Amateur Gardening – 13 July 2019

13 JULY 2019AMATEUR GARDENING 55

with Wendy Humphries

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L

IKE Graham Rice in his article
(AG, 15 June), I enjoy heucheras,
although I am not entirely certain
that I would cut off too many of
the small blooms, as many bees in our
garden enjoy those, despite the fact
that it must be hard work for them.
Sadly, we too have suffered from the
dreaded vine weevil; many will know
the tell-tale signs of a sad-looking plant
which, when pulled to check on the
condition of its roots, comes straight
out of the ground with no roots! 
All may not necessarily be lost,
though. On many occasions, I have
found it is well worth cutting back what

Keep heucheras healthy

Star

letter

Keep the heuchera fl owers intact for bees and check for

notches to the leaf edges, a sign of adult vine weevils

Habits of hens

I GOT three rescue hens recently,

and was pleased to hear that they will

eat the slugs in my garden. Hoorah!

However, I have now found out they

will also eat my hostas, and do more

damage than any snail ever did. Sigh...

Vennetta Smith, 

Powys

Wendy says:Can chickens and

gardens happily co-exist? Please

write in, and we’ll share your tips.

is left of the roots/stump and removing

the last weevil-eaten bit, and then putting

the plant into a pot in compost, as there

is a good chance it will develop new

roots and become a healthy plant. I

have also had success dividing some

weevil-affected heucheras into more

than one plant. It is certainly worth a try.

Simon Wilson,

Ashfield, Suffolk 

Wendy says:Well salvaged! As Graham

said, tackle the pest’s grubs by applying

Nemasys Vine Weevil Killer from August

to October. Anne Swithinbank looks at

the heuchera family in next week’s AG.

Chickens love grass, and eat anything

green that tastes like grass

NEARLY 19 years ago, I was given a rose

cutting and told that it was thornless and

yellow. Last season, I forgot to prune it

and the enclosed photo is the result!

Not only is it beautiful, but it has also

proved to be productive, as it has layered

itself and provided me with many small

plants to give away to friends.

Jean Dalton-Pawle,

via email

My beautiful

rose is a beast!

Jean’s rose appears to be the pretty

rambler Rosa banksiae ‘Lutea’ AGM

I REALLY have to thank reader Murray

Lees for his tip about scaring pigeons

off feeders and seeds with a wireless

doorbell (AG, 11 May). Not only does it

work on pigeons, but also jackdaws

and squirrels! With the bell push in a

pocket, you can attack from indoors

or when down the garden.

Great fun, very effective, and

completely harmless. It’s also a handy

way to call the gardener in for tea!

Jill Collingham,

Milton Keynes

Saved by the bell!

The ding-dong sound is an eff ective

bird and squirrel scarer