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Q – I have a south-facing garden with a 1.5m (5ft) high flint wall.Ìý What can I grow up it for an all-year round ‘wow factor’?

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Bunny – Trachelospermum jasminoides is fabulous but can be boring.Ìý I have Abutilon ‘Ashford Red’.ÌýÌýÌý

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Matthew – Cleanthus puniceus (The Lobster Claw).Ìý

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Pippa – Ceanothus ‘Puget Blue’.Ìý Cytisus battandieri (The Pineapple Broom).Ìý

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Q – Why is my 25-year old Cherry tree suddenly decided to blossom pink having always been white?

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Pippa – If it’s just flower colour then there won’t be an underlying problem.Ìý It could be a genetic change.Ìý Or it could be reverting to its parentage.

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Q – Last year I layered, without cutting, some overgrown Willow branches.Ìý All the stems died, can you tell me why?

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Pippa – Layering = bend down a lower, healthy stem and pin it into the ground to encourage it to root and cover with soil.

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Peter – Easier to just put some cuttings in the ground

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Feature:

Carpinus

Thyme, Nepeta, Chives, Dill

Beesia, Asarum

Vancouveria (similar to Epimedium)

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Off the back of the feature:

Lupins

Digitalis

Alliums

Cornflower

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Q – What should I do with my straggly Sedum?

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Pippa – It’s not had enough light and it’s had too much water

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Matthew – Raise the inside pot and put grit/gravel at the bottom.Ìý Let in drain through when you water it

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Q – My orchids suffer from white spots, sticky substances on the leaves, unpleasant odours and small, dark bugs.Ìý Can I treat them or must I get rid of them?

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Jim – I assume this is a Phalaenopsis.Ìý It could be thrip damage. If the white spots are fluffy then it’s mealy bugs.Ìý

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Jim – Zygopetalum (orchid with a scent)

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Q – I have two large terracotta pots (which used to house Acers); what can I plant in them that will last for a minimum of twenty years?

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Pippa – You could go with another Acer – there’s so much variety.

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Bunny – Cork Oak

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Q – I have a productive wormery and have 25l (5.5 gallons) of undiluted liquid fertiliser.Ìý How much should this be diluted and how often should she feed it to the plants?

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Bunny – I used to use it undiluted and it was fine.Ìý On a Bay tree that’d be fine.Ìý But maybe do 50/50 if you want to play it safe.Ìý A new seedling I’d be more cautious.

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Pippa – I’d worry about exosmosis (pulling water out of the roots). ÌýI’d aim for 50/50 but I wouldn’t be too scientific about it.

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Q – Am I deluded, or could a fig have seeded itself, perfectly sited by my west-facing Oxfordshire wall?Ìý If it is, should I romantically nurture this amazing survivor, or should I just take the hint and put in a reliable fruitier like a ‘Brown Turkey’?Ìý

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Pippa – it isn’t a fig

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Bunny – It’s a birch.Ìý Figs are easy to grow from cuttings.

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Matthew – Figs like to have their roots restricted to encourage putting energy into fruiting

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