NEW Gardeners !

Thanks very much for repliesDisease could be a factor. According to my local garden centre we live in a rust prone area. Where I used to live (only abot half a mile away) the roses in my garden suffered dreadfully from it but I don't know if it affects privet or what the effects would be.I...

Like as @pete suggested - how big do you want it to grow to? And he's right that it's likely too late to be pruning it now, especially down to one shoot as you mentioned. It's very unlikely to bear much fruit for several years, so go easy on it until it's well-established, where you decide to...

Excellent! Which ones have you chosen?

Many people say it's somewhat a thug of a plant and can overtake gardens, but have yet to see this happen, even where its been establlished for many years.Maybe the heavy clay soil around here keeps it subdued!?!

I've my hedge and all ordered. Hadn't heard of that idea of fedge. I ordered a mix of hornbeam, hawthorn, dogwood and rose hedging. I then ordered some trees a mix of willow and red oak. I think everything should be ok in wet ground as far as I can see from the reading I've done.Cheers Keith

I thought that was probably the case :(Interesting about the lights, will have to do some thinking on that one. There isn't room in the bedroom for a table, hence the plastic sheeting/bed set-up, so I'll have to work out a way of setting up lights without a sturdy base. I assume just...

Checking things further.. I would have to agree with pete Definitly looks like Brown rot gummosis, gummosis(noun)disease of citrus trees caused by the fungus Phytophthora citrophthora Source

:question: Thought something was up with them!!

You don't say where abouts you live. If you are in the south of Englnd where Spring will be arriving any minute now I'd do exactly what Pamdish recommends and I would prune the shrub quite hard, taking off about a 1/3 off the branch lengths to minimise the amount of moisture the shrub will...

Thankyou all - very helpful advice. I'll ponder another week or so - but am sorely annoyed by the height of the clump at its' centre.

Hi Florabritannica, Well they were looking a bit leggy so I thought I'd give them a hair cut

Oh woops I didn't realise this was yours.. I just replied to the other thread you made! That looks gorgeous, lovely setting you have!

Sarcococca ..just googled x

Looking at that pic, and if you want usable lawn by summer then I'd weedkill the lot, take it over and get turf down in mid Spring

I think I'm still going to try and see how the collected seeds turn out but will also buy some seeds as a backup.Thanks to everyone who helped - very much appreciated.

That's how I've always dealt with overgrown ground, although portions can be left uncovered for varying times (part or whole season) to let weed seeds germinate before hoeing them in and either planting well established pot/cell grown plants in the open ground, or covering that first flush of...

Would never, ever want to do this. I would just buy some paperwhites from a store and plant them in a pot for inside blooming. I just toss them at the end and move on.

Using a cultivator is not difficult, and you should be able to get good advice from the hire place.As to the amount of organic matter to dig in, others on here can give far better advice than I can.Back when I did the last part of my lawn, I started to prepare it in Spring, allowed the...

to GC @Steven_mc and congratulations on your new home and garden Great start putting down turf! She won't when the good weather is here and she can enjoy the garden and your beautiful lawn Hopefully you'll stick around and we'll be able to share your excitement and joys as you do more...

Will do. When I get a chance to see her