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Q – If and how can I prune an unruly Hebe?Ìý It’s 2m across by 1m high (6.5ft x 3.2ft).

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Christine – I would be loath to touch it.Ìý Either love it or lose it.

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Pippa – You could take some cuttings

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Christine – Smaller-leaved ones and the whipcords can disappear if you prune them hard – a bit like lavender and rosemary.Ìý Larger-leaved varieties tend to do better.

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Q – I would love to grow a mango from seed.Ìý I have one potted and in the airing cupboard but haven’t seen anything yet.Ìý Do I need to start again?

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Bob – Mangos are polyembryonic so sometimes you get several shoots.Ìý Warmth you’re spot on with but you shouldn’t put them in the dark.Ìý

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Pippa – We used to snip the edge off the casing with secateurs to help them along.Ìý Never put them in the dark.Ìý Get an electrically heated propagator – worth it.

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Q – Which garden plants are best for green manure?

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Christine – Depends on soil type.Ìý Traditionally Phacelia, Buckwheat, Trifolium, perennial rye, mustard.Ìý Trouble with brassicas is that you can encourage club root.Ìý Best ones have prestigious roots and fairly soft foliage but lots of it.Ìý

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Bob – Most of the ones sold to use are from farms so grazing rye, mustard, vetches, tares.Ìý Rather than digging in you can put a black plastic sheet over the area about two months before you need the soil.Ìý Or you could grow something else; I use the ‘Poached Egg’ plant (Limnanthes douglasii), Claytonia (Claytonia perfoliata), and ‘Lamb’s Lettuce’ (Valerianella locusta) and these grow through the winter and then you compost them leaving the soil ready for the next crop.

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Q – I’ve got a red Acer palmatum ‘Starfish’ that’s showing signs of wilting leaves.Ìý It’s in a 13-inch (33cm) glazed pot in ericaceous soil on a sheltered patio.Ìý Is it dead or can I save it?Ìý There is a greed Acer palmatum ‘Sango-kaku’ that’s doing well in the same plot.

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Bob – It looks like it has been frosted or scorched

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Christine – I put it down to early morning heat

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Pippa – There is a problem known as Acer Scorch.Ìý I would also say that that is quite a small pot for an Acer.

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Q – I had a rose slug problem (especially on my ‘Gertrude Jekyll’) and used a spray to kill them but what can I do to stop them coming back?

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Pippa – I think it’s actually a Sawfly.Ìý If you’ve used the insecticide and you’ve done a good clean up then chances of it returning next year are pretty slim.Ìý

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Topical tips:

Bob – Teasels (Dipsacus fullonum)

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News story:

Xylella fastidiosa

Hebe

Lavender

Rosemary

Olive

Common Froghopper (Cuckoo Spit)

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Q – Last Christmas my son sneakily planted a Walnut in one of my Hosta pots.Ìý I have successfully re-potted it but what’s the best way to tend for it now?

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Bob – Walnuts are slow.Ìý I have an old French one called Franquette that I get seedlings from but they don’t fruit.Ìý It won’t be happy in a pot; if you plant it out it will get very big.

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Q – I work for a local charity supporting disabled children through a number of means including sensory interaction on a farm.Ìý We have a plot on this farm we want to plant up with the children in mind – what can you recommend?

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Christine – Mimosa pudica (the ‘Sensitive Plant’).Ìý Lamb’s Ears. ÌýPulsatilla.Ìý Squirting cucumbers.Ìý Virginia stocks.Ìý Crocus.Ìý

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Bob – Loquat.Ìý Lavender.Ìý Russian Lavender (Perovskia atriplicifolia).Ìý Santolina.Ìý Sage.Ìý

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Pippa – Shiny-barked Prunus.Ìý Peeling-barked Birch.Ìý ‘Bunny Tail’ grass.Ìý Thyme.Ìý Lemon thyme.Ìý Lemon balm.Ìý

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