Q Will cutting back old red-hot poker spikes encourage new ones?

A CHRISTINE SAYS Red-hot pokers (Kniphofia) usually produce several spikes more or less at the same time. Deadheading will keep the plant looking tidy, but is not going to prolong flowering. Remove flower stems as low as possible once they have lost all their colour. To encourage flowering, feed with a potassium-rich fertiliser.

Red-hot pokers can arrive in a flush from mid-summer into late autumn

Neem oil cannot legally be sold as an insecticide in the UK