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Q – I thought October was the best time for planting tulips but I found out that Bodnant didn’t do theirs till December.Ìý What is right?

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John (Bodnant Head Gardener) – I think the right time to do something is when you’ve actually got time to do it!

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Pippa – You plant late to avoid Tulip Fire.Ìý

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Q – About fifteen years ago I was given a 12-inch (30cm) Eucalyptus tree in a pot.Ìý It is now taller than the house.Ìý I am fond of it so can I cut it back to a decent height?

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Bob – I think you should cut it down.Ìý The branches can snap off in the wind.Ìý You can pollard or coppice young trees; less so with older ones

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Matt – You can cut them back and they will respond well

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Q – I’ve been given a small plot in a polytunnel.Ìý Can I plant a lemon tree in it in a raised bed?

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Bob – I’d keep it in a container – they quite like confinement.Ìý Keep it up higher in the warmer air.Ìý You will lose it in a hard frost, so keep it wrapped when frosty.Ìý

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Q – The soil in our garden is very stony.Ìý What should I grow in it?

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Bob – Hazels.Ìý Most plants like stones in the soil.Ìý Go for perennials.Ìý

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Pippa – Hawthorn will do well.Ìý Tamarisk.Ìý

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Matt – I wouldn’t see it as a problem.Ìý Make a little Alpine bed.Ìý Blue Poppy (Meconopsis betonicifolia)).Ìý Himalayan Daphnes.Ìý

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Feature:

Cimicifuga

Fatsia polycarpa

Holboellia coriacea

Dutchman’s Pipe (Aristolochia)

Oreopanax

Aspidistras

Ruskas

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Q – Where narcissi are left in the ground should I feed them?Ìý They are King Alfreds that have been in the ground for fifty years

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Pippa – Definitely.Ìý The fancier ones run out of steam quicker than the basic ones so it’s more important to feed them to avoid them going blind.Ìý You can water in a general feed or use a folia feed when the leaves are still green and upright.

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Bob – Mark where the big clumps are when they flower and then once they die back split up those big clumps

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Matt – Make sure you deadhead them

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Pippa – Put the feed on in spring/early-summer

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Q – What is the best time to scarify a lawn?

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Bob – Scarifying is scratching the lawn with a wire brush to get out the moss and old, dead grass.Ìý It’s a lot of work.Ìý I wouldn’t bother.Ìý

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Pippa – If you use a moss killer make sure the moss is dead before scarifying, otherwise you’ll just flick the moss around the lawn.Ìý I would brush in a sandy top soil afterwards.Ìý I would do it in autumn.Ìý

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Q – We have a stream by the garden which now has a clay/rubble bank built upon it after it flooded.Ìý What can we grow in it?

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Bob – Make sure you don’t plant anything than can break off and invade somewhere downstream.Ìý Primulas.Ìý Cowslips, primroses, drumstick Primula denticulata.Ìý

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Pippa – Hostas and astilbes

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Matt – Coloured-stemmed Dogwoods.Ìý

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Q – We have a large Magnolia ‘Susan’.Ìý It’s too big (30ft x 20ft/9m x 6m); can we prune it?Ìý It’

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Pippa – They don’t like pruning I’m afraid.Ìý They can get coral spot if you prune too.

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Matt – And they get water shoots growing off them.Ìý If you need to prune it then I would get a professional in to do it.Ìý

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Bob – Leave it alone!

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Q – My grandson bough me a terrarium that I have planted with succulents.Ìý I would like to grow some from seed.Ìý What can you recommend?

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Matt – You can buy packets of mixed succulent seeds quite easily.Ìý Sow them in spring and keep them warm and moist.Ìý

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Pippa – You can propagate easily from just the leaf of another plant