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Q – Is it ok to trim back a 10ft (3m) Ginkgo tree?Ìý

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Chris – It is our only broad-leaf, deciduous conifer.Ìý You can prune it hard.Ìý Prune side shoot and make it grow upwards.Ìý

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Q – I was told my garden is ‘easy-care’.Ìý It is covered in weed-control fabric, beneath which is potter’s clay and flint.Ìý What is your opinion of this?

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Pippa – It’s not my favourite thing.Ìý It makes gardening very difficult.

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Bunny – It’s very easy to rip it up!

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Chris – If you leave it you’ll need to garden in containers and/or raised beds

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Q – I have four evergreen Azaleas in big pots.Ìý Some leaves in spring blow up and turn a whitish-pale green.Ìý What is this?

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Pippa – This is a fungal infection called exobasidium azalea.Ìý It will be worrying you more than the plant.Ìý It won’t affect growth or flowering.Ìý

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Q – Could you recommend a summer-flowering Clematis for a semi-shaded west-facing wall?

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Bunny – The Boulevard collection will grow in any aspect and flower for nearly six months.Ìý They are about 4-6ft (1.2-1.8m) high

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Chris – You are spoilt for choice!Ìý I’d go for ‘Jackmanii Superba’.Ìý ‘Nelly Moser’.Ìý ‘Cote d’azur’.Ìý You should also get a rose for the clematis to grow through.Ìý Get an ‘Alfred Carriere’ rose and mix those Clematis with it and you’ll have a lovely display

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Feature:

Rhododendron

Betula pendula

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Q – I have a very old rose bush that is too big.Ìý When is the best time to move it?

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Bunny – They move really easily.Ìý I would move it now.Ìý Or you could just prune it back.Ìý

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Pippa – Just make sure you give it a good level of aftercare

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Q – If you had 140ft (42m) of old railway embankment on the north side of their garden, what would you do with it?

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Bunny – You could have wild meadow effect with paths going through it to take you up to the top.Ìý Maybe put a bit of topiary in there, like big Yew balls, to give it a bit of formal structure.Ìý

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Chris – You could put Hazels (‘Filbert’, Prunus spinosa) for informal punctuation.Ìý Also look at shrub roses like Rosa glauca, Rosa moyesii, Rosa pteracantha, Rosa rugosa.Ìý

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Q – I was given some allium bulbs for Christmas.Ìý Can I plant them now?

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Bunny – Get them in as soon as possible.Ìý You can’t wait for the next sowing season. Maybe start them off in pots.

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Q – Following last year’s late frost and the loss of my early Azaleas, damage to the Acers and the climbing Hydrangea, what precautions can I take this year?

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Bunny – Fleece is said to add two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in warmth.Ìý

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Chris – Try and make sure that cold air can get out of your garden otherwise you can trap frost pockets in.Ìý As a last resort you could turn the irrigation on.

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Pippa – Try and get thicker fleece rather than the cheaper, thinner stuff.