Ask Charlie

The gardening guru answers his most frequently asked questions.

Q: How can I grow citrus?

A:

“They like full sun and you need to mulch them quite heavily to keep the ground cool. So a hot top and very regulated feet. And feed them well. They do a lot – they flower heavily, fruit heavily and grow quite a lot – so they do need a bit of food in early spring and early summer.”

Q: Can you recommend some hardy plants for all seasons?

A: “Succulents are great. We’ve got Diamond Frost in the garden which flowers 11 months of the year. When it stops flowering we cut it down to the ground and then a month later it’s covered in white flower again, it’s fantastic. And Buxus hedges you really can’t kill.”

Q: What about for indoors?

A: “There’s a good one called Zanzibar Gem which looks like a succulent but isn’t. It likes low light and not much water – the only way you can kill it is by overwatering. Fiddle Leaf Figs are good but the trick with them is to be consistent with your watering. And Peace Lily are easy to grow. When they need watering they look like they are going to die – dunk them in water and they come back.”