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The cause of the splits is invariably irregular watering. When the tree suddenly gets a hefty drink following a period of drought, the apples quickly expand, which often leads to the skin cracking. The fruit usually produces a corky, scab-like covering, but in the case of mature ...

Living on a hillside, I’m fortunately not in danger of being flooded, but it doesn’t mean I’m not feeling the effects of the recent heavy rains. It’s difficult to walk around my sloping garden without slipping over, and the grassed areas have turned to deep mud. They’re in a wors...

head start too.There's no doubt that early sowing is a risk. Seedlings struggle to grow well when there's so little light and warmth around. But if you're lucky with the weather, it is possible to coax them along, and the reward is much earlier flowers

now. They’re much more likely to germinate and grow successfully now that the soil’s warmer. It would have been a risk planting them a few weeks ago when it was still so cold.Some vegetable seeds can be sown directly outdoors now. I tend to sow only

The crab apple, Malus'Golden Hornet', is loaded every year with small, amber-yellow fruit. By Christmas many have fallen to the ground, though the branches are still decked with copious amounts of fruit. They are decorative and versatile, and ideal for using in table decorations....

Apple sooty blotch is caused by an overwintering fungus, which is typically found on trees or branches growing in shade and damp. It creates a splatter of dark, sooty spots all over the skin of the fruit, although the flesh isn't affected at all

Any tree fruit that has been wounded by insects or is split can be infected by this fungus. If the affected fruit is still on the tree, inedible and rotten, the fungus can even spread back into the spurs. Damaged, harvested fruit can also be affected. The spores are transmitted t...

Left unchecked, canker can gradually spread to affect whole branches and sections of trees. Severely-infected old trees may be beyond rescue, while young trees are vulnerable to infection, particularly where other susceptible trees are growing

Earwigs, which can be up to 14mm long, hide during the day and emerge at night to feed. The females lay eggs in late-winter, usually in the soil, which hatch in spring. Although earwigs can damage plants, they also eat small pests and their eggs, including aphids and codling moth...

to the same plant. It's only a significant problem when young plants are being defoliated or you're growing specimens for a show. Bees snip out elliptical sections of leaf margins, particularly on roses, and use them to make thimble-shaped cells in their nests