Gardening Questions

Broadoak Hotel, Ashton, 2009

What are the benefits and limitations of F1 Hybrid Seed compared with open pollinated varieties?

F1 seed is created over approximately five years by the interbreeding of particular varieties of plants. 

The desirable qualities, such as colour, are bred to be stronger, and undesirable qualities, such as weakness to disease, are bred out. 

The germination rate is usually better for F1 Hybrid seed.  However, the inter breeding can cause the resulting plants to be weaker. A lower percentage of open pollinated seed will germinate, but the plants themselves may be stronger.

F1 varieties can not be used to collect seed for the next season. Plants grown from open pollinated seeds will provide seeds for future years.

F1 seed is more expensive than open pollinated seed.

I have a lot of moss on my beds. Do I rake it off, or can I dig it up? If it has to be completely removed, can I compost it?

Unless you dislike the look of the moss on flower beds it isn’t doing any harm. You can skim it off. Moss is spread by microscopic spores in the air, so you’re never going to be able to stop it coming into your garden. You can prevent the formation of moss on your flower beds by regularly raking and hoeing the soil to keep it loose. Yes, you can compost moss.

I have a miniature rose bush that buds every year but doesn’t bloom, any tips please?

The buds are a good colour, only turning brown before they fall off. Whilst a mite or disease may be to blame, it may be drought. It could also be that the plant is too strong and healthy. Plants flower to set seed to continue their next generation. If the plant itself feels secure it will not feel the need to flower. The addition of potash to the base of the plant may improve it.

How do you stop cats pooing in the garden?

One option is to buy a dog! But you’re probably looking for a slightly more low maintenance method of keeping pesky moggies out of your garden. 

First, ensure that they can’t get into your garden. Check that there are no gaps in your fences and hedges or underneath them. You could fix a taught length of string six inches above your fences to deter cats from jumping over them.  

Cats enjoy freshly dug, well raked soil that they can lie in or dig in before the do their “business”. You can put bark chippings, gravel or slate around your plants to make these areas less appealing. A fine mesh fixed over the patches of soil will also stop them from digging and will not harm the cats as they can retract their claws to free themselves.

You could try using conventional gel pellets or sprays, available in most garden centres. These emit a smell which cats and dogs find distasteful. You can also scatter pepper, chilli powder orange peel, lemon rind, coffee grounds or mothballs around the areas you want to keep pest free. 

There are electronic devices which emit sounds that only a cat can hear which makes the environment unpleasant for them. These can be effective but are expensive.

Planting Cat Mint will attract cats to your garden, but they enjoy rolling around in it and may be too distracted to make any mess.

One plant which is reputed to repel them is Coleus canina.

A humane method of deterring cats from your garden if you catch them trespassing is to squirt them with your garden hose or throw a bucket of water at them. If you don’t happen to have your hose or a full bucket of water handy, it could be more convenient to keep a full water pistol around.  Sprinkler systems may not be an environmentally friendly use of water, but could work well.

CDs, 2 litre pop bottles filled with water and other reflective items, reflect a cat’s image back to them. If they think there is another cat in the garden they may by scared off.

How do I care for a commercially grown orchid?

Orchids need plenty of light, but if you notice the leaves turning yellow, it’s getting a bit too much and needs to be moved into a shadier location, they prefer indirect sunlight. 

Orchids do not grow well in normal compost because it keeps the roots too moist. They should be planted in a special orchid mix or in dry moss. In the wild orchids grow in the crevices between tree branches and the trunks. 

Orchids do not really need to be watered more than once per week. When they grow in the wild, they get their moisture from the air. They shouldn’t be left to stand in water. The best way to water and orchid is to spray the roots and the moss in which it is planted. 

It is not cause for concern that an orchid prefers to grow with its roots at the top or outside its container. It is just trying to replicate its natural habitat. Do not cut these away.

Once a flowering spike has finished blooming, it is best to remove it to encourage further flower spikes.

Most orchids only flower once a year.

Considering the problems with impatiens (Busy Lizzies) over the last two years, can you advise me of any alternatives that will give the same colourful display in baskets and troughs?

Impatiens have been suffering from a plague of downy mildew for the past couple of years. The species has become so inbred that it has weakened and can’t fight the disease. It is best not to use them at all until the species is stronger and the disease has been eradicated. 

Petunias come in a wide variety of colours and can make a good replacement. 

This is a good opportunity to experiment with different species of plants and flowers in hanging baskets and troughs. Herbs can be used for cooking as well as providing varied scents in your garden.

I have a problem growing lupins. They fail to re-appear the following year. Is it the type of soil, or a type of predator such as slugs or weevils?

Yellow, red and orange lupins are a weaker species and are unlikely to survive season after season. Blue and purple lupins, are “wild” varieties and are stronger and more likely to return. 

Lupins prefer poor soil and are known for growing in areas such as slag heaps, cemeteries and railway banking. 

