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GQT at Ö÷²¥´óÐã: Cannas and Cordylines

Peter Gibbs hosts this week's horticultural panel show.

Peter Gibbs hosts this week's horticultural panel show. His experts, on hand to answer listeners questions, queries and quandaries, are Matthew Wilson, Anne Swithinbank and Christine Walkden. They are joined by a virtual audience from across the country.

This week, the panellists explain how to move a Lupin when moving house, and share their top tips for cheering up a rather sad looking Cordyline. They also give some low maintenance, but suitably fragrant, planting ideas for a listener's cottage window boxes.

Meanwhile, Dr Chris Thorogood takes us to the rainforest floor where an unusual and rare Malaysian plant can be found, the Fairy Lantern. And our Great Trees of GQT series continues as Jacquie Felix tells us about her favourite, the Himalayan Birch.

Producer - Hannah Newton
Assistant Producer - Aniya Das

A Somethin' Else production for Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio 4

Available now

42 minutes

Plant List

Questions and timecodes are below. Where applicable, plant names have been provided.

Ìý

Q – I have grown butternut squash in a polytunnel, but there are very few fruit. What am I doing wrong?

(1 minute 45 seconds)

Ìý

Q – I have grown Lupins from seed and they have flowered well. I am now moving house – will taking the seedpods be sufficient or do I dig up some rootstock?

(4 minutes 21 seconds)

Ìý

Q – I have a 4 year old granddaughter that helps out on an allotment at pre-school. Please can the panel suggest plants that will keep her interested in gardening into the autumn and winter?

(7 minutes)

Ìý

Matthew –

Sweet peas

Calendula

Cornflower

Corn marigold

Field poppy

California poppy

Ìý

Christine –

Rocket

Chard

Beetroot

Radishes

Mint

Ìý

Q – My ‘Torbay Dazzler’ Cordylines are looking rather sad. If I cut the heads off, will the crowns grow back?

(10 minutes 22 seconds)

Ìý

Feature – Dr Chris Thorogood tells us about the curious wonder from the Malaysian rainforest, the Fairy Lantern.

(13 minutes 40 seconds)

Ìý

Q – We have two window boxes at the front of our cottage, each is box is 18 x 6 inches (4.7cm x 15.2cm). What plants could we put in them that are colourful and don’t need watering every day?

(17 minutes 3 seconds)

Ìý

Matthew –

Rosemary ‘Severn Sea’

Saliva microphylla

Salvia ‘N²¹³¦³ó³Ù±¹±ô¾±²Ô»å±ð°ù’

Ìý

Anne –

Hellebore, Christmas rose

Blechnum spicant

Arum

Skimmia

Euonymus

Cyclamen

Leucophyta brownii

Ìý

Christine –

Hyacinth

Ten weeks stock

Brompton stock

Night-scented stock

Reseda, mignonette

Ìý

Q – I’ve got a number of Hebes that need trimming. What’s the best way to trim them?

(22 minutes 40 seconds)

Ìý

Q – I’ve started to grow a Staphylea pinnata from a fallen seed pouch that I picked up. It is now a 4 inch (10cm) seedling, how quickly will it grown, how long can it stay in its 9 inch Ìý(22cm) pot, and how should I look after it?

(26 minutes 10 seconds)

Ìý

Feature – Jacquie Felix talks us through her favourite tree, the Betula utilis aka the Himalayan birch.

(30 minutes 21 seconds)

Ìý

Q - I’ve had a Canna tropicanna for two years and it never flowers. Can anyone tell me why?

(33 minutes)

Ìý

Q – I’ve recently moved jobs and was given a garden centre voucher as a leaving gift. I would like to get a potted plant that reminds me of my team: resilient, reliable, quirky, hardworking and fun. What do the panel suggest?

(36 minutes 10 seconds)

Ìý

Christine –

Melianthus major

Ìý

Anne –

Bearded Iris

Iris ‘Aggressively Forward’

Iris ‘Haute Couture’

Iris ‘Clown Around’

Iris ‘Don Juan’

Ìý

Matthew –

Niwaki

Ilex crenata

Broadcasts

  • Fri 3 Sep 2021 15:00
  • Sun 5 Sep 2021 14:00

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