General Gardening Discussion

I don't see why not, if you want to and they've already finished flowering. My sanguineums are only just getting going and although they sprawl and spread a bit, they don't flop open leaving bare middles like some of the bigger/taller ones do, so I don't cut them back until much later, if at all.

I meant no offence @pete . I was joking too

Locally it's hard to grow rhododendrons because our soil doesn't suit and we have rock hard tap water (plus live in a very dry part of the country where rain runs out quickly) but they have still taken a foothold and caused problems. They are mostly restricted to old pine plantations where the...

I agree on cherry plum. Cherries have a longer leaf. They make good jam.

I'd have gone for the cheaper one.

Hi @Fran IOM - sorry you've been struggling. Hope you're doing better now. The wee clem will do well for you. I know what you mean about prices @katecat58 - and you're probably right. Many people won't really know the varying prices of plants. I've often bought supermarket plants, and I...

Thanks for alerting me to that thread, seems its a common thing this year.

If you can stop it forming seed the thinking is it should go on to produce more flowers, in a pot feeding and watering should help. Maybe even potting it on at some point if it starts to look a bit sad.

He, more or less, stopped coming on regularly when he retired in 2019 but popped in occasionally but haven't seen him since covid.

I'm not sure, but it looks in need of water, or maybe there's some root problem stopping it taking up the water. If the compost is too dry try watering it, if the compost is wet maybe you could tip it out of the pot to inspect the roots. Then take it from there ...

Mulch will stop the self-seeders from coming up/swamp the seedlings if they're already up. However if you've had your self-seeding plants for a while there'll probably be seeds in the compost (and weed seeds) unless your heap gets very hot and is turned enough that all parts of it get hot enough...

Yes I get lots too but always in the wrong place.

I got a globosa in a plant swap and was pleased with myself but, whilst it grew vogorously, the flowers were small and underwhelming and didn't last long before turning brown. Tried pruning it to encourage better flowers but no go so it has been dug out and binned.

Thanks to @The Buddleja Garden and everyone else. I've decided that Buddlejas in containers is not for me!

The Salvia Nursery in Malvern recommends pruning in July after flowering to promote new bushy growth. Malvern Salvia Collection I think I am up to 20 now of the greggii/jamiensis types.

Choisya is a good shout. There are several different types, and the gold one might get too bleached in the site you have, but the bog standard one is fairly easy. There's one with a different habit, but I can't remember it's name. They [the ordinary C. ternata] can get big though, so you may...

I believe Monty did a segment recently on cutting back Lilac. If you have access to BBc i player check it out (I think it was a couple of weeks ago?)

Today's cheesecake is Elderflower Cordial and Lime

One other thought. Take a small piece of your Portuguese laurel with you when you go to the garden centre to make sure you buy the same variety - there are different varieties with different leaf stem colours and growth rates.

I believe she does @Plantminded but not every year, just when it begins to take over.