In a garden situation soak aways need to be at a depth of 300mm .soak away in our garden the pipes need to come into the soak away at the top of the soak away so the soak away acts as a collection point for the drainage water.Ideally the pipe and the soak away top [...]

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Fungal problems with Crocosmia – In a cold wet spring as we are having at the moment Crocosmia can suffer from fungal disease which can cause the stems to turn black. The best treatment for this is to remove the effected stems and treat with sulphur powder. This is a link to a supplier of [...]

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The reason that most people have bird feeders in their gardens is because they like to see the different species or they want to help boost bird populations, particularly during the cold weather or during the breeding season. But now there’s an even better reason to feed birds. A new study by researchers from the [...]

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How to compost fresh chicken manure – its best staked with layers of straw or other garden compost. The layers should be about 100mm thick and alternate. With each layer add half a handful of grow more fertilizer this will help to provide nutrients to the bacteria to breakdown the compost . Water the heap [...]

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Plants to produce a screen in a coastal area A good indicator to wether or not a plant will survive to windy and salty conditions near to the sea is to look for a plants with fleshy green leaves such as a skimmia japonica or and Griselinia littoralis. Both these plants have a thick waxy [...]

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UK Hardy Plants Lathyrus grandiflorus (Everlasting pea) Lathyrus latifolius (Everlasting pea) Lonicera (Honeysuckle) Parthenocissus tricuspidata (Virginia creeper) Schizophragma integrifolium (Schizophragma) Solanum crispum (Climbing potato) Trachelospermum jasminoides (Confederate vine) Vitis (Grape vine) Wisteria sinensis (Chinese Wisteria) Actinidia kolomikta (Kolomikta vine) Akebia quinata (Chocolate vine) Ampelopsis brevipedunculata (Turquoise berry vine) Asarina antirrhiniflora (Snapdragon vine) Campsis x tagliabuana [...]

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Flowering plants suitable for an obelisk on alkaline soil Campsis x tagliabuana ‘Mme Galen’ (Trumpet creeper) Asarina antirrhiniflora (Snapdragon vine) Celastrus scandens (American bittersweet) Lathyrus latifolius (Everlasting pea) Lathyrus grandiflorus (Everlasting pea) Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris (Climbing hydrangea) Clematis jackmanii species Most of these plant would loose the leaves in winter and could be pruned [...]

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Plants for walls and fences For a sunny south or west-facing walls and fences Trachelospermum Campsis radicans Solanum cripsum ‘Glasnevin’ Ceanothus skylark Coronilla valentina Fremontodendron californicum Plants for walls and fences For a shady north or east-facing walls and fences Parthenocissus Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris Akebia quinata Garrya elliptica ‘James Roof’ Rosa ‘Albéric Barbier’ Pyrcantha [...]

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Growing courgettes in large pots or growbags. Courgettes are well suited to growing in containers such as grow bags and large pots. Best in pots using the largest post you have in the space available, remember the plants will also spread outside the area of the pot You are best using a soil based compost [...]

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Climbing Rose suggestions for rose arches and rope swags Rosa Golden Showers Rosa “Gloire De Dijon” Rosa Crown Princess Margareta Roas Gertrude Jekyll

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As the clumps of lily of the valley get older they often stop flowering or reduce the amount of flowers they produce. To solve this problem in the autumn dig up the clump of lily of the valley in divide into two or three clumps and replant and then feed with a standard garden feed [...]

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Stopping slugs entering your house – one of the best method we have found at stopping slugs entering houses is to us copper tape normally used to stop slugs entering pots by placing the tape around the pot. In the case of the slugs entering a house place the tape across door frames and the [...]

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Variegated Eleagnus Pungens with many other evergreen plants often drop a large amount of leaves after or during the plant is being stressed. This stress can come in many forms such as a cold period in the winter through winder winds or heavy frosts or in some cases evergreens are under stress as they grow [...]

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Croton plant varieties require heavy watering as well as high humidity. Misting the plant once or twice a week appears to be sufficient for accommodating the Croton’s humidity needs if you live in an area with low humidity levels. Keep the plants soil moist at all times. If leaves begin to fall off or slope [...]

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Victoria plumb trees they quite often get effected by heavy frosts in the winter that can kill the whole tree or just one side of the tree. One way of testing this is to lightly scratch the bark on the areas that have not show sights of life yet and if they are still green [...]

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Pyrus salicifolia ‘Pendula’ Arbutus unedo Acer palmatum ‘Sango-kaku’ Malus domestica ‘Spartan’ Malus evereste Betula utilis ‘Snow Queen’ Prunus Shogetsu Amelanchier lamarckii Liquidambar styraciflua Moonbeam Sorbus aucuparia ‘Fastigiata’ Pyrus salicifolia ‘Pendula’ Arbutus unedo Acer palmatum ‘Sango-kaku’

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Hebes normally are not a plant that takes to being cut back into bare stems, it will often not shoot from bare stems. However one method we have tried with some success is to feed the hebe with a high nitrate feed before cutting back which has over an 8 week period encouraged new shoots [...]

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Seeds are a general rule are planted to a depth of one and and half times the height of the seed. If the seed is planted too deep it will in some cases grow but it will suffer as it will have to expend to much of its stored energy in the seed. Once the [...]

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Frost damage to the Gunnera leaf, Gunneras are often damaged by the late season frosts because they start to leaf up quite early in the season, if the whole leaf is damaged they are best removed however if only part of the leaf is damaged it is best left as the undamaged parts of the [...]

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Moving a wisteria spring is the best time to try to move a wisteria. They are not the easiest plants to move as they are often deep rooted. Try to dig up as much root as possible especially the finer root hairs on the end of the roots. Then cut back the top growth to [...]

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