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Every garden has its fair share of slugs and the bad news is that they are around for most of the year. They're active mostly after dark, especially when it's damp. In hot dry weather they bury themselves to avoid dehydrating.Holes are chewed

There are many different fungi that cause this problem, each of which usually affects a particular plant or group of plants. In each case they produce similar symptoms. Affected plants will have discoloured leaves, often also distorted when young, while general growth and vigour ...

The fungal spores that cause rust are spread on the wind, and they can survive over winter on the soil surface, on fallen debris and even objects such as fences and stakes. The symptoms spread in early summer from patches of orange on the stems and leaf stalks of roses to more ob...

.Snails mostly feed at night; mild, damp conditions suiting them best. Go out with a torch and collect them by hand. Either re-home them on a patch of waste ground, well away from your garden as they have a homing instinct, or drop them in a bucket of hot, salty

Pruning roses keeps them in shape and encourages more flower growth and healthier plants. Cut weak shoots right back to promote stronger growth from the base.Rose bushSecateursautumn or spring20 minutesRemove dead shoots and the tips of stems

knife and dust the wound with fungicide.liliesspring, autumnMore advice on growing liliesDividing day lilies videoRemoving lily beetlesPlanting lily bulbs in a potDeadheading lilies

to your garden.

to where a vigorous shoot has emerged.Cut through the supporting ties to allow the removal of the pruned flowered shoots. Train in strongest new shoots as they develop throughout the rest of the growing season.AdamWear gloves and protective goggles when

Plum trees can be prone to silver leaf disease if pruned in winter, so cut them back in summer to encourage the development of bushy growth, which stops them becoming too large and unmanageable. Plum treeSecateurs June - July 20 minutesUse secateurs to cut back this season's grow...

Winter pruning wisteria encourages the development of short-flowering spurs that carry the flowers in spring. The long vigorous shoots produced on the wisteria need to be cut back at least twice during the year, so you'll need to repeat this pruning in late-June or early July.Wis...