Quick QUESTIONS
I’ve got some black pansies growing and I wonder if this is rare? Kim Forsyth, Facebook Stefan says: I’m sure they’re lovely but black pansies are not especially rare. Very dark purples (which aren’t truly black) do occur among several members of the pansy family and my favourite is a truly darkcoloured viola called ‘Bowles’s Black’, which is closer to genuine black than almost any other flower I know.
How should I grow on two Sharon fruits that I’ve germinated from seed? Grace Browne, Yorkshire Stefan says The Sharon fruit is a type of persimmon bred in Israel and is normally seedless (that’s its special virtue) so it may be you have a different variety. The plants won’t be hardy in the north so I think it would be safest to treat them as attractive foliage pot plants. Use a soil-based compost in a clay pot and keep the soil on the dry side.
Where can I buy rose ‘Remember Me’ in memory of my late husband?
Mrs J L Offenham, by email Stefan says This is a popular and lovely rose for memorial gardens. It’s a rich orange and copper Hybrid Tea, although not strongly perfumed. Numerous nurseries stock it, including David Austin, Cants, Fryers, Pococks and Style Roses, all of whom take online orders, but there are others, and you may find it at your local garden centre.