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Q -  I live on a hill facing the Atlantic Ocean – what climbing plant would the panel recommend to survive the frequent strong winds and heavy downpours? South-west facing and heavy clay soil.  I have tried a Zephirine drouhin rose but that didn’t work.

Matthew – That’s a failure of a rose at the best of times! Not a great combination of conditions!  First thing to do is improve the clay – lots of sharp grit and light-weight soil improvers like garden compost or spent mushroom compost.  Think about plants like Cytisus battandieri (the Pineapple Broom) which is a wall shrub. 

Anne – You could try blue potato or white potato vines.  Solanum crispum ‘Glasnevins’ which has purple flowers, or you could try Solanum laxum as well.

Q – Pansies – we have a perennial problem in that they get eaten within a day – what can we do?

Chris – Most likely to be birds pecking away.  Pansies are rich in nectar and are attractive to birds.  Insect spray will have no effect on a bird.  Maybe buy a cat!

Q – I have two small Loquat trees grown in pots brought back from Spain/Portugal… can I expect them to flower and fruit?

Matthew – This is the Eriobotrya and you’ll see them in the front of London gardens… They are grown mainly for their foliage but last summer I saw lots of them bearing fruit.  You just need patience and a better summer. 

Chris – Growing in pots probably not the best idea though and it is always difficult to grow fruiting plants from seed.  Much better, if you get another chance, to take cuttings from a plant that is already fruiting and use those.

Q – Can you tell me what is wrong with my Dahlias?  They flower profusely but half of my buds grow in an elongated shape and seem to rot before they open… so I end up deadheading before they flower.

Anne – Sometimes wet weather will do this

Matthew – It looks to me like insect damage but I’m not aware of anything specific to Dahlias

Chris – I’ve had aborted Dahlia blooms before on the secondary blooms – which could explain why half of yours aren’t flowering – and I’ve always put it down to bad weather.  At the end of this season when you go to lift them, dust them in sulphur (a natural fungicide), and that may help

Q – I have an established Hydrangea, a Madame Mouillere, which this year has been beaten flat by the heavy rain, should I cut it back drastically to old wood or prune in the normal way?

Chris – Hydrangeas all rejuvenate wonderfully.  If you have good rootstock and it’s in good condition then I would have no problem in cutting back as far as the damage is obvious, as soon as leaf fall has occurred.  Tip a bucket of garden compost into the crown of the plant, firm it down with your fingers, and then new buds/shoots will grow from the top of the plant too.

Q – One of the major seed companies has stopped putting dates on the backs of the packets of seeds – do you have any comments on this?

Anne – It is a shame because seeds do go off and some go off faster than others – write the date on as soon as they arrive so you have some idea as to how old they are

Chris – Absolutely this is important… however the oldest seed to ever germinate was over ten-thousand-years old! It was an Arctic Lupin.

Q – I have a 6ft x 8ft (1.8m x 2.4m )herb garden – made about 8 years ago – we put down weed proof matting and then a chequerboard pattern of paving slabs and planted the herbs in the gaps.  I planted the mint in a pot but it’s escaped everywhere!  What can I do about it?

Matthew – The only way is to dig it all up and start again!  A lot of the herbs would probably benefit from being refreshed anyway.

Chris – When you grow mint in a pot keep it in a moat – get a nice terracotta saucer and keep it topped up with water to keep it under bay.

Q –I’ve had Trachelospermum jasminoides – variegated form – and a camellia sasanqua growing against a south-facing wall for over 12 years.  They’ve thrived but over the last few years they’ve infested with cushion scale.  I’ve cut them back but if they grow again what can I do to avoid the same situation?

Anne – Regular spraying would be the only solution I’m afraid – three sprays every ten days.  I think a heavy prune is fine, get rid of the pest, and then control from there.