Jobs for the week

1. New shoots

After the blooms have faded cut out one or two flowering shoots from winter-flowering mahonia to encourage replacement shoots from the base.

2. Coming up roses

Sprinkle Rootgrow Mycorrhizal Fungi, rootgrow.co.uk, in your planting hole when putting in roses. The fungi helps them grow strongly and absorb nutrients.

3. Clear your shed

Tidy your shed and remove out-ofdate chemicals. Empty pesticide and weed killer containers, which have held concentrate liquids, and rinse several times before putting in the dustbin. If in doubt about disposal, your local authority tip should be able to help. DAHLIAS can provide some of the best colour in the latesummer garden and tubers are on sale now that can be ready to plant out in May.

Which variety?

They come in various shapes and sizes and in almost every hue and colour combination. The foliage ranges from dark green to dark bronze. Some are tiny pom poms while others resemble other blooms such as water lilies, peonies and chrysanthemums. Other varieties are spiky-petal cactus types and eye-catching giants with flowers the size of a dinner plate.

Kick-start growth

Grow them on in a well-lit, warm place until they can be planted out after the risk of frost has passed. Dry tubers can be planted in the garden in April. Bury them about 13cm deep in a spot where you want them to flower and, as a guide, space them at half the height apart from neighbouring plants.

Growing tips