Easy answers!
Helena Dove, Botanical Horticulturalist at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, will help you avoid mishaps this new year
Helena Dove, Botanical Horticulturalist at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, shares her advice
Back to life
Q My potted orchid looks a bit wan. How can I restore it to its former glory?
A Change the potting medium to give it a boost, and move it onto a bigger pot if the roots are coming through the base of the current one. Use specialist orchid potting medium, usually woodchip based. Ensure the orchid has enough light and the roots are not shrivelling from dryness. It should look fantastic again soon.
Mushroom dramas
Q Help! My indoor plant seems to be growing mushrooms in the soil, around the main trunk. Are these dangerous to eat, and more importantly will they damage my plant? A The spores of mushrooms and fungi can quite regularly be found in indoor-plant potting medium. They will not damage the plant, but do not eat them unless you can easily identify the type. Changing the soil of plants should stop re-occurance.
Fine companions
Q What are the best ways to ward off pests in the veggie garden? I don’t want to use pesticides and I have heard that certain herbs can help. Is that true? A Companion planting is a fantastic way to manage pests in the vegetable garden. Many combinations work, for example, chives around carrots deter carrot fly as they mask the smell of the carrots. Nasturtiums can be planted near any crop suffering from aphids as the pests eat the flowers first. In fact, any flowering plants will attract insects that eat pests, for example hoverfly larvae consume aphids, so flowers such as cosmos will attract the adults.
Potted lily
Q I have twice been bought a potted oriental lily, which I’ve tried replanting in the garden, as the care card suggested. However, both times the lily died soon after planting. Why?
A It will depend on where you planted them, as lilies need the hottest situation you can give them, with free-draining soil. The lily may be more successful if you harden it off slowly before planting it out. So move it outside during the day for a week. Then leave it outside overnight with fleece for protection for a week before finally planting out. Cutting off any flowering stems before transplanting will also encourage the lily to put its energy into rooting once in the ground.
No show rose
Q I potted a rose called ‘Wedding Day’ three years ago. Only, it’s never flowered. It’s situated in the sunshine, and I feed it regularly in the summer. It’s against a trellis, and I think that its growing but it just won’t flower. What am I doing wrong?
A The first thing you need to check is whether the fertiliser you use every summer is a nitrogen-based one, as this will encourage high leaf production, but not buds. If this is the case, switch to a balanced fertiliser, or one that’s high in potassium, which will encourage flowers.
Also check that the pot is large enough and the roots aren’t protruding out of the base, in which case, pot up into a larger container.
Climbing high
Q I have a trellis next to a decked area, so I can’t plant climbers in the ground. Are there any I can grow in pots?
A Most climbers grow well in a large pot, but they’ll need frequent watering. So if this is a problem, try investing in an automatic watering system. For annuals, sweet peas grow well in pots and will cover the area quickly, giving a lovely scent. Perennials such as Trachelospermum jasminoides and honeysuckles will grow in a good-sized pot, but will take longer to cover the area. Remember, potted plants need food as well as water to help them bloom.
Indoor jungle
Q I’m looking for a large house plant to put in my very tall living room. A tree would be ideal. The room is centrally heated and part shady, with little direct sunlight.
A The money tree, Pachira aquatica,
grows to 6ft and has beautiful foliage. They are also fairly maintenance free as they simply need a good water every now and again, with an occasional feed. Another option for a room with high ceilings would be the fiddle-leaf fig tree, Ficus lyrata, which gets to 10ft! It makes a stunning house plant with its large, luscious foliage.
In the dark
Q We have a lovely new lawn in the front garden. However, under our holly tree, despite frequent watering, it has all died off. Is there anything we can do to help the grass grow there? Perhaps it doesn’t get enough sunlight. A It’s likely that the area under the holly isn’t getting enough light, so in the spring you could raise the canopy of the tree and try re-sowing with a shadetolerant turf mix. Alternatively, create a tree-circle underneath the holly and plant with dry-shade-loving plants such as Pachysandra terminalis or cyclamens.
All-year interest
Q In my tiny garden, I have room for about three plants. What would give me the best succession of colour and interest all year? A Choose one that flowers early, such as geranium ‘Rozanne’, giving a lowgrowing cloud of blue flowers. Also, one that blooms later. I’d recommend an ice plant such as Hylotelephium spectabile
‘Herbstfreude’ with its stunning pink heads. The third plant I’d suggest is the grass Stipa tenuissima,
which starts the year with fresh green foliage and fades to an autumnal yellow with frothy seed heads.
Flowers forever
Q What’s a good plant that would give the longest possible flowering season throughout the year. Preferably one for a fairly small patch?
A I grow a beautiful small shrub called Coronilla coronata,
which has blue foliage throughout the year and gives yellow flowers all winter long. For summertime, a repeatflowering rose such as ‘Olivia Rose Austin’ will give pale pink blooms for a long season.