Drought fallout

Q Why did rose stop flowering and leaves turn yellow? JOAN WOOD, BY EMAIL A To maintain growth and flowers, roses should be pruned (deadheaded) after the first flush of flowers and given a second feed, in July. Last summer’s heat and drought prevented your plant’s second flush of flowers and yellowing leaves suggest lack of moisture and feed. It could also indicate blackspot. If so, spray it right through next summer with a suitable fungicide to prevent infection and loss of vigour. Q When will daphne ‘Perfume Princess’ bloom? MARGARET WHITEHEAD, BY EMAIL A ‘Perfume Princess’ is a hybrid of Daphne bholua and Daphne odora; the former parent usually only blooms once it’s reached a reasonable size. Your plants have only been in the ground for two years and the buds that open this winter were developed this summer so, in reality, it has only had one season to get established so far to show blooms. Expect to see flowers next year! Q How should I prune my 3-year-old ‘Itoh’ peony? D FULLER, DULWICH, LONDON A Itoh or ‘intersectional’ peonies are hybrids between tree peonies and herbaceous peonies and need little pruning. If some of the persistent stems die back at the tips you can cut these back to healthy buds in spring and prune back dead stems to the base. Q Can I keep my fuchsias to grow on next year? JAMES HUTCHINSON, BY EMAIL A Yes you can. As soon as temperatures drop and plants have been lightly frosted, put them in a cool greenhouse and keep them just moist. You can prune plants back now or wait until spring, when they’ll also need repotting. Because they don’t need much light, you can also keep them in a shed, but don’t let them dry out. Another technique is to place them in deep boxes and cover the base of the stems with compost to protect the crowns from frost. Q Is this pretty blue-flowered plant hardy? PAMELA MCNEIL, BY EMAIL A Yes! This is ceratostigma, a hardy shrub known as hardy plumbago. It has a low, spreading habit and prefers a sunny spot, producing flowers from August onwards. Often the flowers are complemented by the foliage, which turns bright scarlet in autumn.