We answered 371 questions from 233 people last week, by letter, email, phone and visitors to the Members’ Advisory Centre in the plant centre at Wisley. This a very quiet week by our standards, even for January, but we often find that better weather is needed to spark people's interest in gardening.
Top Ten Enquiries were:
1. Apples: Apples are almost always the top plant for the advisory service and this week members were interested in finding good cultivars or varieties to grow, fending off rabbits, and pruning advice.
Adam's Pearmain, pictured below, is an old apple ( before 1830), and although it is often a bit on the small side it has good disease resistance and therefore very suitable for modern gardens, has an unusual conical shape and remains sweet and crunchy until late February.
2. Orchids: Orchids are one of the top selling potted house plants. Getting cymbidiums to re-flower was a top question, but so were questions about leaf damage, the answer to which was commonly inadvertent overwatering.
3. Box: Worries’ about box blight were the commonest question, but there were also questions about failure of newly planted box to thrive.
4. Leyland Cypress: Issues related to excessively high hedges were common and also related pruning enquiries.
5. Lawns: Lawn care questions and earthworm related problems cropped up. Also moles are especially active at this season.
6. Mammalian pests: Rats, mice, deer and especially rabbits were damaging trees and shrubs, particularly apples and magnolias (Below). Rabbits have prospered in recent mild winters and are a serious menace to rural, and increasingly, suburban gardeners.
7. Magnolias: As well as rabbit damage, pruning advice is often sought. Magnolias are best pruned in late summer
8. Houseplants: These included Bougainvillea, Brugmansia, Citrus, Clivia, Phoenix (palm), Plumeria, Strelitzia and Yucca. Houseplants can suffer in winter with hot, dry centrally heated rooms and low light levels.
9. Soil Improvement: Adding the right amounts of fertiliser, lime and organic matter are top concerns at this time of year.
10. Pruning: As well as apples (below) and magnolias, hedge pruning is often a concern, particularly when an overgrown hedge has to be reduced. Gardeners of a nervous disposition might be reassured to see that the Wisley gardeners have shortened a hornbeam hedge from 2m to 1.5m.
Jim Arbury, Wisley Fruit Superintendent, here shows the finer points of removing a branch from a spindlebush apple. The advice team rely heavily on the practical expertise of garden staff to contribute to their gardening knowledge.
