Umbrella plants are hardy
in sheltered areas38 AMATEUR GARDENING 20 JULY 2019Q
Please could you identify this plant
for me? Weed or flower?
Sue Sutton, via emailA
The plant is called Umbrella Plant
or Umbrella Sedge. The Latin name
is Cyperus. I’m not quite sure which
species you have but it looks very like
C. eragrostis.
The well-known plant Papyrus is
a member of the Cyperus genus.
Your plant is a native of Africa and
we tend to think of it as requiring boggy
conditions (such as a pond margin) to
thrive, but actually it will also do well in
dry conditions so can make a decorative
addition to a flower border.
It is quite unusual to see it in a garden
and the tall flowering stems make a
lovely feature.
In a sheltered spot it may be hardy
enough to grow outdoors but if your
garden is prone to deep or prolongedWrite to us:Ask John, Amateur Gardening magazine,
Pinehurst 2, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough Business Park,
Farnborough, Hants GU14 7BF.
Email us:[email protected]Q
I have a south-facing, near-vertical
bank, 25ft long by 3ft high (8x1m)
that I want to cover in planting. It would
be useful if any plants could also bind
the bank. Any suggestions?
Phil Pointon, Oswestry, ShropshireA
Before you plant your sunny bank
with ground-covering shrubs, you
will have to ‘cut’ broad steps in its face
to ensure that water doesn’t run off.
Work in composted manure or well-
rotted garden compost, augmented with
fish, blood and bonemeal, to conserve
moisture and help plants establish. The
following contenders should flourish:How can I add colour to a tricky bank?
Umbrella sedge can survive outside
Are seedlings OK?
Q
What should I do next with my
lemon balm seedlings?
Shannon Taylor, via emailA
Your lemon balm seedlings look
remarkably perky, so prick them
out carefully.
Hold them by a leaf, not a stem, to
avoid damaging tissue, and set them
3in (8cm) apart in a standard-sized
seed tray of loam-based John Innes
No1 potting compost.
Position them in a sunny, sheltered
spot outdoors to grow on.
Within a few weeks when leaves
touch, transplant them where you wish
them to create a feature.Q
Could you give me any advice on
what is wrong with the fuchsia?
The garden centre said it was whitefly.
Margaret Taylor,
via emailA
Sadly,
your
fuchsia has
succumbed
to an attack
of the
microscopic
fuchsia gall
mite, a tiny pest
that cripples and
distorts shoot tips and is very difficult
to control.
Initially, I urge you to cut off and burn
infested shoot tips and continue
removing regrowth the moment it’s
visible. Regrettably, only insecticides
recommended for controlling red spider
mite, such as Bug Clear Ultra Gun, are
reasonably effective against it.
If these measures are not successful,
I fear that your only recourse is to dig up
and burn the affected plant.A galling problem
Hardy geraniums and bright-berried cotoneasters
are good for covering a tricky bankPot up seedlings when large
enough to handleCotoneaster dammeri:Small white
flowers form bright red berries.
Lonicera pileata: Attractive small
leaves and translucent violet berries.
Ceanothus thyrsiflorus repens:
Mid-blue flowers in May.
Mahonia aquifolium: Golden flowers
from March to April.
Euonymus ‘Dart’s Blanket’: Green
leaves turn reddish purple in autumn.
Epimediums in variety, specially
yellow-flowered E. x perralchicum
and E. grandiflorum ‘Crimson Beauty’.
Interplant with magenta-flowered
Geranium macrorrhizum ‘Czakor’ and
pink-flowered ‘Ingwersen’s Variety’.cold spells then it might be better to
think of it needing frost-free conditions
for the winter months.
And if the foliage does happen to
be killed by the winter cold, plants can
re-grow from the rootstock.
Cyperus have underground rhizomes
by which they spread so it is probably
best to curb a plant in a large container.Margaret Taylor,mite, a tiny pest
that cripples and
distorts shoot tips and is very difficultFuchsia gall mites are
increasingly problematicAlamy