Talkback: Ask Adam - Page 2 - Talkback

Margaret Hall

09/03/2012 at 11:36

Hi Adam We bought a cottage in Anglesey 5 years ago near the sea very windy situation the border at the back is approx 120feet and was covered in brambles there is a hawthorn hedge along the back which is impossible to take out which also houses brambles nettles after much hard work cleared the border full of clay and put the black sheet down to prevent weeds planted lots of different plants and initially looked lovely however most of the plants did not grow hebes thrive can not get any flowers to grow. Now the border looks very untidy and needs ground cover plants have tried to remove some of the black sheeting. Would it benefit from lime or adding sand to the clay and can you suggest which ground cover plants would survive would dearly love some colour in the border
Many thanks Margaret Hall

dan

09/03/2012 at 17:06

hi can you plant onians outside now?

ANGELA GRIDLEY

09/03/2012 at 21:21

i HAVE MOULD ON MY MAGNOLIA STELLATA. HOW DO I TREAT IT?

lyndy3

10/03/2012 at 11:25

Hi Adam,We have just moved house, which is on a main raod, opp open fields, when its windy boy does it blow, can you tell me the type of bushes that will take the wind and also give us a little privacy, many thanks

Lyn Boot x

GLEANER

10/03/2012 at 15:02

My dwarf apple tree is 3 years old. I had one perfect apple the first year but the last two years they are all scabbed and under size. It is a gala variety. What should I be doing right now to prevent this happening this year.

Speedy2

10/03/2012 at 17:11

I have a 4ft by 6ft greenhouse and would like to add some ventilation to it, is this possible?

Cir Mhor

10/03/2012 at 17:18

Hi, I live in the north east of Scotland. Why does my camellia bushes not flower

Fuschia16

10/03/2012 at 17:40

Ahard white crust has appeared on top of the compost on most of my indoor plants. I have tried taking the top half inch of compost and replacing it with fresh but it just comes back what do I need to do?

soulsavor

11/03/2012 at 21:39

Will I kill cleaver by hoeing or digging in?

gardenoholic

12/03/2012 at 22:06

Went to Gardeners World show last year & was very disappointed. Not nearly as good as 4 years ago, many 'craft' stalls, far fewer gardening stalls, no reflection of good fresh fruit & veg in the large corporate vending outlets- tired salad in far from fresh sandwiches, despite the presence of the Good Food show- again very small compared with last visit. Will wait for the economy to improve before I make the journey again- just not worth the journrney from South London

maggie6

13/03/2012 at 11:38

I have heavy clay soil there are many flowers and shrubs I want to put compost down but do not want totake any plants out. Every article I read states "do not put it near the roots" which is going to be quite difficult. Any suggestions

ANNA POOLE

14/03/2012 at 23:14

Adam
Can you tell me when and how I prune my Acer Brilliantissimum? It is looking a little congested and last year suffered from scale insect.

Thanks
Anna Poole

PETER GROOM

15/03/2012 at 16:14

Hi Adam when is the right time to prune blueberry& red currant bushes

PETER GROOM

15/03/2012 at 17:36

Forget to say in previous question both bushes are 1st year does this make any difference regards pruning

Peter Richards

15/03/2012 at 20:36

Hello Adam, last year I bought a Lemon tree and have had
it the conservatory all winter but the leaves have almost all fallen off, it did try to flower but the buds
never opened properly and are now falling off what have
I done wrong
Peter Richards

Wendy7

15/03/2012 at 20:56

Cordyline...I have 5 "babies" growing off the main stem.do I need to seal the main stem when I cut 2 of these off, and what do I use to seal wound ?

Wendy

Angelique2

15/03/2012 at 21:08

Hi Adam, I have a ceanothus shrub in my front garden (which is west facing and I live in Somerset)and every spring most of the leaves are brown.I usually cut these off but I have very few flowers. It looks pretty woody. It's about 3 foot tall. Is it the wrong place?

J. DAVEY

15/03/2012 at 21:16

HI ADAM,IS IT SAFE TO LEAVE A TALL SLIM EUCALYPTUS TO CONTINUE GROWING WITHOUT ANY PRUNING WHEN IT IS NEXT TO WOODEN FENCE. IT SWINGS ABOUT IN A STRONG WIND.
J.DAVEY. NORFOLK

whitevanwoman

15/03/2012 at 22:10

I am very fortunate to have been donated a commercial greenhouse, with all it's lovely opening roof and louvre vents intact. We have cut down the original size to 8' h x 10' w x 13' l. As you can appreciate the area of glass in this is considerable. The problem is that the white shading material, probably 'Coolglass' has been left on for a considerable time and we are finding it very difficult to clean. Some of the panes are almost completely opaque. I'm not so concerned for the summer, when we would be applying shade anyway, but in winter when light levels are low and short, my plants may suffer. I plan to overwinter chillies, in a separate heated area, hence my concern. To date we have tried using hot water and detergent solution; proprietary glass cleaner; methylated spirits; white spirit; a very sharp fine scraper designed to remove adhesive labels from surfaces; t-cut; xylene; and somebody recommended sugar soap which we tried.

As you have probably guessed none of these have worked. Have you any other suggestions please? We live in Berkshire and the greenhouse runs E to W. Some 50% of the glass is in this condition. Kitting out a new greenhouse as you know is expensive so replacing the glass is not an option.

Help please, we don't know what else to do?

hellibore

16/03/2012 at 09:49

Hi Adam,What climbing plants will be best to plant on a East facing fence in County Durham.Both flowering and evergreen? I don't get much sunshine in the back garden.