General Gardening Discussion

I had to think along way back to when I worked in the bromeliad block at Rochfords in the 60's. We did trials of artificially flowering bromeliads, Achmeas, Vreisias and Billbergias, by placing individual plants in plastic bags with an apple for three days and then removing it. The apples give...

Hi Digital not seen you for a while, you are quite right the blue ones do best in full sun.

Thanks for the replies! Been rather busy during the summer so not had a lot of time on GC - just a lurk or two!The bidwillii is much as I suspected so I guess it'll just have to overwinter in its greenhouse (10ft. high) for a few years. What can I say - other than it's a challenge!

Coni what sort of temp do you keep your g/house at? are you planning to grow special flowering plants or annuals, not worth trying to grow annuals in the winter if you are growing sub tropicals or tropicals you need to consider the light available, most plants get drawn and leggy in winter light...

Wow thanks thats a great idea and easy to do too, I am really glad that I have a simple answer. Especially as the wet area is at the top of a hill.

They are very popular in this area and recommended as a replacement for our beloved but disease and problem ridden native Cornus florida. The pink ones are much harder to get and often times take years in the ground before developing a rich pink color. We have a big collection on the estate I...

strange how mention abroad and people say mozzies well i live 50 yards if that from the bolton/bury canal and if i mention how bad the mozzies are near us people think we are from mars. thats untill they sleep over and leave the window open and get bit to ******y :D mozzies are rife in the...

Leycesteria formosa (Pheasant Berry). Tough and easy, and birds like the berries. Very easy to grow from seed.

you can say that

Clay and sand together can be inclined to become very compacted You would need to mix in lots and lots of lighter material, farmyard manure, compost etc to get the right balance If the resulting mix is too heavy it will be difficult for the roots of anything to develop easily

Hi Golfer If its below the Graft union Its usually a Root Sucker,I personally always twist these off as If they are cut off I find that it stimulates growth of the Sucker and you get twice as many next year,Just follow the branch down to make sure It is below the Graft Union.Hope this is off...

Thanks chengjing. I have just put my request in. I tried a couple of days ago but it wasn't working. It's certainly good value, and a lot of the seeds are ones that you don't usually see for sale.

Sublimates is where a solid turns into a gas without going through a liquid stage.It's what carbon dioxide does when you get that dry ice smoke effect in discos.

Paula, I`ve planted tulips for 1 of my clients and they are already through the ground, he will probably be picking them for Christmas :D . So I would say yes, get them in. David.

can anyone help me get rid of aplant or weed invading my garden and lawn called babys tears as it is only surface rooting . lawn weedkiller doesnt touch it.thanks carolla.

Here's what the RHS sayhttp://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0805/soleirolia.aspOr you can give in to it and make it a feature

My son gave me this beautiful orchid in March end of August it stopped blooming flowered till then.I forgot to water and did not feed untill end of Sept.And now you can see she is in bud again,I no water once a week with tap water let it sit for half an hr to get aclimitised then put orhid...

Lovely colour Whis4ey.

Use heavy duty bubblewrap INSIDE the pot to create an expansion gap. Use more bubble wrap laid on top of the compost to limit the amount of rain getting into pot in winter also to protect roots from the cold.

Had a christmas cactus for years and was easy to keep. A little water and feed and it was happy, untill it was picked up to clean the surface to whit it was place, and snapped off at the base of the stem. Decided to gid rid of it, as it was getting to big for the window sill any way.