Try acid sandy soil.

What causes clematis wilt?

The clematis may be suffering from a disease. If so, cutting it back severely may help. 

Some species are bred to flower twice a year, and this can exhaust the plant. 

Ensure the roots are kept in shade. Plant specimens deeper than they are planted in the pot when you buy them, and put slate or bark around the base of the plant to keep the roots cool.

Which is the best variety of clematis to grow in a tub, in a south facing yard and what would be the minimum tub size it would need?

One of the most popular and easy varieties to grow is Clematis Montana. It has striking white flowers with red stamens. It will flower freely throughout the summer. There is no actual pruning required to encourage its growth, but you can cut it back to keep it in shape.

The bigger the better is the general rule for the containers, but a minimum of 20 litres is recommended. In the height of the summer it would help if the pot could be shaded to prevent the plant from drying out.

When planting the clematis, ensure the roots are kept in shade by planting them deeply and covering the area around the base of the plant with slate or bark.

Is it wise to save runner beans from year to year and replant them? Can they be planted in the same place for several years successfully?

Yes, you can save runner beans. Pick the beans from good, healthy plants, or diseases and virus will be perpetuated. Let the beans develop within the pod and then take the pod off the plant, remove the beans from the pod and let them ripen in a cool, airy place. Keep the beans dry over winter and sow them into individual pots in March.

Most vegetables benefit from being rotated around a plot or set of plots, but legumes (peas and beans) are quite happy to grow in the same plot year on year.

Can you advise me on the care and well-being of Canna lilies? The lilies are potted in medium sized pots and planted in the ground.

In the autumn, when the plants have started to die back, lift them and pot them. Let them die back naturally and keep the rhizomes in a frost free but cool location. Start them off in a 10 litre pot in March. They should be planted 10-15cm deep. They do not require heat, but again keep them safe from frosts. If you wish to plant them in the ground, you should do so in mid-May. If you would like to increase your stock, division can be carried out at the time of potting.

When is the best time to prune a living willow structure?

There is no specific time during the growing season, but normally you would intertwine the new shoots to improve the structure and only take out any old or brittle wood, using new shoots to replace them and keep the shape. At the end of the growing season when the foliage has dropped is probably the easiest time to identify the older shoots that can be taken out without damaging the shape of the structure.

Can you add woodchip to soil if you are planting an allotment?

Adding woodchip to soil, particularly if it is a clay soil, can help to keep the clay particles apart which can help to improve the soil structure. However, woodchip is usually  used as a mulch to suppress weed growth and retain moisture. Woodchip mixed into soil will decompose. The decomposition is caused by fungi. The fungi use the Nitrogen in the soil which can lead to a deficiency of Nitrogen in the soil. This should not be a problem if the woodchips are left on the surface as a mulch.

Well rotted manure would be a better option to improve the soil and there are several other organic materials which are available from a wide range of garden centres which would be a better alternative to woodchip for an allotment. Woodchip is better used to mulch shrubberies.

I have a large green house. What are the easiest plants/vegetables to grow to put it to good use this spring and summer?

Vegetables and fruit are plants that grow very well over the summer period, such as: 

• Tomatoes
• Peppers
• Chillies
• Cucumbers
• Nectarines
• Grapevine
• Passion fruit

Flowers that grow well include:

• Tuberous rooted begonias
• Fuchsias
• many varieties of Cineraria, 
• climbers like Ipomoea (heavenly blue),
• Thunbergia (Black Eyed Susan)

Many indoor plants such as ficus, cheese plants, cordylines and African violets would be suitable. 

In autumn and winter there are many alpines which can be potted up and give lovely displays in a cold green house. If you would like to try cacti, they can be grown outside in the summer and brought in for the winter.

Where does the name “flower” originate?

The word "flower" (first flur) came from Latin florem which may have had an Aryan (German) root. The spelling changed to from "flur" to "flower" around the mid-14th century. However, it was also spelled flour, which caused some confusion with the milled grain. Flour is taken from the French fleur de farine, literally 'the flower, or finest, of the meal (of grain)'.

With the environment, climate change and diseases we are already loosing species of plants and trees. What should we now consider as replacements for trees and plants in the landscape and garden?

People can help native species by doing things like planting acorns in their garden, or obtaining permission from land owners to do this on pieces of open land.

Many species adapt well themselves to changing circumstances. Elms that have been taken down due to Dutch Elm disease, are now recovering but more as a hedgerow plant rather than as a tree

My passion flowers have both died, probably as a result of the severe frosts we had a few weeks ago. Could the panel recommend alternative climbers which would withstand our local climate? No clematis, honeysuckle or ivy please.

Frosts shouldn’t have affected them, they are usually quite hardy. It’s worth another try.

Houses can have “micro climates” against a wall and it can be a shame not to take advantage of this. Be aware that some climbers such as ivy can damage the mortar in walls and result in damage to your house. Try other species such as climbing roses.