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 nymphadora,
One of the great thing about raised beds is that you control the watering and the soil so anything is possible ( within reason!) so get growing.
Beans will be good as they will grow tall and reach any available sun. I'll admit it now that I do like a nutty sprout at Christmas - the good thng is that during autumn and winter they are merely swelling and not requiring any particular conditions. OK, they take up some space but if you look for varierties labelled with the RHS AGM ( Award of Garden merit) you know you are getting a great variety. Swiss chard is another easy one to grow with fantastic rewards and don't forget all the crops that are fast growing and perfect for the children to get involved in - carrots ( small golf ball sized ones are so tasty) radish, spring onions - you know the kind of stuff.

[maverick]

Dear Phil, is the UK climate changing enough to allow more Mediterranean type plants to grow in my garden (heavy clay soil) in Devon?

Though the summers seem warmer and drier here now the occasional bitter winter might be a problem?

I've just been on holiday in Northern Portugal and really fancy some of the plants/bushes/palms I saw growing there.

What do you recommend?

Thank you.

[nymphadora]

Thanks Phil!

[PhilMcCann]

Dear williewalshsballs,
Advise you like a class of five year olds ( and remember I have a 5 year old so shoud be Ok this time...)Ok, here goes:

stop it, put it down, don't do that to your brother, in a minute, go to sleep, it's a bit early isn't it,well that's a waste, you have to wear a hat, don't get the suncream in your eyes, please get ready now, of course you can put socks on, I don't know where the cricket ball is...

and there are tough plants ( I call them Captain Scarlet plants but I am old!) that will survive the brownist of fingers and any level of neglect you care to throw at them.

You're not going to kill hardy gernaiums - you can't! Plant them in sun or semi shade and watch them grow. If you fancy, cut them down to within an inch of their lives around now and you'll get more flowers and really tight growth in late summer. Not a bad start!
Eleagnus Quicksilver is a super shrub, silvery green leaves on shrubs that get a couple of metres high. They don't go wrong.
Then you've got your cotoneasters and berberis - berries ( can be poisonous so check it before buying), evergreen ( sometimes) and tough as you like.
A lot of the hebes are robust, I've got a Mock Orange ( orange scented flowers for the last month) is easier than pie ( I can't bake!) and most of the viburnums with their winter flowers are so easy you'll forget you've got them - until you pick up the super scent and notice the mass of evergreen leaves in December. I could go on - so will!
Shallots in the veg garden are indestructible and muscari - planted as bulbs in autumn, will bring blue blooms all spring long. And you'll never get rid of them.
It's a start - so now, clean your teeth it's late!

[ohemgee]

Hello, just a quick one really, do you have to dead head sweet peas to keep them flowering or should I just leave them be?

[WhoDunnitInnit]

Thank you! That's brilliant!
I think I've managed to sort out my public profile now if you get a chance to have a look....

[inthesticks]

Thanks for the hedging advice Phil. I have the rash to prove your point about long sleeves.

[VintageGardenia]

Hi, i have two bay trees, bought from a good garden centre in March or April in good nick and repotted by me into goodish sized pots. The garden centre told me they needed an annual feed of sequestered iron (no idea how to do that but they'd just had one when I got them so I won't have to google that till after Christmas...).

I put them in a shadyish place in front of a wide window, and while one is doing well, the other one has gone half brown and fairly decrepit looking. The browny one seems to have got rained on by a lot of sticky sycamore sap (massive sycamore overhangs general area) and I wonder whether it's the sap that's doing for the bay tree? Could it be?

[Dazmum]

Thanks Phil!

[Jux]

Ive missed him haven't I? Hey ho, I'll post anyway.

I've been given some tomato plants by a friend (but I can't get hold of him so can't get help). They look incredibly unhealthy. There are two distinct types. Both have wilted and yellowed leaves on the lower part of the stalk.

The stalk of one type is dark greyish and furry and it's lower leaves have distinct dark veins which look really unhealthy. This type seems to produce one large tomato (they're all currently green).

The other type looks healthier except for the wilting leaves lower down. I think it produces smaller fruit - medium sized toms I reckon. They are mostly green, but there is one red one (not quite ready).

I have never grown anything before and am really worried about these plants. I have planted one of each type in a bed (together with a tom I was growing anyway) and they look a bit healthier after about 4 weeks in the ground. I have been given two more (one of each type) which are really ill as they've been in pots in another friend's garden and she's completely ignored them, so they weren't even watered. How can I make them better? Should I feed them? Someone said they had probably been overfed.

(The ones in the bed are with basil, carrots and sunflowers, and I was going to add garlic, just for fun.)

If anyone can help me with this I'd be very grateful.

