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Postbag Edition: Blenheim Palace - Mites, Bees and Powdery Mildew

How do I stop mites destroying my Schefflera? Why haven't we seen many bees this year? How do I remove fungus growing on a hawthorn? Peter Gibbs and the panel have all the answers.

What can I use to stop mites from destroying my nine foot Schefflera? Why haven't we seen many bees this year? How do I remove fungus growing on my hawthorn tree?

Peter Gibbs and his team of gardening gurus travel to Blenheim Palace in Woodstock for a postbag edition of GQT.

While Head Gardener Andy Mills leads Peter and the panel around the historic grounds, they also rake through the GQT inbox to answer your gardening queries. On the panel this week are garden designer Chris Beardshaw, house plants expert Anne Swithinbank and pest and disease expert Pippa Greenwood.

Later in the programme, the panellists receive a surprise question from English fashion and textile designer Dame Zandra Rhodes, who asks what she should do about her dying hydrangeas.

Senior Producer: Dan Cocker
Assistant Producer: Rahnee Prescod鈥
Executive Producer: Carly Maile

A Somethin' Else production for 大象传媒 Radio 4

Available now

42 minutes

Plant list

Questions and timecodes are below. Where applicable, plant names have been provided.

Q 鈥 What can I do to cheer up my New Dawn rose that looks look dry and shrivelled? (03鈥14鈥)

Anne Swithinbank 鈥

Lavandula, lavender

Phlomisrusseliana, turkish sage

Q 鈥 My 60-year-old rambling roses keep developing powdery mildew 鈥 is there any chance of saving them or should I replace them? (07鈥19鈥)

Q 鈥 My nine-foot climbing umbrella plant is being attacked by tiny mites - how do I get rid of them? (10鈥38鈥)

Anne Swithinbank 鈥

Schefflera, ivy plant


Q 鈥 How do I get rid of the fungus that鈥檚 growing on my hawthorn tree? (15鈥14鈥)

Q 鈥 My Hydrangeas have started dying 鈥 should I destroy them or is there still hope? (18鈥07鈥)

Q 鈥 Can the panel suggest plants that might survive dry soil, deep shade and rarely getting any direct sunlight? (23鈥31鈥)


Andy Mills 鈥

Aucuba, japanese laurel

Chris Beardshaw 鈥

Rhododendrons

笔别谤苍别迟迟测补鈥檚

Ferns

Phyllostachys

Galanthus, snowdrops

Hyacinthus, hyacinth

Narcissus, daffodils

Anne Swithinbank 鈥

Corylusavellana听'Contorta', corkscrew hazel

Q 鈥 I鈥檝e done everything can to stop my Laurel Hedge from dying 鈥 what am I doing wrong? (32鈥19鈥)

Q 鈥 Why do we keep being told that Agapanthus need root restriction to flower well? (36鈥43鈥)

Q 鈥 Please explain why it鈥檚 logical to backfill pots by scraping off the top few inches from the pot and replacing with new compost 鈥 rather than tackling the soil around the roots? (39鈥04鈥)


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