Alan Titchmarsh webchat

Hello everyone good to be with you! Even HildaW

Hi there, I'd go for something which is easy to grow and can cope with relatively dry soil. Try Geranium macrorrhizum or Hypericum calycinum. Both are quite low growing at under a foot high and have brightly coloured flowers in summer and some foliage in winter.

Hope that helps!

NfkDumpling

Hi Alan, I would appreciate your advise - even if Hilda doesn't!

I'm part of a small group (eight of us) who've been slowly adding flower tubs around our little market town (the council maintain they're too poor, although they have arranged insurance cover in case a box of plants breaks loose and chases someone down the high street).

It looks as if we may get permission to plant under the town welcome signs out on the main road. Because it's a fast busy road maintainence will be difficult and watering impossible. Please, can you suggest any inexpensive (or they'll get pinched), hardy, colourful plants which would not grow taller than one metre? The soil is good, well drained, neutral touching on acid. Any suggestions would be welcome. Thanks.

rubylady

How is it best to move container plants, buddleia, rose tree, cherry tree, beech tree from one house to another? Xxx

Do you mean digging them up from the ground and putting them into containers? Otherwise, all deciduous plants (those which lose their leaves in winter) are best dug up and moved between November and March.

However, if they are taller than you are, they may not survive the move!

Penstemmon

Hi Alan,

It is a lifetime since my DH & I watched you and Alison in Music Hall shows in BROS! We have mutual friends in Bramley!

My gardening question is about a persistent 'fairy ring' in the grass (lawn would be a bit presumptuous!!) Is there a way to get rid of the toadstools or do I have to wait for them to go on their own?? Efforts so far have not been effective.

Ah, happy memories! It is fiendishly difficult to get rid of fairy rings without using noxious chemicals. It really is best to invest in a birch broom (like a witch's broomstick) and sweep them off the morning they appear.

Sorry not to be more helpful!

henetha

Hi Alan,
I recently cleared a small flower bed which is almost always in the shade.
It's behind the back wall of the garage, and is about 6' by 2' . I have left a rambling rose which climbs the garage wall, but cleared some old lavender etc. I thought maybe a flowering shrub might be best now. Or some perennial which likes shade? Any suggestions, and when is the best time to plant?
Thank you Alan.

There are plenty of shade tolerant shrubs such as pyracantha and elaeagnus which will tolerate shade, and perennials like foxgloves and hardy geraniums which will be happy there too. At the risk of self-promotion, I have written a series of paperbacks called How to Garden, One of which is devoted to plants for shade. It will give you a much wider choice.

joannapiano

Hello Alan,
We had a good crop of Moneymaker tomatoes, grown in grow bags in our greenhouse, this year. The only problem was that they had very tough skins. I have resorted to making them into sauce.
This is the first time we have had this problem.
What variety would you suggest we plant next year?

The chances are that your tomato plants dried out a little in between waterings which would result in the skins being tougher. However, next year give Gardener's Delight a go; it has a very good flavour and will hopefully not disappoint.

buffersmoll

Hi Allan can you help with raspberries. I let runners from old and very productive canes develop into plants in the bed at the side of the old canes but when the fruit on these new canes developed they were very small fruits with four or five berries, when any attempt to pick them they fell away or were nocked off. don't know the name of the raspberries I inherited them. They fruit twice a year May for the birds, Autumn for me. Many thanks for your guidance for so many years.

There is no obvious reason why your raspberries should have done what they did. Those that fruit early in the year normally have their fruited canes cut down to ground level once they have cropped, and the new canes tied into the support system to carry next years crop. Autumn fruiting raspberries are cut down to the ground each February since the brand new canes will fruit the same year as they grow. I would suggest you try a different variety such as Autumn Bliss which I love eating! Best of luck.

libbalobba

Hi Alan, you have more recently made quite a name for yourself as an expert on things Royal. Given this and the TV show do you still see yourself as a gardener first and foremost?

I'm still a gardener at heart and I garden everyday at home. It's just that I have been allowed to pursue other interests which keeps me fresh! The new book explores the Queen's houses in detail, looking at their history and the way in which they are used today. I hope it's an interesting read.

pat834

Does your interest in royalty stem from the book you did on royal gardens? (Which I have an enjoyed very much)

Having been round all the royal gardens and enjoyed them it seemed an obvious move to explore the houses and palaces and write about them, which I was lucky enough to do.

bettybooop

The Queen's Houses sounds really interesting I have ordered it from Amazon. Did you get special access to all of them? And which did you like the best?

I have been lucky enough to visit all of the royal houses and palaces over the years and have had the good fortune to stay at Sandringham. Which I suppose is why it is my favourite. It is an odd and rambling sort of house, but one which is elegant yet friendly inside and set in a wonderful garden in the heart of the Norfolk countryside. That said, Windsor Castle is wonderfully imposing and the state rooms at Buckingham Palace are tremendously imposing. Balmoral in the Scottish Highlands has a wonderful conservatory!

neena

Hi Alan,

I love your show...and your books about the royals! Have you ever met the queen? And if so what was that like?! Is she your favourite royal or who is if not?

Thank you

I first met The Queen at Chelsea Flower Show in 1985 when I showed her around a garden I had made. I have subsequently met her many times and even sat next to her twice at lunch. She is the most wonderful company and a great conversationalist. It's difficult to name a favourite royal since I am acquainted with several of them but I am particularly admiring of Her Majesty and The Prince of Wales who is the hardest working man I know.

nancy22

Hi Alan
I just love your programs they are fab, but I do need your help if possible.
I have recently grown a grape tree (well over a year old now).
How long does it take for the grapes to come?
Many thanks

Your vine will need to be a year or two older before it flowers and fruits. Ideally it will enjoy a sunny spot in well-drained chalky soil. Don't expect it to be self-sufficient in fruit or wine.

merlotgran

Hi Alan,

We have a very large garden on fenland soil which is very fertile. Everyone thinks we're lucky but they should try tackling the nettles which have a sting more effective than a taser!!

My biggest problem is what to grow under three apple trees that I planted alongside a path. There's a clump of lovage that follows snowdrops and tulips but it doesn't seem to matter what I plant either side of it as the nettles soon reappear despite digging out the roots and/or treating with glyphosate. Mulching doesn't work for long - they soon push through it.

I suppose I could leave the nettles for wildlife but then the postman wouldn't be able to get up the path.

There is no magic formula for getting rid of the nettles. You could try laying thick black polythene over the ground and covering it with chipped bark. Left in position for a year or more it should result in the nettle roots dying out. Good luck!

rubysong

Hello
We did try to restrict the roots of our fig tree with slates when it was planted but it has become far too large and I have to do something about it. Can I prune it very hard, or will that just make it even more vigorous? It is about 10 years old and we have never had a fig which ripened enough to eat. We live in east Cornwall and it is on the garage wall, facing south but a bit shaded by other large trees.
(It is by the path the postman takes to go next door and he is almost having to crawl through it.)

It's nice that you are all so considerate to your postman!

You can, indeed, prune your fig quite severely at this time of year, but I would look at increasing the amount of light which it receives. The small figs which are about the size of a pea at this time of year are the ones which will come through the winter to fatten and ripen next summer. Any which are larger will fall off. Light and warmth are key to success, good luck!