QUESTION
We just moved into a bungalow and have found out there are some established carnations can we transplant them and how do we prune them and in which month can all these things be done. Thank you.

ANSWER
The best time to move your carnations is October. But you can move them now, weather permitting. Try to move by the middle of March. Cut down the stems to about 3 inches in length. Carnations like plenty of high potash food and they also like lime too keep the soil alkaline.

QUESTION
Dear Sirs,
Each spring we go through the weed situation that has sprung up during the winter that we have here in Irvington Alabama. We have a yard full of azaleas and along the front fence in a bed they are lined up.

Is there anything on the market that I can put around the azalea and on the ground to kill weeds of all types? I try to be careful because we have a family pet also.
Thanks, Chris

ANSWER
There are contact herbicides that can be sprayed on too the weeds, but care must be taken regards your pet.

Systemic herbicides, which are absorbed by the weeds, could be used but the azaleas have shallow roots, which may absorb the herbicide and cause damage. Therefore the best I can suggest is a gas powered flame gun. These are available to buy or rent at garden outlets.

QUESTION
I have an old cedar tree in may yard and I would like to know some plants that I could grow there. It is shady all day and there is nothing growing there now but weeds.

There is a perfect branch for a swing and I would like to make this my hideaway garden. Do you have any suggestions? I live in south central Mississippi if that will help.
Thank you! Sherron

ANSWER
The following plants would be suitable for your purpose. Vibernum davidii, Juniperus horizontalis blue rug, Gaultheria, Hypericum rose of Sharon, cotoneaster dammeri, Dicentra. Arctostaphylos uva ursi, Berberis hookeri, Cytisus scoparius prostrata. Vinca, minor and major, willow gentian, primula vulgaris, digitalis, Helleborus,

QUESTION
I hope you can give some suggestions regarding an ongoing problem. I have a client with an English style perennial garden. It is divided into four quadrants, each quadrant surrounded by dwarf English boxwoods. These boxwoods have been regularly dying out and we have replaced quite a few.

After a soil sample test it was determined that phytopthera root rot is the culprit. Since boxwoods are susceptible to this disease we are looking at replacing them with a low-growing holly, possibly dwarf yaupon or hoogerdorn. Are there any other options you know of which could be kept at about 12-15'' tall and 10'' wide?
Thank you! Katie.

ANSWER
I would suggest Berberis buxifolia 'Nana' Dwarf Magellan Barberry, Dwarf Box-leafed Barberry. These are evergreen and easily trimmed to shape.

QUESTION
Skimmia.
Please can you tell me how to look after Skimmia and how do I prune them if at all possible as I have never come across them, before.
Thank you.

ANSWER
There are both male and female varieties of Skimmia, you need both if you want berries, but if you are short of space there are hermaphrodite varieties available. The male plant gives off a lovely scent in early spring. They need iron and magnesium to maintain the intense green colour.

They like a light acid soil, spread peat around the plant to maintain an acid state. No pruning is usually needed; the plant tends to maintain a tight form of growth. Only major pest is the vine weevil, which attacks the roots, treatments are available.

QUESTION
Dear experts, I am being told by my fellow gardening friends, all sorts of mixtures for my hanging baskets, what in your experience is the ideal mixture that I can make myself.
Yours sincerely, William.

ANSWER
There are many mixtures possible for hanging baskets, but we always use and strongly recommend, 'Seed and Potting Compost,' supplied as such by all the big compost suppliers.

Trying to make your own mixture can be successful but often leads to trouble with wrong chemical balance and either too dry or too wet a mixture leading to poor plant performance. When filling your basket, always add water retention granules and slow release fertiliser mixed into the compost as you fill.

QUESTION
Hello from Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada on Vancouver Island and what a wonderful place to live. I have a rhodo that needs transplanting. Do I wait after it has bloomed? When is the best time to re-locate it?? It has outgrown it latest space and want to plant it out front SE location from a northwest spot better???
Thanks Kim

ANSWER
October November is the time to transplant your rhododendron. It will be all right to move to a south facing position. When transplanting incorporate some well watered farmyard manure, horse manure or similar into the planting hole to feed the plant.

Water well for the first year, the plant will take a while to adjust to the hotter environment facing south. The leaves will lose a considerable amount of water through transpiration until they toughen up.

QUESTION
Hello - I have several variegated plants that are supposed to grow low to the ground and "vine out" to cover the ground. However, some of them are growing straight up - what's going wrong and how do I fix it? Thanks

ANSWER
Some ground cover plants do tend to have a percentage of their growth which heads for the sun. If the plant is growing mostly along the ground you could cut off the upwards-growing shoots. Point two; some plants have ground cover varieties and climbing versions of the same plant. Check on your labels that you have not purchased bush varieties instead of ground cover types.

QUESTION
I have in my garden 2 small flowering cherry trees can you tell me how to prune them and when. Also do I have to do anything to the branches that cross over another and are starting to rub.
Thank you.

ANSWER
Flowering cherry trees are best pruned in autumn. Do not over prune it's just a matter of trimming to a good shape and removing any wayward branches, which might twist off in the winter gales. Branches that are rubbing together are best cut out now; the wound can attract fungal infection.

QUESTION
Please can you advise me how much I should cut back Pelargoniums, which, miraculously, have survived the winter in the greenhouse? I have started to give them a little water....
Thanks, David

ANSWER
Pelargoniums.
Pelargoniums are best hard pruned in the autumn, now growth has started you are best cutting back by about one third. Then as the plant grows cut back any dying or wayward growth. Always prune back to a node, any growth left above the node will simply rot off, not good for plant health. Always cut on the slant so as to prevent water settling on the top of the cut and rotting the wound.

QUESTION
A friend from Plymouth has two Mimosa trees, which he bought in containers two years ago. They have been on his patio, which is quite sheltered, but he thinks they may have been slightly damaged by frost. The leaves are discoloured. Do you have any advice? Should he replant them in the ground, cut them back, or start again?
Many thanks, Sandy

ANSWER
For the time being, feed with a high potash, low nitrogen, liquid fertiliser, tomato fertiliser would be ideal. Also a mineral supplement would be of benefit. Using high potash, low nitrogen fertiliser will enable the plant to build up its condition without too rapid a leaf growth. Then it's a matter of having to wait to see if lasting damage has been done by the winter. Remember Mimosa trees are notoriously short lived and sometimes tend to expire suddenly for no apparent reason.

Question

I fancy planting a Magnolia. Which variety is best and what tips do you have?

Answer

There are many varieties of Magnolia, but there are three major popular varieties seen in most gardens. 'Soulangeana' and 'Stellata' with white flowers and 'Nigra' with white flowers with a purple stripe. Also to a lesser extent 'Rubra', with reddish flowers in late summer. Although decked with marvellous flowers 'Soulangeana' is a plant for only the large garden easily reaching the height of your house.

Stellata with it masses of star like flowers is the best for the small garden staying a compact bush, Nigra has similar dimensions. Magnolias like good rich soil until established, then they will look after themselves. Incidentally I have seen Japanese houses filled with Bonsai versions of the Stellata absolutely covered in tiny white flowers.
Valecroft Nurseries


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