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Bamboo canesSecateursGarden twine or stringJanuaryWeave several willow stems together.Bend the entwined willow stems into a circle about 45cm in diameter.Once your circle is complete, trim off any untidy ends, and secure with string if necessary.Insert four

, but the health of the tree won't suffer.An outbreak of shiny black blotches, edged in a ring of yellow, disfigure acer leaves in early summer. This can lead them to fall prematurely.Rake up and dispose of all fallen infected leaves. As a preventative measure use

on infected stems and branches. The most serious consequence of scab is reduced vigour of the trees caused by early leaf fall. This may limit the crop of fruit. The disease also causes scabs on the skins of fruit, although they are still edible. A preventative

with the hose.roses, dahlias, fuchsias, lavender, rosemary and many garden plantsspring, summer, autumnMore common garden pestsCapsid bugsEuonymous scalePhormium mealybugScale insects

, which can encourage sooty mould to develop. It's more of a problem in urban areas where temperatures are higher.Scrape the eggs off by hand and move them to an alternative tree, or destroy them.Spray with an insecticide containing imidaclprid

and fruit. Clear up infected, fallen leaves around trees. Cover fence or wall-trained trees with polythene sheet in January and February to prevent development of fungus. Alternatively, erect an open-sided 'tent' over bushes in the open garden. Mulch around

of the planting hole square; this helps to prevent young tree roots from circling the hole rather than penetrating the surrounding soil.More advice on plantingTrees for small gardens - Gardeners' World blog by James Alexander-SinclairHow to plant a bare-root tree

The distortion, known as fasciation, is a freak of nature, and often looks like several stems have been fused together. It's a rare phenomenon and does the plant no lasting harm. It can develop on a range of shrubs, flowers and perennials. The cause could be environmental, such a...

, or thiacloprid.virtually anything from tomatoes to honeysuckleearly spring to autumnDealing with other garden pestsWoolly aphidsWhiteflyPear leaf blister miteLeafhopper

Magnesium is needed to give leaves their green colour, so when there's a deficiency, yellow breaks through between the veins and around the leaf edges instead. Other colours, such as purple, brown or red, might also appear. Older leaves suffer first, and will die if they're not g...