Phil McCann spring gardening Q&A

Caroline

I have an ivy plant in the garden, it has started to 'climb' up the trunk of my flowering cherry tree, will it harm the tree?

Hello Caroline,
Ivy can do a tremendous job in the garden. It will clothe walls with evergreen leaves; it does provide nesting sites and protection for many birds; and insects do like the flowers. It will however hang like a heavy limpet on your lovely flowering cherry and will, one day in the near future, smother the branches, cut out the light and generally ruin the view. I'm not a big fan so always remove ivy from trees before it gets out of hand. It won't actually kill the tree but it certainly won't help things by being there. Do it now when the ivy is small and manageable. Cut the plant above where it comes out of the soil , allow the stems to die and pull them away. You can carefully dig out the ivy roots if they don't disturb your tree. And keep an eye out for new ivy shoots – they are persistent.

copycat

Any suggestions on how to do the gardening with allergies?!

What plants should I avoid?

Dear copycat,
Allergies to pollen can be miserable but there are pollen free varieties you can grow to reduce the amount of pollen in the air. Many of the seed catalogues highlight these. In addition there are heavy pollen producers which should be avoided. I mentioned one when answering glutenfree's question earlier – Garrya produces so much pollen it can produce visible clouds of the stuff. Guess that is one to avoid. I'd also avoid planting any ornamental grasses as most produce lots of pollen that causes problem for many people. Unfortunately there’s nothing you can do about the public trees that are planted in towns and cities as these produce high amounts of pollen. I would however grow plants such as double flowered peonies, hydrangeas, gladioli, hardy geraniums, pansies and hosts. I reckon you could create a lovely garden with that lot! Good luck and hope any allergies aren't bad this coming year.

iMac

I've got this plant growing in the garden and the roots are really deep and spreads over two metres across the soil. I'm not sure what it's called. I've tried to dig it out to no avail... Any suggestions? Shall I just pour weed killer? Will this ruin the soil for new plants?

Dear iMac,
Obviously I've no idea what the plant is without a photo but if you want to get rid of it you have two main options. The first is to dig it out. I know you are holding your hands up and screaming at me 'I've tried all that' but if you have the time, energy and patience then you can clear large areas of unwanted plants. OK, I've not convinced you. The easier and chemical option is to use a weedkiller. If you use this option you have to use a weedkiller with the ingredient glyphosate. This chemical kills all green leaves. Even the 'good' leaves on your treasured plants. It will not kill tree trunks, and most importantly it degrades on contact with the soil so it doesn't persist to kill emerging plants. But it will kill any and all green leaves it comes into direct contact with ( I think I've made that point now!!) It works by entering the plant through the green parts and travelling right around the plant, killing as it goes. It's good in that you treat the top and it kills down to the bottom. Thuggish plants may need a few treatments but it does work – and you can see results within days. There are trade names but check for that active ingredient 'glyphosate'. Always read the instructions and precautions and never use it on a windy day. You might accidentally get it on some of your wanted plants. Once you have killed whatever plant you are killing you can dig it into the soil and plant over the top. You can use it when the unwanted plant is growing actively, but it works absolutely best in August and September when the movement of liquids in the plant is at its highest. Glyphosate – that's the key word! Hope that helps and good luck.