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[Help] Gardeners Question Time.



Jack Straw

Jack Straw

I look nothing like him!
Jul 7, 2003
6,900
Brighton. NOT KEMPTOWN!
The Antikythera Mechanism said:
I have a lot of climbing hydrangea on our house, not sure how to trim it. View attachment 137705View attachment 137706
Don’t know why they’ve come out sideways ??? There’s Virginia creeper there too.
Click to expand...
I've cut and pasted this from the RHS guide;
Pruning climbing hydrangeas
The climbing hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris) should have overlong shoots cut back immediately after flowering. Most flowers appear towards the top of the plant, so try to leave as much of this un-pruned as possible
Established plants will tolerate hard pruning in spring, but extensive cutting back all in one go is likely to reduce flowering for the next couple of summers. To prevent flower loss, stagger drastic pruning over three or four years, reducing the size of the plant gradually.
 




LamieRobertson

LamieRobertson

Not awoke
Feb 3, 2008
46,921
SHOREHAM BY SEA
Any clues as to the cause of this...planted over a year ago

Lot in the first photo not good...second one not so bad ...they are left and right of a pathway

D3A80762-E7A1-48C9-83A3-88021EBF4B26.jpeg

DED5ECA7-65BD-4956-A1EC-B358E443225B.jpeg
 


Jack Straw

Jack Straw

I look nothing like him!
Jul 7, 2003
6,900
Brighton. NOT KEMPTOWN!


LamieRobertson

LamieRobertson

Not awoke
Feb 3, 2008
46,921
SHOREHAM BY SEA
Jack Straw said:
To confirm, are they Laurels or Portugese Laurels? Is that a shine on the leaves or Leaf Miner damage?
Click to expand...

I didn’t plant them, but think it’s the latter ..it’s just shine ....the damage to the leaves has been happening since last October...it’s just got much worse.
 






Jack Straw

Jack Straw

I look nothing like him!
Jul 7, 2003
6,900
Brighton. NOT KEMPTOWN!
Stat Brother said:
Anyhoo the customary 'before' photo.
I got this for next to the P thingy, as seemingly 50% of the shrubs at the GC looked like a variation of the P thing.

View attachment 136096
Click to expand...

What does the black-leaved thingy look like at the moment Stat? (Photo?)
 


Stat Brother

Stat Brother

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 11, 2003
73,870
West west west Sussex
Jack Straw said:
What does the black-leaved thingy look like at the moment Stat? (Photo?)
Click to expand...

I've booked Jnr for tomorrow morning's Hoe-Time!
So might have a photo or two, then.


The black thing went nuts, proper nuts, growing exponentially but some poppies have found their way over and have rather hemmed it in.

So I'll free that up tomorrow as well, hopefully it'll have room to breath.
 


Stat Brother

Stat Brother

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 11, 2003
73,870
West west west Sussex
Here's Denzel Dumfries-Frog.

Jnr reckons he's thrown it over the fence 3 times this summer, yet he keeps attacking us down the right

IMG_20210702_100806_882~2.jpg
 




Couldn't Be Hyypia

Couldn't Be Hyypia

We've come a long long way together
NSC Patron
Nov 12, 2006
15,930
Near Dorchester, Dorset
Any ideas about this one? Is it a verbascum? Flowers are very inconsequential, but the bees are loving them. It's growing right next to a geum that I recently pruned back, so don;t let those leaves fool you.

Whatever it is, the black/white/yellow caterpillars are loving it to the point of destroying it completely.

As ever, the brains trust at NSC are thanked in advance (and Stat Brother)

20210705_145032.jpg
20210705_145010.jpg
 


jakarta

jakarta

Well-known member
May 25, 2007
15,639
Sullington
A new topic, ANTS. We have had them at Jakarta Towers since we moved here 25 years ago.

Have willingly let them do their stuff over the years BUT we now have several Ant Mountains plus patches of brown/dead grass.

Before I napalm the little oiks I need to know if these facts are linked (if I have to terminate them with extreme prejudice then some fact based stuff would be appreciated).
 


1066familyman

1066familyman

Radio User
Jan 15, 2008
15,185
Couldn't Be Hyypia said:
Any ideas about this one? Is it a verbascum? Flowers are very inconsequential, but the bees are loving them. It's growing right next to a geum that I recently pruned back, so don;t let those leaves fool you.

Whatever it is, the black/white/yellow caterpillars are loving it to the point of destroying it completely.

As ever, the brains trust at NSC are thanked in advance (and Stat Brother)

View attachment 138293
View attachment 138294
Click to expand...

