Your Gardening Questions Answered

Stumped? Need some gardening advice? Send your garden question to us by clicking here  and filling out our question form.

Before you send a question:
  Check the  recent back issues.
  Check the Garden Basics section.
  Moving plants? Try here.
  Problems with lemon trees? Try here.
  Yellowing gardenias? Try here.

We very much welcome your gardening questions but please note that due to the
sheer number we are sorry that we cannot guarantee to answer them all.
 Please keep the questions short.
 

Question Topics This Month

infestation of garden worms - QLD
pruning allamandas - QLD
moving Robinias - WA
chrysanthemum spray - QLD
planting trees - WA
Native plants - VIC
Yellow leaves - SA

Lemon tree - VIC
Cypress trees - pruning when sick - VIC
Dwarf Plumbago – does it exist- NSW
Strawberries heritage varieties - QLD
Blueberry Ash Tree – fertilizer
Lemon Tree – pruning – TAS

Want a snail bait that is both effective and unlikely to harm your pets?
Click here

Topic and Question

Answer

infestation of garden worms - QLD 

After lots of rain and high humidity hundreds of baby earth worms are hatched and crawling out of the garden bed onto our paved area. They die on the pavers and create a dreadful smell and mess. There are literally hundreds of them and vary in size from 25mm to 50 mm (small 1-2 inches) and are very skinny. They have only started to appear since we got new soil and mulch.
We would like to know what you suggest to try to get rid of them or keep them in the garden bed?

BACK TO TOPICS

Conditions for worm hatching must have been ideal and the new soil and mulch contained lots of eggs. It means you have great soil but there is not much you can do – certainly killing the worms is not the answer, they are the gardeners best friend! I think the problem will settle down after a while.

BACK TO TOPICS

You don’t say whether you have a bush or vine allamanda. This vigorous plant should probably be pruned 3 or 4 times a year in a warm climate. Not a hard pruning, just taking the tops out of the stronger growths. Beware the toxic milky sap though.

moving Robinias - WA 

I am in the middle of planning for a major house renovation/extension and I have 2 Robinias (about 10 years old and 2.2 metres apart) near the house. I would really like to keep them but the trees are 30 - 40 cm below the line of the extension and subsequent leveling of the existing sloping block.
I am wondering if I should just place soil on top of the current soil level (to about 30 - 40 cm) or whether I will need to dig them up and move them.

BACK TO TOPICS

It’s not good practice to place that much soil around the base of any tree – it has the effect of smothering the roots and depriving them of oxygen. You could build a retaining wall (like a box) around the trees to keep the soil off if you have the room. It would have to have sides of at least a couple of metres I would have thought. You may like to consult an arborist.

chrysanthemum spray - QLD 

I am interested in making a spray from chrysanthemum and would greatly appreciate any help or tips

BACK TO TOPICS

I presume by chrysanthemum you are referring to pyrethrum (Tanacetum cinerariifolium) or feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) and not florist’s chrysanthemums. Soak a tablespoon of flowerheads in a litre of hot water for one hour. Strain, add a pinch of soap powder, place into a spray bottle and use. This retains its efficacy for only 12 hours.

BACK TO TOPICS

It depends what you mean by ‘next to’. Avoacadoes grow very big and need lots of room. I would say no closer than 3m at the very least.

Native plants - VIC 

When is the best time of year to plant natives in Melbourne (Essendon)?

BACK TO TOPICS

I leave all my planting until the weather cools and the first rain arrives. So it’s usually about late April, however I have had success planting from April right through to about September. Any later and they don’t have time to settle in before summer and need close attention to watering.

Yellow leaves - SA 

I have some plants at home and the leaves have turned yellow. Why is this?

I have checked the PH Level and everything seems ok. 

BACK TO TOPICS

Leaves turning yellow could be due to a number of reasons. Heat stress, lack of water, too much water, lack of fertilizer etc. More information like type of plants and whether they’re in a pot or in the garden would be required to give a definitive answer. Meantime you could try watering them with a seaweed solution.

Lemon tree - VIC 

Hi I would like to know if you could tell me why my healthy looking lemon tree is dropping all the lemons. It has been very hot lately.

BACK TO TOPICS

The extreme temperatures we have been having would certainly make your lemon drop its fruit. Probably because its roots were a bit on the dry side. It is the tree’s safety mechanism. Another hot day with no moisture and it might also start to drop leaves. Water your tree deeply and mulch the ground to lock in that moisture and keep the roots cool.

Cypress trees - pruning when sick - VIC 

I have a row of Cypress trees that have been left to grow to approx 30ft tall. They are dying on the lower half and I am wondering if pruning the tops off will send the trees into shock or would it actually help with water consumption and re-growth at the bottom?

BACK TO TOPICS

If they are really old Cupressus macrocarpa then a sign of senescence is branches dying from the bottom up. Or it could be a lack of water doing this to your trees or it may be a dieback disease called cypress canker. I don’t think pruning the tops off will help. I would be getting an arborist’s opinion particularly if the row is an integral part of the garden.

Dwarf Plumbago – does it exist- NSW

I need to know if there is a dwarf white Plumbago.
There's a hedge of white plumbago next to a carpark in Nowra.
It rarely gets any attention..but it's magnificent!
I was hoping to grow a low hedge, preferably with white flowers.It is obviously a tough plant. Can you help?

BACK TO TOPICS

I’m not aware of a dwarf plumbago. Keeping the hedge clipped regularly is probably keeping it compact as plumbago can get over 2m in height. There is a native plumbago (P. zeylanica) that is less than 1m in height. It has a white flower.

BACK TO TOPICS

Captain Cook strawberries were still grown commercially in NZ until at least the mid 1960’s. Does any reader in Australia have a Captain Cook Strawberry plant?

Blueberry Ash Tree – fertilizer

Please advise what fertilizer I should use for very young Blueberry Ash Tree's.

BACK TO TOPICS

As this is an Australian native, I would suggest a slow release fertilizer specifically formulated for Australian native plants.

Lemon Tree – pruning – TAS 

Lemons don’t need regular pruning like deciduous fruit trees. If the tree needs thinning or cutting back because it is too big, then that can be done in early spring.

<Home/Index>

< Email >

<Advertise>