User Posts: Daniel
If you want a bit of colour over winter then pansies are a popular choice. They can add a pop of colour when not much else is growing. But are they safe from ...
Daniel 
If you are planning on growing a nice harvest of some delicious beets then you will need to know what pest problems you may face. One of the biggest problems ...
Echinacea is a favourite in gardens both for its gorgeous flowers and its well known herbal properties. But if you are thinking of adding this popular plant ...
Iris plants are famed for their gorgeous blooms and vibrant colours. But what pests bother them and in particular are slugs a problem? Do slugs even eat Iris? ...
If you are planning on growing your own lettuce then you obviously need to know what dangers face your young crop. Are slugs a particular problem for lettuce ...
Lilies provide such a stunning display that any gardener would love to have them in their garden. But what do you do if slugs are a problem in yours? So slugs ...
Nicotiana is a popular annual flower grown for both its vivid colour and gorgeous fragrance. But enough about the plant, do slugs eat Nicotiana? let's have a ...
If you are planning on planting a new lawn you might be wondering if slugs will be a problem, or perhaps you have noticed a few bare patches on your grass and ...
If you want some gorgeous primroses then it is worth checking out what pests bother them. Here in the UK one of our major pests is slugs, but do slugs eat ...
If you are growing a nice clump of potatoes and are wondering what pests you need to be worried about then slugs may well have crossed your mind. but do you ...
Rudbeckia is a staple of many UK gardens and it is easy to see why. if you are planning on growing your own then you will want to know if slugs are going to ...
If you are planning on growing some Valerian in your garden, either for its herbal properties or just for its flowers then you will want to know if slugs are ...
If you are planning on potting up some indoor plants then you may be unsure what compost to use. After all, they do sell specific indoor plant food, but is ...
If you are growing this aromatic herb for the first time then you will want to know if you need to be worried about slugs. Do slugs even eat thyme? Let's have ...
Who doesn't love a beautiful Rhododendron in bloom? If you are just starting out growing Rhododendrons then one thing you will want to know is do you need to ...
If you are hoping to grow your own delicious leeks this year then you will be wondering if you need to be worried about slugs. We know they will devour lots ...
If you are looking for an organic way to help control slugs in your garden then have probably heard of beer traps. But why use beer? is there something ...
If you are growing geraniums then you will want to know if slugs are going to be a problem. Do slugs like geraniums? Are they something you are going to have ...
One of the more popular "hacks" for dealing with slugs is beer traps but what to do if you're all out of beer? maybe you have some cider lying around, will ...
Do slugs like onions? They aren't normally a pest that is associated with onions but is this because they don't eat them or just because onion flies are ...
Something munching at your broad beans, could it be the old enemy? Do slugs even eat broad beans? Let's have a look and find out.Do Slugs Eat Broad Beans ...
If you are trying to spruce up your garden and add a little colour but keep losing plants to slugs then you will want to know if the next lot of flowers you ...
If you have just transplanted some young carrot seedlings or are trying to direct sow them then you will want to know how they fare with that all too familiar ...
If you are just planting out your tender young runner beans then you will be wondering what you need to worry about before you can enjoy a delicious harvest. ...
If you have just planted some young petunias outside and are worried about slugs then you will want to know if you need to protect them. Do slugs like ...
If you are looking at buying a lot of compost for your garden then you might have been tempted by just buying a big bulk bag, I know I have many times. But is ...
If you have spotted Blackfly on your broad beans then you might also have seen some ants hanging about nearby and wondered if this is a good thing, are the ...
If your broad bean seedlings have grown very leggy (very long and slender) then you may be wondering what you did wrong and if there is any way you can fix ...
If you are planning on building a raised bed to grow your veggies in then you will want to know that the wood is safe to use. You will obviously want to use ...
We are often told to pinch out the growth tips of certain plants to encourage bushier growth, this is most certainly true for flowers like sweet peas but ...
Everyone knows that marigolds are a common companion plant, but does this extend to pot marigolds? Should you grow Calendula with carrots to help deter pests? ...
Calendula is commonly mistaken for being a marigold, so how do you identify calendula and how do you tell it apart from a common marigold?How to identify ...
Rockeries are typically made up of sun-loving alpine plants after all they developed on mountainsides where lack of sunlight isn't really a problem at all. If ...
If you are just moving some young Calendula plants into your garden then you are probably wondering how far apart you should plant Calendula. Let me help you ...
Some people say Calendula is a perennial while others say it is only an annual, so which is it? is Calendula a perennial? Let's have a look and find out....
Calendula is a popular herb grown for both its looks and medicinal properties. If you are thinking of growing this attractive herb then growing from seed is ...
Calendula is more commonly known as pot marigold and this causes some obvious confusion with the more common marigold or french marigolds. Are these the same ...
If your growing season is drawing to a close and you have some old used up grow bags then you may be wondering what you can do with them. Read on for my top ...