Looks like it's got square stems, so possibly a Verbena of some sort?
 




Moshe Gariani

Moshe Gariani

Well-known member
Mar 10, 2005
12,105
7df08357ec9a18ede667fa8040f018bd.jpg

This olive tree is in the wrong place - shading a flower bed and patio as well as just getting too big.
I want to remove it.
Can I just saw the branches off and then dig it out with a spade? Or will that be too difficult?
Also, just checking, it doesn’t have a sale value, does it?
 


Jack Straw

Jack Straw

I look nothing like him!
Jul 7, 2003
6,900
Brighton. NOT KEMPTOWN!
Couldn't Be Hyypia said:
Any ideas about this one? Is it a verbascum? Flowers are very inconsequential, but the bees are loving them. It's growing right next to a geum that I recently pruned back, so don;t let those leaves fool you.

Whatever it is, the black/white/yellow caterpillars are loving it to the point of destroying it completely.

As ever, the brains trust at NSC are thanked in advance (and Stat Brother)

View attachment 138293
View attachment 138294
Click to expand...

I'm going Scrophularia auriculata. https://www.uksouthwest.net/wildflowers/scrophulariaceae/scrophularia-auriculata.html
I'll consult my expert tomorrow to confirm.
 


Jack Straw

Jack Straw

I look nothing like him!
Jul 7, 2003
6,900
Brighton. NOT KEMPTOWN!
Moshe Gariani said:
7df08357ec9a18ede667fa8040f018bd.jpg

This olive tree is in the wrong place - shading a flower bed and patio as well as just getting too big.
I want to remove it.
Can I just saw the branches off and then dig it out with a spade? Or will that be too difficult?
Also, just checking, it doesn’t have a sale value, does it?
Click to expand...

I doubt if it has any sale value whatsover. It will be one-sided, won't transplant easily and you won't get it out with much root on. Just get rid.
Cut off all of the top growth, leaving the trunk or stems about 5 feet tall. Dig a trench about 2 to 3 feet away from the trunk or stems, one spade wide. Use a "Grubbing mattock", (Like a pick-axe but with blades, rather than points) and a spade, dig your way around, down, and try to go under, cutting any roots as you go either with the mattock or secateurs. Every now and then, try rocking the trunk or stems to see if there's any movement. This is why you leave them longish so you have some leverage. Keep working your way around, digging and rocking, and after a lot of sweat and swearing, you will eventually become the victor.
If you're local to Brighton and wish to borrow my mattock, please PM me and I'll drop it round for you.
 




Moshe Gariani

Moshe Gariani

Well-known member
Mar 10, 2005
12,105
Jack Straw said:
I doubt if it has any sale value whatsover. It will be one-sided, won't transplant easily and you won't get it out with much root on. Just get rid.
Cut off all of the top growth, leaving the trunk or stems about 5 feet tall. Dig a trench about 2 to 3 feet away from the trunk or stems, one spade wide. Use a "Grubbing mattock", (Like a pick-axe but with blades, rather than points) and a spade, dig your way around, down, and try to go under, cutting any roots as you go either with the mattock or secateurs. Every now and then, try rocking the trunk or stems to see if there's any movement. This is why you leave them longish so you have some leverage. Keep working your way around, digging and rocking, and after a lot of sweat and swearing, you will eventually become the victor.
If you're local to Brighton and wish to borrow my mattock, please PM me and I'll drop it round for you.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for all of that. Top drawer advice as usual from the experts on this thread. I’ll wait for the weather to clear up and give it a whirl this afternoon.

Attached is photo of my flower bed all new this year.
8ee2d4ac60711e266e87df952ad58889.jpg
 


Jack Straw

Jack Straw

I look nothing like him!
Jul 7, 2003
6,900
Brighton. NOT KEMPTOWN!




Moshe Gariani

Moshe Gariani

Well-known member
Mar 10, 2005
12,105
Nearly there....
a0d57635459fb7f26fd8040532ff8204.jpg
 




Jack Straw

Jack Straw

I look nothing like him!
Jul 7, 2003
6,900
Brighton. NOT KEMPTOWN!
Moshe Gariani said:
Nearly there....
a0d57635459fb7f26fd8040532ff8204.jpg
Click to expand...
Keep rockin'!
When you eventually push and pull those stems and the last root snaps and the stump is completely free, you won't have experienced such elation for a long time!
 
Last edited:


Jack Straw

Jack Straw

I look nothing like him!
Jul 7, 2003
6,900
Brighton. NOT KEMPTOWN!


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