Talkback: Lifting and dividing - Talkback

11/03/2009 at 19:33

high ive got a nearly pot bound plant called so im told dont know if my uncles having me on ( mother in laws tongue) can i split it now its flowering at the moment sticky sappy flowers

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12/03/2009 at 14:53

I have michelmas daisies that have the 'need to be split' look - they are a bit like a fairy ring. Can I split these now and how deep are the roots; do I need an earth mover - they have been growing untouched for at least 15 years.

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12/03/2009 at 19:34

today i weeded and turned over the left side of my drive my daffss tulips and hiyasnth bulbs are flowering, but lasy september i made the mistake of planting them in huge clumps so i dug them up and spreaded them out more naturally will this harm them

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13/03/2009 at 16:42

The only plant I have with the tell tale polo effect is a flag iris taht badly needs sorting out. For some reason, all the other big clumps of perennials such as phlomis and assorted lysimachia are more like extra strong mints with no hole and no weakening. They do need a good sorting out but I hate to discard viable plants on the compost. As for everything else, I am waiting with fingers crossed to see what has survived our several snowfalls and temps down to -25C. It looks like several shrubs are gonners and no doubt the verbenas, assorted penstemons, sedums, clematis and all except the creamy coloured hellebores. and that's not counting teh treasures "weeded" by my husband when I asked him to clear some invading nettles. One can have too many "planting opportunities" sometimes. I also have a new garden helper in the form of a Tibetan terrier rescue dog who likes to dig the garden just a bit too much.

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13/03/2009 at 18:51

Thanks for the tip about mint. mine is exactly like that.

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13/03/2009 at 23:37

I have just discovered a woderful ball of frog spawn in my tiny lttle pond.What do Ihave to do to maitain them....Plants?

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14/03/2009 at 21:22

My lilac tree has a yellow gold colour mould? Not sure what it is but it is covering a lot of the branches. The tree has just started to bud. Not sure what to do with it or what the problem is? Any help appreciated.

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15/03/2009 at 18:34

Thank you so much for the help on the mint I have my mine in a pot and will get that done as I will need fresh mint for my Pimms and the home growing potatos. My Hosta is showing shoots out of the ground now and I feel I need to split it. I would like to split the shoots into at least 3 is this possible as the lilac flowers it produces are superb? Do I need to dig the whole plant up and then split accordingly?

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16/03/2009 at 01:53

I have been ill since September, but now am able to get in the garden, i have a climbing rose bought in France so no name - how should i prune it please, ive never had one before, its climbing up my side wall and is in a large urn, up to now its height is about 25 feet high.

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16/03/2009 at 20:17

Is a Blog for questions? Anyway here goes. I live in France and we have a wood burner which is used everyday and evening during the winter. This, of course, creates a great deal of wood ash. Can some one please advise me how much is safe to put on my veg beds.

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17/03/2009 at 12:21

What a lot of questions... Carol: Best to mix the ash into your compost heap rather than spreading too much on your vegetables. Phippsy: Delighted you are feeling better - try this http://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/projects/rose-bush-prune/ Chilipops: Dig up your hosta, chop it in bits and replant. Rosielee: I suspect that your golden mould may be some sort of harmless moss or lichen. If the plant dies then I am wrong and apologise! DoveF: Frogs know what they are doing. If they like your pond enough to spawn then you are doing fine. Plants help for general biodiversity and to keep water clean. Obelixx: Ah, Tibetan Terriers are not good gardeners, in fact they are not good at doing anything other than exactly what they want! Mine ate an entire beech tree sapling when puppies. Garden Mad: It will involve some serious digging but the plant (if not your lower back) will thank you in the end. Michael; Mother in Law's tongue is the common name of a Sanseviera. A dead easy houseplant. If you enter that into any search engine you will be swamped with advice.

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17/03/2009 at 13:32

I have recently purchased a cordyline red star, about 18" high. I planted it in a container of fertile soil and the pot has plenty of drainage, it's in a sheltered position, away from the wind and any extreme cold weather. i have noticed that the colour has started to fade to green and the lower two thirds of leaves are drooping. i haven't over or under watered it. What have i done wrong, any suggestions please.

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20/04/2009 at 19:00

sue431960. Is your red cordyline getting enough sun? Shade will cause greening. Old leaves of this tropical tree will hang down as they age and in large specimens can be removed to tidy the plant and show more of the trunk. But 18" is a very young plant for this to happen. Perhaps a bigger and deeper container is needed. I have 3 cordylines planted in borders- Yellow varigated,Red Star and a green with red leaf bases.All have come through several frosty Nottingham winters with no protection, on clay soil.

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21/04/2009 at 01:30

The only thing I want to lift at the moment is the flipping ground Elder that has encroached from my neighbours garden and the millions of other weeds that stray from the railway bank, and the whole of the land could be drunk on Dandilion and Burdock with all the billions of these invasive plants that that highways department allow to flurrish every where,other than that every thing in the garden's Rosie.it is 2 o'clock in the morning.

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21/04/2009 at 01:34

just a foot note, I think the clock on the BBC web is wrong because I posted the blogs at 2-30 and yet it says 1-30 on the heading

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21/05/2009 at 19:15

I have just bought a chocolate mint plant. It has lots of aphids on it and is starting to droop and so look so very dead. WHAT DO I DO?

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26/05/2009 at 15:22

Jan: Try and hose off the aphids with a strong jet (or spray with insecticide if you must). You could then cut the plant back which may get rid of more bugs. Most importantly keep it watered and planted in good soil with plenty of sunshine. Aphids can only defeat an unhealthy plant.

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02/06/2009 at 09:26

i have cordyline which was too big for it,s situation.i read somewhere that you can cut them down to about 1 foot then they may regenerate. it has indeed done this and there are several shoots appearing around the base of the stump. does anyone know what happens now & do i need to do anything else?

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08/01/2010 at 16:40

I see that wood ash is good for certain plants... I have put it on a few without realising that i shouldn't put it on certain plants, how can i find out which plants don't like it? Will it kill them? I did go out and try to scrape most of it off. I am new to gardening and am quite upset i may have just ruined all my last years hard work!

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08/01/2010 at 16:46

Sorry, i have register now-my post was 'SR' above-please help!!