The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Saturday
THORNY PROBLEMS
This week: dealing with the threat of lily beetle, how to navigate a swamped lawn, and can violas thrive in winter?
FUSSY VIOLAS
I planted some violas in my window boxes in brand new multipurpose compost in November and now they look a sorry sight. They flowered for a while then stopped. Now their leaves are going slightly yellow and a few have black spots. Can I get them to flower again by feeding them tomato food or are they not worth saving? I would rather look at empty window boxes than unhappy/dying plants.
LIZ KITCHIN – VIA EMAIL
So-called winter-flowering violas and pansies are rather fussy. Even in a “good” winter (mild and dry, as opposed to mild and sopping wet) their flowers come and go, and you should really expect them to only produce their cheery flowers in short bursts. Thes yellow, spotty leaves are not to do with the compost but are signs of a very common air and moisture-borne fungal disease.
Nip them off and, if it makes you feel better, spray with a systemic fungicide, which may just help keep things in check until they next deign to flower. I don’t think feeding would have made much difference – the new compost would have enough nutrients to see them through until their main growth and flowering spurt starts in spring. What they really need is less rain, quite a bit more sun – and patience.
BOG STANDARD LAWNS
My lawn is saturated, but I can’t avoid walking on it to access most parts of my garden, which needs urgent attention. Professional gardeners and writers like you always advise us to “work off boards” to avoid compacting the ground, but what normal mortal has a supply of “boards” kicking around? In a small garden, the
damage can be devastating. Can you suggest anything else?
RACHEL DODD – VIA EMAIL
I take your point. We garden writers can lapse into giving somewhat clichéd advice and it is always good to be brought up short occasionally by a slightly peeved reader.
Temporary paths such as the clip together, roll-out-and-roll-up kind found at harrodhorticultural.co.uk are what you need. The paths are 3m long and can be linked together to make a wider working platform that will help save your lawn from compaction.
I confess, I don’t have a supply of the oft-mentioned “boards” to work from either – but top-up-able
bark-chip access paths at the back of borders in my smallish garden, as well as stepping stones in my lawn (attractive as well as functional) and even strategically placed bricks, have all reduced the winter no-go areas.
I can also point mud-struggling big-gardeners in the direction of Groundtrax: groundtrax.com
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For more tips and advice from Helen Yemm, visit telegraph.co.uk/authors/helen-yemm Helen Yemm can answer questions only through this column.