Pests, Diseases and Cures

Strulch around the base of the plants keeps slugs and snails away. I use it in one of my cold frames and it works a treat.

Hello,My mother has a beautiful Acer tree in the garden, for years we have just left her alone and had no problem, last year we removed a sucker and early spring we removed what had grown back of said sucker. We are now having a problem with the Acer and no idea what to do, my mother is quite...

Hi John,I'll do that, can't hurt with that dosage- apart from the neighbouring plots might moan about the smell

Hi @Head Gardener's Dogsbody I'm no Acer expert however I had a very similar one for a good few years in a pot and it was very happy until spring this year when after coming into leaf for a few weeks did exactly the same and died. I emptied the pot and went through the soil and it was full of...

I collect the adults and usually just squash them. As for the larvae, I use the garden hose to spray the lilies from beneath. The larvae usually drop and can't get up to the plant again. If a leaf is full of them, I cut of the whole leaf and just throw it in the bin.

I think it must be powdery mildew that I get on Violas in one part of the garden. So far the Violas in another area have been ok, fingers crossed, but I want to be one step ahead of it and try to understand how to deal with it. I think it is the part of the garden that gets most sun where they...

Good morning with respect I am not to sure that it is the "SB P.I"that is to blame growing a Rose from seed is a minefield but I do agree with our good friend @Sheal with a proviso that I would repott the Rose when it is in its dormant state using fresh John Innes No 3

I couldn't get that article, it is either subscription only or not available in the UK.I planted a few interesting plants recently, hoping to attract beneficial insects, such as a lilac Achillea (Yarrow) which is already flowering well, an Eryngium zabelii (Sea Holly) which isn't flowering yet...

It should all be Ok then.

Thank you. I have purchased some Diatomaceous Earth and I already have neem oil and castile soap for pests.

Just coming back to report, it was a fungus of some sort, starting budding off a little bit, so I’ve kept using it

I like your logic.

We usually have a small bed of Dahlias which at some point get BlackFly which we used to use a spray, but last year we just left them and let nature do its work. We lost a few shoots to them but the ladybirds and other creature actually clean them off, and within a coupe of weeks it all looked...

Ok Michael thanks. I'll attempt a makeover tomorrow, it's driving me nuts sitting here looking at it.

They look a bit thripsy. There is so many things that hide under the leaves, it's hard to keep track

Hi,I have a small (2' tall) portuguese laurel which had loads of new growth and looked really healthy, but now all the new growth has shrivelled up. I've attached some photos and would be really grateful if someone could tell me what the problem is likely to be, and more importantly, how to...

Another question, how long has it been there?

I suppose it is like eating the chocolate and leaving the cabbage!

That sounds like fun

Thank you, Spruce. Good to know it's only the weather that's caused it. Cheers. lindyco