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Q - I'm a novice gardener and have just come back from my allotment where I'd hoped to prune my raspberries. I was surprised to see that they're already in bud and am unsure if I should still prune them.

Bob – I’d thin them out. Take off the tips but otherwise leave them. You should be able to pass a hand around each raspberry cane without touching another one. 

Q - I love ivy especially at this time of year but we have a problem. We moved here 11 years ago to a soft covering of ivy on the fence. It has now really grown and covers the neighbour’s garage on one side and another’s green house is slowly being engulfed. We have tried to cut it back as best we can but have not owned up to the fact that the root is behind our shed. We plead ignorance to where it can be coming from. We have no access to the back of the shed unless we take it down completely. How can we get rid of this problem?

Matthew – Ivy is a great thing in the right place – and that means nowhere near a house!

Christine – You do need to be aware of its invasive nature but it is brilliant for wildlife.  I think the thing to do is committed cutting back and pulling out to keep on top of it but no need to go further. 

Matthew – If you can access the root behind the shed I’d get a ladder up against the shed and chop it at the lowest point you can see.  Then all those tendrils above it will die off and then do it again a few years later.

Bob -  Leave it after chopping as long as possible as it will go brown and become much easier to remove – and then it burns a treat!

Q - How do I get rid of wild garlic, which is spreading all over the garden? Bad enough in beds, where I can dig it out but worse on lawns.

Christine – Regular close mowing is likely to take out most of it. I wouldn’t think a herbicide would be necessary in this instance. Don’t compost from the mowings as the garlic may come back.

Matthew – Garlic is pretty resistant to chemicals so I wouldn’t be bother with that route.

Q - Can you lay turf in winter? My husband says no and everyone else says yes! Can you please help settle an argument?

Matthew – The key things is what the conditions are like – if it’s waterlogged, absolutely not.  If frozen, no.  Lay it when soil conditions are right and it is warm.  The warmth will encourage the roots to form on the turf and then it’ll all bond together. I’d leave it until March/April.

Q - We have five plum trees planted by our swimming pool near Marazion in Cornwall. They are probably 25 foot tall and fruit like mad. We cannot keep up with the crop. The result is that we have loads of wasps and rotting plums at exactly the time when we want to use the pool. We would like to find some way of limiting or halting their enthusiasm. We do not really want to lose them but they are on probation at the moment. Would pruning them out of season stop their fruiting?

Christine – Apart from thinning the fruit, I can’t think of another method.  You could attract the wasps away from the tree with sugar in jam jars.  If you prune out of season you’ll upset the tree and have bigger problems. I think the answer is fruit thinning.

Bob – I think the answer is to put up tennis nets – the high ones around the court – and then put up a fine mesh net so that the wasps and the plums are kept away from the poolside.

Q - Can old Christmas trees ever be replanted outside? As an owner of a fake tree, I don't know …

Matthew – You can but it’ll get a pretty big shock having been indoors for a few weeks – they often react to being planted out by shedding all their needles and dying! Do be aware that they grow into large forest trees so make sure you’ve got the space!

Bob – They grow brilliantly in pots so consider that as an option.  But the best thing to do with old Christmas trees is chop them up for kindling.

Q - I live in a mountain town called Pemberton where we have incredibly hot summers and cool wet winters, with occasional 'Northerly Outflow' weather fronts that bring temperatures around -20 degrees C. Plants have a short growing season and summers are a mixture of scorching heat and wild west wet. Pemberton is also a flood plain with incredible loamy soil. Can recommend any vines that may survive here as I would love a climber to enjoy year after year.  

Christine – Look at the higher-altitude Himalayan stuff – the Schisandra (Magnolia vine) potentially could work.  

Bob – Or grow things in tubs, under cover, and then put them out after winter.  Some of the Nasturtiums, the ‘Canary Creeper’ would be good.  The ‘Japanese Hop’ could work.

Matthew – It’s going to be herbaceous perennial climbers that will be most successful.

Q - I have an indoor palm - not sure of its name - which has thrived on neglect. Although you may think it a bit scraggy, I love it dearly and it is about eight feet tall. We are about to move to a smaller house where, I fear, there will not be headroom for it. What can I do? I understand that it will die if I prune it. If I were to cut through the main stem below a node and trim most of the side branches, might it grow new roots?

Matthew – You could take the older, taller shoots off encourage new shoots.

Christine – It often depends on how old the plant is and how vigorous it is – but I think give it a go.

Andrew (from Harlow Carr) – As long as there is plenty of new growth towards the base to cut back to then, yes, go for it.

Q - We have just moved from semi-rural South Wales, with a garden, a greenhouse and a productive allotment, to Edinburgh and a top-floor flat in a Victorian tenement in the Old Town. I like a horticultural challenge, so I'll be aiming to grow as much as possible on windowsills and a stairwell landing with good natural light. Inspiring ideas, please, for fruit, veg, herbs or edible ornamentals?

Christine – Plenty of options – I’d look at ornamental melons, some of the edible melons too.  Sweet corn you can grow in a seed tray; all of the different herbs; the salads. Grow what you like to eat and then enjoy!

Andrew  - Little gem are ideal – and just pick a few leaves each time you need them.

Bob – Trailing tomatoes from hanging baskets would be perfect.  Some of the smaller sweet or hot peppers, too.  

Q – Would it be possible to grow a moss bath mat? And, if so, what colour would be best for a dark bathroom?

Bob – Put a bit of nylon-based carpet outside in a shady, damp place and let it moss over in a year – and then just take that inside!

Matthew – Get three or four bits of carpet and then rotate otherwise it’ll wear out pretty quickly.

Q - Hi, I sent a letter into the show when I was five years old, asking how to grow a mango from seed. 15 years have passed and of course I've completely forgotten your answer, so here I am again. My granddad used to grow mangoes from seeds and I'm wondering how to go about it once I've eaten the mango and I'm left with the hairy seed casing. 

Bob – I find it best to split the casing and take the seed out; if you leave it in it’ll start to rot and take the seed with it.  Mangos require a lot of warmth to keep it alive during winter.  You’ll struggle to get fruit to be perfectly honest.