Amateur Gardening – 10 August 2019

10 AUGUST 2019AMATEURGARDENING 37

Writetous:AskJohn,AmateurGardeningmagazine,

Pinehurst 2, Pinehurst Road,FarnboroughBusinessPark,

Farnborough,HantsGU147BF.

Email us:[email protected]

Q

Isthisa goodtimetotakefuchsia

cuttingsthatcanbe grown on and

thenplantedoutside?

Carol Rusbridge, Lowestoft, Suffolk

A

Thisis anexcellenttime.In theory,

softwoodcuttingscanbetaken

whenevermaterialis available,butit

canbehardafterSeptemberwhen

temperaturesandlightlevelsdrop.

Usehealthyplantmaterialwherethe

uppermostleavesare fully expanded

andnottoosoft.

Fuchsia cuttings tend to lose water

fastandmostfailuresoccurbecause

theywiltbeforetheyroot.Potsof

cuttingsshouldbeplacedin a plastic

bagorpropagatorwherea higher

levelof humidityis maintained.

Openthemupeveryfewdaysto

allowfreshairin andhelpprevent

fungaldisease.Wipeawaycollected

condensationandturnthebaginside

outbeforereplacingit, butmake sure

thecompostis keptdamp.

Ifyoucan’tgivethecuttingsbottom

heat,placethemsomewherelight and

warm but out of direct sunlight.

When can I take fuchsia cuttings?

Q

Myblueberrybushhaslostits

leaves,buttheberries are still

there.Anyideas?

Alan Greenford, Stow-on-the-Wold, Glos

A

Iftheleaveshavefallenandthere

arenotchesaroundtheleafedge,

adultvineweevilsareat work.Their

smallcurled-upwhitegrubs may also

beeatingtheroots.

Treatwitha chemicalsuchasBug

ClearUltraVineWeevilKilleroran

organicsolution such as Defenders

orNemasys.

Iftheproblemis honeyfungusyou

cancheckforthisbyremovinga little

bark.If white,mushroom-smellingmould

is seen,thisfungusis responsible.There

isnocureandplantsmust be dug up

and binned or burned.

What’s ailing my blueberry?

Q

When

shouldI

startfeeding

seedlings?

JamesFlint,

via email

A

Seedlings

shouldbe

prickedoutandplanted

upwhentheyarebigenoughto

handle,butshouldn’tneedfeeding

untiltheyareplantedin theirfinal

position.However,if theleavesturn

pale,youcouldgivethem a half-

strength liquid feed.

Quickquestions

& answers

Q

Thislow

growing

planthas

invadedmy

peapatch

andI would

liketoknow

whatit is.Can

youhelp?

GillianJones,

Meols, Wirral

A

TheplantisPersicariacapitata,

alsoknownasPolygonum

capitatum. A nativeof the

Himalayas,it carpetsfreelyandcan

becomeinvasive.I suggestyouset

it in a free-drainingsunnyplaceand

shortenunwantedquestingshoots.

Itstinyglobe-likeflowershavea

certain charm and colour summer.

Morguefi le

Q

Whatis thisplant? It smells

likea herb.

TimCaulton,West Bromwich,

West Midlands

A

Thisis fleabane(Pulicaria

dysenterica). A British native

is likesdamp,sunny

positionsandgr

toaround2½ft

(76cm).It attracts

hoverfliesand

otherbeneficial

insectsandwill

diebackin

autumn.

Blueberryplantsin potscan

fall foul of vine weevils

Fuchsiacuttingscanbetaken

now and grown in damp compost