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Learn how to recognise and remove dead wood from garden trees, in Chris Beardshaw's video demonstration.summerMore advice on growing treesPlanting a bare-root treePlanting a fig treeTraining a nectarine tree against a fencePlanting a small tree

of satisfaction. I'm always keen to attract wildlife, and I'm pleased that this time it worked. Old nesting material can harbour diseases, pests and parasites, which can carry over from one season to the next if it's not removed. So I need to get the ladder out

this year.Although pollen beetles are no great pest, they can nibble the edges of unopened flowers. I've seen a few of them about, but for the first time, I've not had to shake the bunches of sweet peas to remove whole families of pollen beetles, or shine a

.With honey fungus, remove and destroy the entire root system, as well as the stump of the affected plants and any adjacent planting to at least 1.2m either side. You'll also need to remove the surrounding soil and replace it with fresh. With fairy rings

Mole hills - piles of fresh, excavated soil - don't fully convey the extent of one mole's underground tunnel system, which can cover a surprisingly large area. If a young plant isn't developing, it could be due to tunnelling beneath it. Seedlings can also suffer badly when their ...

Chickweed, Stellaria media, is best thought of as a delicious rather than a pernicious weed. Its young leaves are packed with vitamins, so it makes a healthy addition to salads. However, it can also harbour greenfly and spider mite, so remove

foliage. Remove seedlings and young plants on freshly cultivated ground before they get chance to establish and spread. Dig out established clumps, ensuring that all of the thick, yellow roots are removed. Where growing nettles to encourage beneficial

with yellow sorrel organically is to hoe it before it flowers and set seed, then remove it or leave it on soil surface on hot day to wither and die, to dig it out or smother it with mulch or a deep layer of soil. In lawns, vigorously rake the patch with a wire

and on clothing. Remove cleavers regularly by hand, or hoe off young seedlings before they set seed. Avoid getting seeds on clothing, as this can inadvertently spread it around the garden. Mulch borders with a 5cm layer of garden compost or composted bark

plants by hand before they get the chance to flower and seed. Alternatively, hoe through the surface of the soil to chop them off at the roots. Remove weeds and dispose of them (not on the compost heap) to prevent them re-establishing.Kill the seedlings