[Boisbach]

Hi Phil,

Our frount garden has bind weed growing almost everywhere. To get rid of it I've tried:
1: Constantly pulling it up
2: Covering the garden with cardboard and putting a layer of woodchippings on the cardboard
3: painting the leaves with Roundup weedkiller.

None of these seem to work . I am reluctant to dig-over the entire garden as it has many lovely mature plants.

Any suggestions you have are appreciated!

G. Evans

[fatarse]

Hi Phil

I have some frangipani seedlings that are 4.5 years old and relatively large (3-4ft). They have never been outside of my warm and sunny kitchen in south west London. I'm thinking of putting them in planters in the garden as they have never flowered and not even looking like they will. Is the only option a full sun, sheltered spot in the garden (which limits me somewhat spacewise) and also how can I encourage them into flower. Any other tips you can offer an complete novice gardener on these would be great.

Thanks for advising.

Claire

[secondtimer1]

Dear Phil, I have a fig tree which won't get any bigger! I had it in a large tub for a couple of years then planted it in the ground about 2 years ago. It grows some fruit but this only gets to about the size of a walnut and then just drops off. The tree is still only about 5 foot high and I don't know how to get it to grow. It's fairly near to a forsythia bush, could this be poisoning it? Does it need special earth or food? Should I stop watering it so much? I would love to have a big fig tree that yields loads of fruit every year. Everything else grows like mad in my garden, so it must be fairly fertile.

Thanks

[Ingles2]

Hello Phil again...
I've managed to upload a small pic of my rose now.
Hopeful
Thanks

[PhilMcCann]

Dear happywheezer,
I am tempted to suggest nothing more sinister than lack of water. It takes a lot of effort out of the tree to produce the fruit and any stress is the final straw and it jettisons the lot.
In early spring make sure it is watered and fed with a high potash fertilsier - then mulch and watch.
There's always a chance it might be frost but it is unlikely to knock flowers, fruit and leaves.
Keep an eye on the watering.
It's not too late to plan a trip to one of our GYOwn events at all of the four gardens...and test the gardeners there.
www.rhs.org.uk for more details.

[PhilMcCann]

Dear mustrunmore,
Figs are interesting plants and the instructions are almost accurate ( that's the same as not being accurate!)
The trick with figs is to restrict the root growth. This prevents the plant from romping away in lush soil, merrily producing leaves and not bothering, because life is too good, to produce flowers ( and therefore fruit)
You can plant figs out in the soil but I would put vertically placed concrete slabs in the sides of the planting hole to stop the roots spreading. A planting hole ( and therefore pot) two feet wide will be ample for a big tree. Of course they can be outside - in most of the UK.
Now for your pear - is 'new' really 'new'? The thing is replanting anything is a severe shock to the plants system and they can take time to settle down. No matter how careful you are you will break the tiny roots and this will effect water takeup = wilting. If it is watered ( a 2 gallon can usually does the trick and that's every week) then be careful you don't drown it. Check the soil - if it's dry then water, if not, don't. I have even gone to the trouble of shading newly planted trees in really hot weather - I have a broken parasol that is ideal for the purpose.

[PhilMcCann]

Dear catinthehat2,
I do have a direct line to the God of Raspberries and apparently you are in credit - so don't worry on that score.
It isn't you - it probably isn't the garden centre folk( they always get the blame!) but it does sound like a virus being passed around. It happens, especially with razzers, and there isn't anything you can do about it. Sorry.
I wouldn't plant any new raspberries in the same soil as often the lurgy lurks in the soil, but maybe plant at the other end of the plot and don't go wading into your neighbours - point it out and have a mass raspberry burning and replanting session. Never compost the dead leaves as the virus will merely sleep in the compost heap ready for the next chance to spring into life.
If you can get to one of our garden ( www.rhs.org.uk) this weekend you can chat to the gardeners at one of the GYOwn events - but please don't take any diseased leaves into the fruit garden or you'll get me sacked!

[PhilMcCann]

Dear Fuzzywood,

Ants are tricky customers - all the books say they don't do that much damage but if there's a big next under your tree they are bound to be disturbing the soil, damaging root hairs that will, if it's a large nest, cause leaves to brown and die.
Don't go down the boiling water method of treatment ( good for paved areas) as you'll burn the roots. Have an exploratory look - disturb the ants and maybe they will go elsewhere. There are insecticides available but please read the labels first - some are really nasty to us and fruit.
Is the tree under any other kind of stress - wind can scorch leaves, baking sun can do the same?
Start with annoying the ants and see if that helps. I think it will sort out the trouble.