If gardening in a greenhouse or poly tunnel you may well be using grow bags. But there are so many different sizes of grow bags available, what size do you ...
If you are excitedly waiting for your sweet peas to bloom but it just doesn't seem to be happening then what can you do? Here I have some of the main reasons ...
Everlasting sweet peas are the perennial cousin of the regular sweet peas you will be more accustomed to, if you are planning on growing them in your garden ...
Thinking of growing sweet peas for their gorgeous blooms and scent but not sure if you have the room? Then dwarf sweet peas are for you. These sweet peas are ...
Sweet peas are an amazing flower to grow, both for their fabulous look and gorgeous scent. but if you have ever grown sweet peas before then you will know ...
If you have a trellis in your garden and want something to grow up it then why not grow sweet peas? The lovely flowers and gorgeous scents of these brilliant ...
If you love sweet peas but don't have the garden space to grow them in the ground you may have thought about growing them in pots. That question has led you ...
Growing sweet peas from seed rather than buying them as already grown plants is definitely a much cheaper way of growing sweet peas. But if you are growing ...
If you don't have the room to grow regular sweet peas or just fancy trying something a little different then you may have thought of growing sweet peas in ...
If you are new to growing sweet peas then you have probably been bombarded with information on how to grow them, no doubt you have been told countless times ...
Welcome to the first in a new series of posts on my blog where I look at lots of different heritage veg varieties. This potato really does stand out due to ...
There are so many common weeding tools on the market today, but what I have here for you is one a little more exotic and unknown, the Indian Kirpi.By ...
Hi Jann, I have never taken cuttings from a tree lupin before but I believe you do it in much the same way as a regular lupin. Take a Basal cutting right from the root of the plant when it is growing in spring.
I honestly dont know Giles and I would be interested to find out. I think I will test this with one of my Lupins next spring and see what happens.
Thanks Sue! Thats really nice to hear. Keep checking back as I have a lot of plans for new articles to write soon!
Hi, yes they will. For the best chance of survival take the seeds and store them in a dry dark spot until next spring. Then scatter them around or grow as seedlings before planting out.
Thank you sue!
So many people swear they change colour but horticulturists say not, very strange!
In all likelihood they didn’t survive the winter and therefore never came back but were replaced by a new plant.
Hi Julie, I like to use them in places where you would otherwise use a plastic weed liner, so the inside of raised beds and under paths. In fact, the paths at my allotment are a hodge podge of different compost bags with a layer of wood chippings on top.
Thank you Shane yes do please keep me updated. I will have a summer update out before too long followed by more regular updates.
That should be fine Doreen, I didn’t even cover mine this year and they survived just fine!
Still, in progress. the dragon fruit (the two that have survived so far!) have put on a lot of growth recently. I will do another update this summer but as of yet they are nowhere near fruiting but growing along happily
Birds can sometimes sit on your sweet pea trellis and nip at buds and leaves. The only way to confirm this would be to catch them in the act. You could try to net the sweet peas and see if this stops the flowers from disappearing, if so then your culprits are confirmed.
Pea weevil could also be a possibility but, to be honest, they are more of an issue with the bottom few rows of leaves and rarely affect the flowers and I don’t know how much they go after sweet peas either!
Hi Pat, I would say that you will probably be okay without pruning your Fuchsia as it being in a hanging basket will restrict the size of the plant. I would remove any dead or diseased growth though whenever you spot any.
Fuchsia are perfectly happy in the shade so that wont be a problem at all.
Daniel
I have no idea! I have heard about red begonias becoming paler and more pinkish over time but never heard of them completely changing colour before from being divided!
Hi Angel, you don’t need to sterilise before cutting. Many people do recommend dusting the cut with a fungicide after it has been cut. Something like this will do the job: https://amzn.to/3LAoKKx
You can just leave the tuber on a piece of paper and allow a skin to form which is usually all they need, although the fungicide is the more prudent option.
Not pruning the tree will not damage it on its own, a lot of pruning is done to promote new growth and increase harvest sizes.
However, if there are any branches that are rubbing against each other then these should be pruned regardless. When the branches rub against each other they can create open sores which allow disease in.
So as long as the tree looks healthy, and the centre of it isn’t too crowded and there are no obvious problems like branches rubbing against each other then it does not need to be pruned in your situation.
Hope this helps,
Daniel
Hi Vikki, yes this should be fine. Just try and dig up as much of the root as possible!
You could definitely take some cuttings from the broken part, but I doubt you would be able to save the whole thing. It will just take the plant too long to establish a strong enough root structure to support a lot of foliage.
Hi Brenda, Do you have any photos?
Hi Judy, I like to get them started really early to stand much chance of getting a good display in the summer. So February for me, obviously indoors.
Usually around 2 weeks to germinate, and give them a good soak in some water before planting the seeds.