Question I have just purchased a Mind Your Own Business house plant and was wondering if you could supply me some information on it. Answer Mind-your-own-business or baby’s tears, Soleirolia soleirolii (syn. Helxine soleirolii) grown as a houseplant is a creeping perennial that bears minute flowers and forms dense, slowly spreading mats of bright green [...]

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Question Please could you suggest some house plants for my new bathroom? Answer You need plants that can deal with humidity so have a look at the following – aspidistra Boston ferns .For More information click here

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Question I have recently added a pergola to my garden and wish to plant a climbing rose, but one which does not have really jaggy thorns as we will require to walk through it! Also the soil beside it is poor and sandy. Answer Climbing rose Golden Showers would be a good rose for your [...]

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Question I would like to re-point my patio. Please could you tell me the best way to do this? Answer With regard to your question on repointing your patio, start by removing the existing grouting. If it has gone off and is hard I would use a small electric and grinder ( HSS hire service [...]

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Question Do you have any advice on growing roses on a light sandy soil? Answer These are the three items I would suggest you look at to make sure the roses are successful. Firstly, you will need to add some organic matter to the soil if possible; the best is well rotted horse manure. Secondly, [...]

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Question When is the best time to take indoor/outdoor geranium cuttings? . Answer The best time is when you are cutting them back to over winter in October or November. The cutting should be a softwood stem cutting about 3 or 4 leaves long placed in a 75mm pot with an open gritty cuttings compost. [...]

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Question Please could you tell me the best way to over winter geraniums in a cold greenhouse? Thank you. Answer Over wintering geraniums in a cold green house is simple as long as you follow these steps. Firstly, pot you geraniums up if they are not already in pots, then over the months of october [...]

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Question Can I grow a Russian Vine in a pot with compost to cover an ugly wall? Answer Yes, you should be O.K. to grow a Russian Vine in a pot with compost. Try to find as large a pot as possible for the space available and use a John Innes number 2 compost. This [...]

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Question I have been told that I cannot replant my roses in soil that has had roses in before. Is this true? Answer Yes, until recently this would have meant digging out and replacing the soil to stop rose sickness, which occurs when you plant new roses in soil that has formally contained roses. Now [...]

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Camellias need to be in a position in your garden that does not receive the sun before mid morning. The reason for this that the flower buds can drop if they thaw to quickly in the early spring frosts. Placing them in a position that allows them to be heated up by air temperature before [...]

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Most lawns will recover after a hot summer with little or no water, but there are several tasks you can carry out that will help them to recover much faster in the autumn. The main problem is that when the rain starts again the ground is normally hard and the water will not soak in [...]

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Question How do I start to grow a standard fuchsia? Answer With regard to your question on growing a standard fuschia, take a cutting and root into a pot. As it grows, remove all the side shoots until it reaches the height you require as a single stem. Then remove the tip and it will [...]

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Question Which containers are the more frost proof, terracotta or treated wood? Answer Terracotta pots are always going to be more durable compared to treated wooden ones. When we first use terracotta pots, if they are not glazed, we paint the inside and outside with Thomsons water seal. This helps seal the terracotta so that [...]

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Question I have a millstone water feature in my garden. The filter on the pump keeps getting blocked. I have tried cleaning it but the gets block again after a few days Answer Most millstone water features are run from a container under the stone in the ground. Try cleaning the pump filter again and, [...]

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Question How can I get blue flowers on my hydrangeas? Answer The best way to get blue flowers on your hydrangeas is to feed with iron sulphate in the spring. Feed one tea spoon of iron sulphate to 1 gallon of water once every 3 weeks for 9 weeks. For More information click here

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Question Which garden shrubs can I prune back? I have taken over an old garden established some 20 years ago and most of the shrubs are overgrown. Answer You will find a good many garden shrubs can be cut right back to within a metre and they will shoot again from the dormant buds that [...]

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