What is the culprit?
QWhat insect bit me when I emptied my compost bins? Hugh Lawson, by email
AIt’s quite likely to have been fleas. There are more than 60 species of flea in the UK and several can be found in gardens and compost heaps. Fleas develop as larvae in the nests and resting sites of their hosts. In a compost heap, this is likely to be rats, mice, voles or hedgehogs. The larvae are scavengers, feeding on detritus. Adult fleas emerge in response to vibration, carbon dioxide and body heat. Being such small creatures, they’re adept at finding any gap in clothing.
With the exception of the human flea, ( Pulex irritans) which is now uncommon, most species of flea cannot
breed on humans, although, as you’ve found, they’ll bite!
QWhat do I do with my burrowing bees? Lorraine Roast, Grays, Essex
AThe bees making holes in your lawn and borders are ivy bees ( Colletes hederae), a species of mining bee. Amazingly, in this day and age, they’re a new species to science, first described in 1993, from southern Europe, and have rapidly spread north to Germany and across into Spain. They were first recorded in Britain in 2001 in Dorset and have now spread along the entire south coast and northwards.
As the name suggests, they feed exclusively on the flowers of ivy and are only on the wing when the plant is flowering from September to mid-November. They prefer loose, sandy soil to burrow in and nest and there can be huge numbers of nests, running into the thousands, but these bees are docile and shouldn’t be feared. The females can sting, but will only do so if handled and there are few of them. Most will be males with no sting.
If you see large numbers swarming on the ground they are males looking for emerging females. With most bees in decline, you should tolerate the activities of these ones.
QIs it unusual for some of my runner beans to produce black seed?
Edith Davies, Stourbridge, West Midlands
ARunner or kidney beans usually produce lilaccoloured seed spotted or marked with black. This will vary from variety to variety. Your small, black seeds have come from plants of ‘Moonlight’, the seed of which is white. However, ‘Moonlight’ is one of the modern varieties of self-setting beans produced by crossing French beans with runner beans. Many varieties of French bean have black seed and hybrids of these plants can always produce some seed that’s different from the rest.
‘Moonlight’ has white flowers and the appearance and taste of a runner bean but, like French beans, the flowers set without the need for bees to pollinate them. This is particularly useful if the weather is poor.
Other similar crosses include ‘Snowstorm’ with longer pods of up to 30cm (12in) and the high-yielding, red-flowered ‘Firestorm’. ‘Tenderstar’ produces shorter beans at 20cm (8in), with attractive, bi-coloured red and pink flowers.
QHow do I overwinter my fuchsias? Mike Prince, Abbey Hulton, Staffordshire
AProtect the crowns of hardy fuchsias planted in borders with a mulch of coarse bark, or similar, over the root area. Don’t cut the top growth back in autumn but wait until spring when new buds shoot.
If you’ve half-hardy fuchsias you need to place them somewhere frost-free, such as an unheated conservatory. Failing that, choose a well-lit windowsill in an unheated room, such as a spare bedroom. You can still take hardwood cuttings of the summer growth now. Take cuttings 7.5-10cm (3-4in) long, treat with Clonex and set out in a cold frame. Keep the compost just moist over the winter. Once rooted, pot on in spring.
QHow do we grow on our miniature roses? Ann and Bill Williams, by email
ADon’t plant them out into the garden at this time of year as it’s likely they’ve been grown in a polytunnel or under cold glass.
Containers of these roses often consist of several rooted cuttings so they can be divided up now and potted on individually to create several plants for next year. The pots need to be placed in a cold frame or cold greenhouse, but protect them from freezing.
Depending on their variety, these roses can grow to about 60cm (24in). If you’re keeping them indoors, place in good light away from radiators. Deadhead regularly using secateurs to remove the spent flowers. New plants won’t need pruning but as they get older lightly prune to remove congested or crossing branches. Feed with Phostrogen All Purpose Plant Food once a fortnight from spring to the end of summer.
QWhy are our ‘Bramley’s Seedling’ red this year? John Halls, Suffolk
A’Bramley’s Seedling’ is the most popular culinary apple in the UK. It was raised in a cottage garden in Southwell, Nottingham, by Mary Ann Brailsford between 1809 and 1815 and is named after Matthew Bramley, who bought the cottage in 1848. Supermarket ‘Bramley’s Seedling’ are bright green, but this isn’t how they should look: they’re picked early before fully ripe and supermarkets reject any showing red colouration – ridiculous, but unfortunately true. A ripe Bramley develops an ochre-coloured blush and red stripes and there’s also a red sport (genetic variant) named ‘Crimson Bramley’.