Potting Shed

Welcome to my potting shed! This is the column where I’ll share all my gardening hints and tips – and I’ll try to answer any queries you may have.

I’ve tried growing trilliums but they have always died out. What’s the best way of persuading them to remain in the garden? – George Stuart, Melrose.

Trilliums like a shady spot in moist, leafy soil so I suspect that yours have been planted in a sunny position. Try again, placing them under trees or around the canopy of shrubs and don’t let them dry out. I’ve got Spanish bluebells growing in my garden. Should I remove them? – Alice Robertson, by email.

A few years ago there were fears that Spanish bluebells would cross with our native species and gardeners were urged to dig up the Iberian versions. Now it seems as if the threat was overstated, so I would just leave them where they are. Can you identify the plant in the picture I have sent you? It is growing in the garden which we have just inherited with our house move. – Blyth Chalmers, Dundee.

You have a lovely Magnolia stellata, which as you can see in the picture, is smothered in starshaped white flowers in April. It is a beautiful small tree and don’t be tempted to prune it, otherwise it will lose its lovely shape. Are Californian lilac’s tender? I’ve seen them growing in other gardens and have always wanted one of my own. – Elizabeth Shaw, by email.

These American west-coasters like a very warm spot and free-draining soil, so the best place to grow them is against a south-facing wall. Even here, however, they can be short-lived and may survive for only a decade.

I planted wood anemones a couple of years ago in the hope that they would spread but they’ve not expanded out of their original clumps. Why is this? – Ian Tait, by email.

I suspect your wood anemones are growing on acid soil and not the lime-rich soil, which is what they really love. You could try to encourage their spread by digging up and dividing the clumps. email your questions: ps@sundaypost.com