ASK DIARMUID

QInoticed in your gardening column that you have been waiting a while for your Holboellia brachyandra to flower.

Do I also need to be patient with my Trachelospermum jasminoides? I planted two either side of an arch about three or four years ago and while they have made good growth, they have failed to produce flowers. Is there anything I can do? Lesley Huggins AClimbers

are plants that test our patience more than most. They can sit around rather miserably for the first few years until they decide to accept their new home. It may appear to us that little is happening but the roots are growing away beneath the ground so when they begin to climb, they are well rooted.

With your star jasmine, I would expect them to flower this year or next, especially as they are growing well. Flowers appear more readily in a sheltered sunny position but you can help them along during the growing season by using a liquid fertiliser once a week – choose one suitable for flowering and fruiting trees. For example, tomato feed would be good.