[PhilMcCann]

Dear nymphadora,
You lot certainly need help with your fruit - you've got to go to one of the GYO events this weekend ( forecast for Saturday is good - bit wet on Sunday) www.rhs.org.uk
Peaches - peach leaf curl is a nasty piece of work that causes leaves to distort, curl up, blister and die. There's loads of pix on www.rhs.org.uk to see if its this. But it's the leaves that get the attack first ...check the pix.
Mildews are romping away at the moment and it could be a case of powdery mildew. It strikes plants that are under stress. Keep young plants watered and shaded if it is really scorching ( just looked out of the window at gathering clouds - maybe hailstone protection is better advice!)
There are sprays for mildews but as ever, check the bottle for instructions and warnings.

[PhilMcCann]

Dear taffetacat,
It's always a good idea to grow with your conditions rather than fight nature ( and lose!)
Chalk is great because it drains well - but as you know it is 'thin' and doesn't offer much for roots. But saying that, there are perennials that will thrive in chalky soil. Poppies have to be one of the best, chamomile is gorgeous and beautiful blue cornflowers - you cant have a garden without them. Then there's rudbeckia and echinacea - both stunning in later summer. Fennel will look good. That lot should keep you busy!
Your veg: brassicas ( caulis, cabbages, sprouts, clabrese) need lime to thrive and keep away a nasty disease called clubroot. Most veg is tolerant of some chalk - best to check the pH ( how acidic or alkaline the soil is) with a simple testing kit from any garden centre before planting. A visit to our GYOwn weekends ( [www.rhs.org.uk]) will help you out even more!

[PhilMcCann]

Dear flyingwellundertheradar,
Stint on the info - moi? Certainly not - not now, not ever!
Your magnolia - a truly beautiful plant when in full glory but it sounds like you've got the right plant in the wrong place. Magnolias don't like being moved but this time it surely is better to give it a chance than to persist and watch it get smaller.
So, carefully get it out of the soil in autumn once the leaves have fallen. Get the whole rootball out and as intact as possible. Pot it into a large pot - I can't say how big because you have stinted on the info!!!!!!( only kidding ) - but it sounds like you need a biggy - and you don't want to be repotting every year. I'm guessing but something with a 2 ft diameter will be fine. Use a peat free multipurpose compost and add grit to increase the drainage.There are also specially blended tree and shrub composts - check out your garden retailers.
Fruit and veg: if you have the questions I can try and give the answers - I hope we can get it together again, v soon! Meanwhile, if you need anything else anytime look up www.rhs.org.uk- there's loads of great info there.

[PhilMcCann]

Dear Effjay,
If you live near Wisley then you can't be that far from the Hampton Court Flower Show -get yourself there www.rhs.org.uk/Shows-Events/Hampton-Court-Palace-Flower-Show/2010and get inspired.It's also on the telly but you can't beat being there.
Then either go to RHS Garden Wisley but in addition make sure you trek around the M25 to RHS Garden Hyde Hall- they have a hot dry garden that is quite superb. And go in August and you can take children in for free. www.rhs.org.uk Phew - offers you can't refuse!
But while you are getting the map out, think about Coreopsis - easy, forgiving of neglect and giving of so much; you won't get rid of catmint and its azure blue blooms; the fleshy leaves of sedums might be your thing ( the poorer the soil the better the plant) - and to be honest, anything with silvery or woolly leaves will love your conditions.
It's a start!

[PhilMcCann]

Dear GrendelsMum,
Your magnolia sounds like it is dry - the two large viburnums will be taking up lots of water and the fact your magnolia is against a wall will mean it might be in the rain shadow of the wall plus trying to get its roots into the wall foundations. The plant hasn't got the resources to keep older leaves going - so gets rid of them and 'concentrates' on younger leaves.
It's tricky becuase you can't move the wall (presumeably) and the vibs sound established. Have I previousy mentioned that magnolias don't like being moved? I thought so.
Forget that (!) - get it moved. Give it a chance. Even a few feet away from the wall will do the trick. It isn't that big so it should be OK - do the usual careful digging in autumn and get the whole rootball out intact. Keep it well watered from next spring and all will be well.
And enjoy Hampton Court.

[PiggyPenguin]

Dear Phil,

I bought some raspberry canes earlier this years and potted them in a large planter as soon to move house. Although I have been watering them religiously the leaves have gone very brown and wilted and it now looks very sad. What am I doing wrong, and how should I fix it?

Many thanks,

Sybil.

[PhilMcCann]

Dear G0ingPostal,
I don't know what you are changing from but you won't beat horticulture as a career - whatever you do within it. I've been lucky in that I've never worked in anything but horticulture and have honestly enjoyed every minute. If you change you are doing the right thing - I'm sure!
Studying for qualifications is a great way to go forward, and our ( RHS) qualifications are superb and recoqnised globally. I would always advise anyone to get real hands on, dirt under the fingernails experience as well- the two are perfect partners. I think you need both.
What you do with your level 2 is up to you. Keep studying, keep gardening and ....the rest is the future.
www.rhs.org.uk is a great place for more information on courses.