzzywood]

Hi Phil,
I have a dwarf (if that's the right word) apple tree and quite a few of it's leaves are going brown and dying. It's kept well watered in the border and was fine last year (planted last May) there does seem to be an ants nest near/ around it's roots. Could the ants be causing the brown leaves, or is it something else? It was a christening present from my daughter's godfather so desperate to cure it!
Thanks.

[nymphadora]

oOh I have another one.

I have a dwarf peach tree. Its in a pot the same size as my dwarf apples etc but every year it flowers then leaves shrivels up. Noticed this year tiny misformed peaches that obviously started then gave up. What is going wrong?

[taffetacat]

Hi Phil

I garden on south facing,very free draining, sloped downwards, extremely chalky soil. I am very selective in my planting as I am keen on gardening with plants that thrive here rather than fighting a losing battle with ones that sulk. Some of the plants that like it here include lavender, rosemary, hollyhocks, peonies and linum perenne.

I was wondering if you may be able to suggest some others, perennials preferably, but not hot colours. The garden is awash with mature shrubs, so no more of those needed. Trees seem to struggle here as its solid chalk once you get to a certain depth.

I am also in my first few years of a veg patch, and after much enrichment with manure and compost can grow most stuff, although I suspect chalk is better for some fruit and veg than others. I had heard brassicas like lime, any more recommendations? Or ones to avoid?

Many thanks.

[flyingwellundertheradar]

My magnolia stellata seems to hate its very dry, full sun spot, although it has been there for at least 15 years, staying small and going brown in the heat, flowering minimally. Can I dig it up in the autumn and try it in a pot? What compost should go in the pot?

I am interested in the questions from others about Autumn Bliss raspberries and fig trees, so please don't stint on the info!

And fruit and veg generally. Why don't you come on regularly? You could give seasonal tips and we would all become self-sufficient.

Thanks!

[Effjay]

I'd like more flowers in my garden, but there are not many that seem to survive. It's generally warm and dry in the summer (I live near RHS Wisley). Can you recommend some good summer flowering perennials and shrubs that will survive in my garden. I'm prepared to water them to help them through their first year, but after that they're on their own I'm afraid!

[GrendelsMum]

Hi Phil, and welcome to Mumsnet. I have my Hampton Court tickets already [smug]

I too have problems with a magnolia. I have a fairly young Magnolia grandiflora, about 6ft high, which permanently looks slightly sick. Older leaves turn brown and hang on looking unsightly, while new foliage is glossy green. I fed it with blood fish and bone last year, but don't water. It's against a south facing wall in East Anglia, between two very large Viburnum x bodnantense. What might be wrong?

[G0ingPostal]

Hi Phil

Thanks for coming to MN!

I'm starting a diploma in Practical Horticulture later this year, which should lead to an RHS level 2 qualification.

I'm doing it mainly out of general interest but also with an eye to a future career change. What sort of job would I realistically be qualified for once I get the level 2, and should I be thinking about continuing education to ensure I can really make a career out of horticulture? Or is experience the key?

Thanks!

[TheFallenMadonna]

Hello.

We have a fig (Brown Turkey?) which is about 2m tall. We've never done anything to it. Should we? And if so, what and when?

Thank you!

[MarshaBrady]

Hello Phil,

Thanks for coming on MN.

Is it possible to prune a big round hebe? thanks!

[midnightexpress]

Hi Phil

I need a hedge to act as a boundary between our garden and our neighbours. I would like something fairly fast growing, but not leylandii. The site is exposed, acid soil, north facing, in partial shade, in Scotland (anyone think of any other problems it might have? Oh yes, heavy clay). And it's on a slope. There is currently a privet hedge down one side and a fence on another, but as it's windy, I'm thinking a hedge would act as mmore of a windbreak. I've considered a native mixed hedge, based on hawthorn, but I'm wondering if there are any other species that would work particularly well in those godawful conditions?