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Peter Gibbs and his panel of gardening experts are in Worplesdon, Surrey.

Peter Gibbs and his panel of gardening experts are in Worplesdon, Surrey. Matthew Pottage, Pippa Greenwood and Matt Biggs answer the audience questions.

The panellists discuss the best way to revive soggy lawns, advise on the best time to prune an acer, and recommend flowering shrubs for an area which is dry in the summer but water-logged in the winter.

Pippa Greenwood meets Gerard Clover, Head of Plant Health at the RHS, to find out the latest on the olive tree killer Xylella fastidiosa.

Producer: Dan Cocker
Assistant Producer: Rosie Merotra

A Somethin' Else production for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 4

Available now

42 minutes

Last on

Sun 1 Mar 2020 14:00

Plant List

Q – Could the panel suggest an unusual vegetable to grow in my chalky soil, which would be in its best in September and easy to grow? (2 minutes 18)

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Matt Biggs – Celeriac

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Pippa – Sweet potato

Okra

Squash

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Q – We have an acer in our garden which is approximately 30 years old. When is the best time to prune and how severe can I be? (5 minutes 15)

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Matthew Pottage – Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum)

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Q – We have a garden at the top of a hill. In the absence of an air-spade how can we help our old oak trees with compacted soil over their roots? (8 minutes 08)

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Q – What is the best way to revive soggy lawns and borders after this very wet winter? (11 minutes 50)

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Feature – (15 minutes 10)

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Matt – Echiums

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Pippa – Brassica

Osteospermum

Campion

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Matthew – Eriobotrya japonica (Loquat)

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Q – 2 years ago we lost a huge Cornus Controversa ‘Variegata’ (Wedding Cake Tree) through honey fungus. About 30m (98.4 ft) away is a Pinus Wallichiana (Bhutan pine). Could this have the same disease or is there anything we can do to stop it? (25 minutes 45)

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Matthew Pottage – Pinus Strobus

Pinus Wallichiana

Pinus x holfordiana

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Q – What flowering shrubs would you recommend for a garden that is bone dry in the summer and water-logged in the winter (27 minutes 58)

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Matt Biggs – Kolkwitzia amabilis (Beauty bush)

Berberis

Berberis Darwinii

Berberis Valdiviana

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Pippa – Amelanchier

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Matthew Pottage – Calycanthus ‘V±ð²Ô³Ü²õ’

ÌýCalycanthus Raulstonii ‘Hartlage Wine’

Philadelphus maculatus ‘Sweet Care’

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Q – I am not a very good gardener but I am very fond of my lime green Heuchera, sadly a fondness also shared with the dreaded Vine Weevil. I brought some nematodes, but this year the weevils are back. What can I do? (33 minutes)


Q –On our allotments – some dig in the autumn leave our plot bare but others no-dig enthusiasts cover them with green manure, compost or cardboard. ÌýIn a time of climate change or storms which do the panel recommend?Ìý (36 minutes 50)

Broadcasts

  • Fri 28 Feb 2020 15:00
  • Sun 1 Mar 2020 14:00

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