Amateur Gardening – 24 August 2019

24 AUGUST 2

Writetous:AskJohn,AmateurGardeningmagazine,

Pinehurst 2, Pinehurst Road,FarnboroughBusinessPark,

Farnborough,HantsGU147BF.

Email us:[email protected]

Q

Whatvarietiesof fruittreeare

goodfor‘step-over’planting?

Patricia Paterson, via email

A

Step-overapplesandpearsare

idealforframingornamental

bordersorvegplots.Grownasone-tier

espaliers,theyaresuppliedasa ‘Y’-

shapedplantwithtwomainstemsthat

aretrainedin oppositedirectionsabout

18in(45cm)abovetheground.Allow

8-12ft(2.4-3.6m)spreadpertree.

I recommendthefollowingvarieties:

Apples:‘BraeburnHillwell’,‘Bramley’s

Seedling’,‘Self-fertileCox’,‘Discovery’,

‘EgremontRusset’,‘Falstaff’,‘Fiesta’,

‘JamesGrieve’and‘LordDerby’.

Pears:‘Concorde’,‘Conference’,

‘DoyenneduComice’ and ‘Williams

bon Chretien’.

Take a fruitful step in the right direction

Q

Whenareornamental

cabbagesusuallyavailable

fromgardencentres?

Anna Mercer, Lichfield, Staffs

A

Ornamentalcabbages and kale

areusually

availablefrom

mid-September

toearly

October.

Growthem

in fertile,

moist,butwell-

drainedsoil in

full sun.

Quickquestions

& answers

Q

I successfullyrootedanAfrican

violetcutting.When will it

comeintoflower?

CaroleRusbridge

Lowestoft, Suff

A

Itcouldbe

a matter

of time.If the

cuttingwas

takenthis

springit won’t

havebeenin

compostlong

enough.Keepit

growingstronglyandit should

bloom next spring, or even earlier.

Q

Whatis thisplant,please?

Caroline and Denyer Smith,

via email

A

Theground-coverplantis

Geraniummacrorrhizum.

Semi-evergreen,withstrongly

aromaticleaves,it hails from

southernEurope.

Choiceformsarecrimson-purple

‘Bevan’sVariety’,magenta ‘Czakor’,

softpink‘Ingwersen’s

Variety’and

purplish-pink-

flowered

‘Variegatum’,

prizedforits

creamy

mottled

foliage.

‘Discovery’is anapplevariety

suitable as a step-over plant

Q

Howeasyis it togrowbanana

plantsoutside– we live on the

south-eastcoast?

Muriel Givens, Ramsgate, Kent

A

Musabasjoois regardedas

‘hardier’thanotherspeciesof

banana,butonlywithsomeadditional

protectionin winter,suchaswrapping.

Whetheryoucouldbesuccessfulin

growingoneat homedependsnotso

muchonwhereyouarein thecountry

(althoughtheprevailingweather

conditionsobviouslyplaya significant

part),butmoreonthe specific conditions

in your garden.

If youhavea warmandshelteredspot

wherea plantcouldbeprotectedfrom

theworstof thewet,windyandcold

weather(suchasnearthehousewallor

tuckedin a corner),thenyoumightfind

youaresuccessfulin overwinteringa

banana,especiallyif yourgarden is not

particularlypronetofrost.

Evenif thetopgrowthdies,aslong

asthecrownstaysalivetheplantwill

reshoot.Youmaynotgetquitethe

dramaof tallstems,asyouwouldonly

getoneyear’sgrowtheachtime,but

youwouldprobablygeta fineclump

of stemsdeveloping,and the leaves

would be glorious!

Can we grow a hardy banana outside?

Wikimedia

I alsourgeyou to use a Gripple wire-

tensioningkit.

Boththevarietiesandtensioning

kitarestockedbyEssex-based

PomonaFruits(pomonafruits.co.uk,

✆ 01255 440410.

Hardybananasgrowin theUK,bur

need protecting and wrapping in winter

Alamy

Alamy