Some Gardening Advice for Keen Gardeners

How far can I cut back my Yew shrubs in my garden?
The Yew is one of only a few conifers that you can cut back to bare stems with no existing leaves, and it will recover. This is often the best way to regenerate an old woody plant. Because the root system is still intact, the growth after pruning can be very fast.

Once pruning has taken place you should give the plant a good feed and make sure that it is not short of water as the shoots re-grow. If you use this method to restore a hedge you should prune one side at a time allowing the leaves on the other side to generate additional energy to help the new shoots grow. Once the first side has re-grown you can then prune the other side.

My hostas are getting eaten by slugs
This year with all the rain, must have been the best year ever for slugs, however if you are a gardener the news is not so good. There are several good organic methods to control slugs but the best way has to be to encourage frogs, toads and hedgehogs, to do the job for you. A good quick solution is to search the plants in the dark, by torchlight, and remove the slugs by hand.

How do I control black spot on my roses?
Prevention is better than cure and in the case of roses this is most definitely the case. The prevention programme starts in the autumn by clearing up all the fallen rose leaves and prunings and then burning them as they carry the spores for next years infection. After pruning the plants should be sprayed with 'jeyes fluid' giving each plant a good soaking together with the soil around the base. Mulching should to carried out around the plant before the new leaves appear, this stops the black spot spores in the soil being splashed on to the new leaves by rain drops.