
Your Gardening Questions Answered
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Editorial This month Melanie tells us
how we can have beautiful blossoms on our trees for a good part of the year
and Helen looks at citrus in pots. A great collection of
articles just for you! John & the Global Garden Team |
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Your Gardening Questions Answered Stumped? Need some gardening advice? Send your
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Can't find your question listed here? | |
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summer blooms VIC |
Leaves falling
of my choisya UK |
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Want a snail bait that is both effective and unlikely to
harm your pets? | |
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Topic and Question |
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summer blooms VIC Could you please give me a list of flowers to plant that will bloom in early summer in central vic. [My turn to host the family boxing day get together] And when to plant,[seedlings or seed] |
On the front page under Gardening Guides click on Planting Guides. Your area borders cool and temperate – I would pick temperate. There are lots of seedlings you can plant now for summer colour. Prepare the ground well with some compost dug in and a bit of blood and bone and keep the seedlings well watered. |
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I need to know how to remove Acanthus mollis (Oyster plant) I have used herbicides and I have dug it up several times. I am unable to continue digging due to bad health. When I pay someone to remove it they just use stronger herbicides but it still grows. I am hoping you have a suggestion.
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Unfortunately acanthus grows from any bit of root that remains in the ground. Also because the leaf is shiny, herbicides tend not to stick too well. Adding a surfactant to your sprayer can help the herbicide to stick but you have to be persistent and spray every time it reappears. The only other tried and true method is to dig up the entire area and sift the soil removing every bit of plant material. Sorry. | |
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Growing a lemon tree in a hothouse TAS Would it be possible to grow a lemon tree (or other citrus) in a hothouse in Tasmania? I live in a windy spot and haven't really got a suitable outdoor location for one.
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I think you should be able to grow citrus in a hothouse in Tasmania. A bit of extra heat during winter would be good but not essential. Good ventilation is a must and try a dwarf variety so it won’t get too big. You could move it outside during summer like they do in Europe.
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I have a China Doll Tree planted in my back yard. It has grown to about 3mts high however it appears as though the roots, which are quite close the surface, are lifting my pavers. Do they have problem roots that could cause this to happen?
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Almost any plant if it grows big enough will have roots that can lift pavers if they are close enough! China Doll is in the family Bignoniaceae which are vigorous growers. The China Doll tree is usually grown indoors in a pot but it seems to like the conditions in your garden – some references state it can reach 9m! | |
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when should you prune gardenias in SE Queensland and how much should you take off
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If you want to prune them to reduce their size, now is a good time and I think you could safely remove one third of the foliage. Cutting off the flowers to bring inside during summer is usually enough pruning for a gardenia, unless of course they are getting too big for the allotted space!
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broad beans VIC I planted broad beans in a separate area at my backyard, but the results are totally different. In one area the broad beans have grown very well, but in another area all leaves of the broad beans have gone, why?
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It sounds like you have had your crop attacked by slugs or snails or maybe even blackbirds! Try scattering a little snail bait around and see if that fixes the problem.
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poisoning passionfruit suckers
I have tried Round Up, to poison the suckers. Before I spend any more money I would like to know what type of poison I need. |
If the suckers are arising from below the graft of a fruiting passionfruit you can’t spray these with poison as it will kill the fruiting plant also. They need to be cut off as close to the trunk as possible. If the suckers are coming up from the position where a plant once was, then glyphosate should be sufficient – use a surfactant to make the poison stick to the leaves. | |
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Leaves falling of my choisya UK I have a young Choisya, which is still in its pot. It was very healthy until about two weeks ago the LOWER leaves began to fall of, The soft new growth at the tips of some of the stems seem healthy but the lower ones are turning a pale colour and falling. We have had a lot of rain, which is when this started. Please advise.
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By your postcode
I’m guessing you are in the UK. Your plant may well be too wet or in a
position of not much light. You could try repotting the plant, applying
some slow release fertiliser and placing it where it receives full sun. | |
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Eschallots NSW Plants are going wonderful and, as with the Australian Garlic I planted at the same I'm getting lower leaves turning yellow. There's 5 - 6 bulbs on each plant and I'm stoked. But flowering?
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When any member of the allium family starts to flower it means its lifecycle is drawing to a close. The withering leaves also point to this. Possibly the plants were stressed at some time during the growing season (lack of/too much water; same with sunlight/heat) and this has triggered early flowering. There is not too much you can do about it. They do say to hold off planting garlic until the shortest day (21 June) maybe you were a bit early. |
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growing limes VIC I have 2 lime trees at my house, I am moving in a month and would like to grow them at my new house, can I cut stems of my plants and re pot and grow them? thanks for your help
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If you can dig them up with a reasonable sized rootball you should be able to do that now. Remove some of the foliage as well to reduce the stress on the tree. If you want to replant the trees in a pot them you will have to remove quite a bit more soil from the rootball before potting on. | |
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I have two balcony brick walls against which I would like to plant evergreen climbers which need to go in plant troughs. One is in bright shade, (maybe briefly getting very early morning sun in the Summer). The other is shadier (having a roof). I've done a lot of research on suitable climbers, and so far have only come up with the creeping fig and Ivy, Hedera. 1. Are there any other suitable climbers? 2. I have accepted that I will have to go for non-flowering because of the shade. Is that right? 3. Would Thunbergia Grandiflora grow on the bright shaded wall (no sun)? Website info gives me conflicting info - some say it needs for sun, others say light shade as well.
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The two species you have suggested would probably be ok as they are pretty tough but will need to be kept under control. Thunbergia would be probably be ok in bright shade. Have you considered hanging shade loving plants in pots from the walls?
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Soil preparation VIC I am planning to add/mix 10cm layer of compost to the top 20cm of soil to improve the soil for the creation of a new garden. What is the ideal time frame I should do this before planting, 1-3-6-12 months?
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If this is well rotted compost you can spread it and plant on the same day. If you are unsure whether it is well rotted or not I would wait 2 weeks to a month before planting.
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weeping cherries VIC My weeping cherry died due to drought - I do not want to plant another as this was my third plant. I want to try a different ornamental tree about the same height as the cherries can you suggest something. Faces north - has full sun and does get the wind - good drainage. I do not necessarily require a flowering plant - the rest of our garden is native – I have weeping grevilleas in garden. |
A weeping apricot might be a better choice if you want a flowering weeping tree. I have one and its really tough. Good autumn colour too. Do keep the water up to it for the first two summers though.
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Fruit trees in heavy clay soils VIC We would like to plant fruit trees in an old dam without amending the soil (a very heavy clay). Do you know any fruit trees that would survive in very heavy clay soils? It doesn't necessarily need to fruit well in the location just survive. Mulberry, Loquat?
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Planting any tree into a dam lined with heavy clay soil is a big ask! Any fruit tree needs good drainage and you won’t get this in an old dam which presumably will fill up after rain. If the dam has been breached and doesn’t hold water anymore, then any tree growing there will still need to be hilled up. You will have to incorporate some organic matter into the clay – there is no easy way out in this situation! |
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