Your handy tips

1 Thank you to begonia expert David Lloyd who wrote to say he completely covers his begonia tubers with compost so moisture doesn’t settle in the top indent and cause rotting. It also allows the tubers to send out roots all around, leading to stronger plants.

2 Sir Brian Donohoe shared his tip for propagating sweet peas. He said: “I discovered that by taking the top off the sweet pea plants you could virtually double the number. You cut off the top growth and plant it and 9 times out of 10 it grows! I now do it as a matter of course.” Send your gardening tips to ruth. hayes@futurenet.com