Main content

Kathy Clugston sees in the new year with a panel of gardening experts in Upwell.

Is it a bad idea to sow flower bulbs in the dead of winter? Can you move a peony without harming it? And what is the secret to growing great courgettes?

Kathy Clugston and a panel of horticultural experts, Christine Walkden, Bunny Guinness and Matt Biggs, welcome in the new year and answer your questions in Upwell, Norfolk.

Also on the programme, GQT producer Dan Cocker heads to The Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, to speak to horticulturalist Joe Richomme about how to safely move peonies.

Producer: Dan Cocker
Assistant Producer: Bethany Hocken
Executive Producer: Louisa Field

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

Available now

42 minutes

Last on

New Year's Day 2023 14:00

Plant List

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

Ìý

Q – This year I tried growing courgettes for the first time but we weren’t impressed with the crop. We tried some but they weren’t amazing. What are the secrets of successful courgettes?

(1 minutes 41 seconds)

Ìý

Ìý

Q – I planted some cannas around 5 years ago in my south-facing garden. I love how tropical they are. What other tropical plants might work here in the Fens?

(4 minutes 34 seconds)

Ìý

Christine –

Hedychium

Rice-paper plant

Fatsia

Fatshedera

Colocasia

Ìý

Matt –

Musa basjoo

Ìý

Bunny –

Loquat

TrachycarpusÌýfortune, Chusan palm

Ìý

Q – I have a ClerodendrumÌýtrichotomum ‘Purple blaze’ in my garden. Can the panel suggest how I can keep it short and compact, whilst still ensuring it produces its blue fruits?
(8 minutes 40 seconds)


Q – I have two very small Rowan saplings. Can they be planted together to form a multi-stem tree? If so, how close should they be planted?
(12 minutes 9 seconds)

Ìý Q – For years I had tall white lilies in pots on my terrace. Last year they didn’t come up and on investigating ÌýI found that the bulbs had disappeared. What could have caused the demise of the lilies, and what could do well in the pots instead?
(15 minutes 47 seconds)

Matt –
IpomoeaÌýlobata, Spanish flag
IpomoeaÌýleptophylla, Moon flowerÌý
RhodochitonÌýatrosanguineus
EccremocarpusÌýscaber

GloriosaÌýsuperba

Ìý

Feature – GQT producer Dan Cocker heads to The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew to learn about their Peony Garden.

(20 minutes 26 seconds)

Ìý

Ìý

Q – Is it too late in the year to plant allium bulbs in the cold, frozen ground? Both edible and flowers.

(25 minutes 30 seconds)

Ìý

Ìý

Q – We’ve grown a lemon tree from seed. We haven’t looked after it very well over the years, but this year we’ve nurtured it. Will it ever grow any flowers and lemons?

(29 minutes 10 seconds)

Ìý

Ìý

Q – I have a beautiful rose called Francis E. Lester that is loaded with hips. Should I wait to prune it so that the birds can enjoy it a little longer?

(33 minutes 46 seconds)

Ìý

Ìý

Q – We have just bought a 2.4 hectare (24,000 m2) field. Can the panel suggest some trees we could plant in it?

(35 minutes 50 seconds)

Ìý

Christine –

Amelanchier

Ìý

Matt –

Malus, Crab apples

Malus ‘Golden Hornet’

Ìý

Bunny –

Oak

Acer campestre, Field maple

Cydonia oblonga, Quince

Broadcasts

  • Fri 30 Dec 2022 15:00
  • New Year's Day 2023 14:00

Six of GQT’s naughtiest gardening innuendos

When Gardeners' Question Time got mucky.

Podcast