Amateur Gardening – 24 August 2019

38 AMATEURGARDENING 24 AUGUST 2019

Maturemagnolias are best moved in

the autumn

Q

Isit possibletotransplanta 10-

year-oldmagnolia into a pot for

a housemove?

Joy Burrows, via email

A

Ifthemagnoliais deciduous,wait

untilitsbranchesarebarebefore

preparingit fortransplanting.Initially,

takeouta trench,9-12in(23-30cm)wide,

aroundthetree,18in(46cm)fromthe

trunk.Thencutthroughlargedownward-

growingrootsleaving fibrous feeding

rootsintact.

Whenyouhavevirtuallyseveredthe

treefromthesoil,fillin thetrenchwitha

goodloamymixandwatercopiouslyto

settlesoilaroundtheroots.Newfeeding

rootswillfillthetrenchnextyear.

Becauseyouhaveremovedthetree’s

anchorage,youwillneedto supportit to

stopwindfromblowingit over.Thebest

way is to erect a ‘goalpost’ structure

Writetous:AskJohn,AmateurGardeningmagazine,

Pinehurst 2, Pinehurst Road,FarnboroughBusinessPark,

Farnborough,HantsGU147BF.

Email us:[email protected]

Q

Whyaretheinnerbitsof mynewly

plantedyewtreeturning brown?

Sarah Varney, via email

A

Yourtreeis mostlikelyshowing

thesesymptomsduetostress,and

themostlikelycauseof thisstressis that

theplantis strugglingtogetestablished.

Asa result,it hasnotputoutnew

rootsandis thereforefailingtotake up

sufficientwaterandnutrients.

Yewtreesareprettytolerantof

mostsoiloncetheyareestablished,

withtheexceptionof waterlogged

soils,butarelesstolerantwhilethey

aretryingtoestablish.Theworst

conditionsareheavyclaythat the

rootscannotpenetrate.

However,if claysoilis theproblem

youcandosomethingtohelpyouryew

tree.Waituntilthedormantseason

(Novemberideally),thendigupthetree

andwraptherootballin dampsacking

topreventtherootsdryingout.

Enlargetheplantingholetoat least

twicethewidthof therootball.Loosen

thesidesandbaseof theholewitha fork

assometimesclaysoilcanbehavelike

smoothmodellingclayand form an

impenetrablebarrier.

Mixbulkyorganicmattersuchaswell-

rottedmanureorgardencompostinto

thebaseof thehole,andintothesoil to

beusedforback-fillingthehole.

If thesoilis particularlyheavy,it might

be best to back-fill with new top soil

What has happened to my yew?

Will a magnolia move successfully?

Dividingirises

Q

Howan

should

dividebeard

irises?

Carol

Barrett,

via email

A

Liftand

divide

congested

clumpsof

beardediris

whilethesoilis warmandoffsetshave

timetoestablishbeforewinter.

Afterliftingplants,usea strongknife

orsharpsecateurstoremovethe

outermostandyoungestrhizomes,

shorteningleavesbyhalftoreduce

waterloss.Discardworn-outcentres.

Replantdivisionsin a sunnyposition

in organicallyrichsoil.If youhavean

acidgarden,witha soilpHof lessthan

6.5,sprinkle6oz(168g)persqm of

gardenlimeovertheplantingarea,

working it into the surface. Water well.

Q

Canyouhelpidentifythis

unusual-lookingplant?

Sarah Welsh, via email

A

Thespecimenin questionis a cigar

plant(Cupheaignea). Colonisingan

areafromMexicotoJamaica,it needsa

minimumtemperatureof 45ºF(7ºC)to

thrive.Yourplantis veryhealthyand is

obviouslyenjoyingitssituation.

If it needsrepotting– rootsare

pushingthroughthedrainagehole– set

it in a pot6in(15cm)largerin diameter,

in loam-basedericaceouscompost

mixedwitha quarter part, by volume,

of coarse grit.

Success with cigar

Yewtreescantaketimegetting

established in clay soil

ratherthanwiththeoriginalsoil,though

witha littleimproving and work this

shouldbeOK.

Uncovertherootsof thetreeand

gentlyteasethemoutof therootballso

thatthetipsareshowing,ready to grow

awayfromtherootball.

Placethetreein theholeandback-fill,

firmingthesoilbutnottoohardsoyou

don’tlosethenewairinessyouhave

created.It shouldthengetofftoa flying

startin thenewgrowingseason,and

althoughit maylosesomeof thebrown

needles,it shouldputon plenty of new

growth throughout.

The cigar plant(Cuphea ignea)

Dividebeardedirises

in summerwhen soil

is warm

alongsidethetree,tyingthetrunkto the

crossbeam.Wrapoldtightsorsomething

similararoundthetrunkbeforesecuring

it to thesupport.Then,in twoyears’ time,

thetreecanbeliftedin autumn.

If themagnoliais evergreen, carry out

the initial task in October.