Welcome to my potting shed! This is the column where I’ll share all my gardening hints and tips – and I’ll try to answer any queries you may have.
Q I need advice on getting rid of moles. I bought a gadget from the garden centre but I think it attracts them. – D. Wilson, via email.
A Moles dislike strong smells and loud noise. You could try burying smelly cheese or garlic cloves. Alternatively use a humane mole trap.
Apply grease bands to the trunks of fruit trees to prevent flightless winter moths climbing and laying eggs on branches.
Q The leaves have fallen from my Dendrobium nobile orchid. I occasionally feed with orchid food. – N. Morton, Prestwick.
A Stop watering and feeding now and don’t restart until February, but give plenty of light and a cool position. Water sparingly from March until June, add diluted feed in April and May then continue to full strength and keep warm and well-watered until November.
Look under pots and along sides of raised beds for slugs and remove. Slugs hibernate but are active during mild spells.
Q Every year I spray my leylandii hedge against red spider mite. Days later their webs appear. – Helen Greirson, Glenrothes.
A They are almost impossible to eradicate completely. Spraying will help to control them as will soaking your hedge with a hose. Systemic sprays are available that work on the surface of the leaves, and make the foliage toxic to the mites.
Set out spring bedding such as wallflower, violas and primulas to allow the plants to settle in before winter.
Q I have notice some brown leaves beneath my bay tree. The rest of the plant look healthy, so what has gone wrong with it? - June Clark, by e-mail.
A Even evergreen plants shed their leaves, but they do so all year round and in small numbers so that the effect is hardly noticeable. If your bay tree is otherwise fine then I expect that this is what has happened.
Keep winter cyclamen in a cool room or porch, as they are likely to fail in hot conditions.
Q Why have some of my spring-flowering shrubs produced a small flush of flowers now? - Mary Grant, Peebles.
A This can happen if conditions are favourable. Some shrubs, including some rhododendrons, may produce one or two flowers in autumn.
Tender plants that are too large to be moved under cover should be wrapped in hessian and straw or a fleece cover.