Goringfolly's Outbox

I wish the British climate would let me grow such trees. They look great!

I have grown these in exactly the same way as you although I only had a 25% success! However when I potted them up into 3" pots into the cold greenhouse they quickly filled the pots and are now rapidly out-growing 6" pots. I suggest you leave them. They should get going with some more sunshine/warmth.

Definitely Hebe probably 'pinquifolia'.

I always cut mine back at the end of May but I leave them in the border where perrenials cover their spot. They always come up each year.

Yes, looks like Columbine to me.

Great shot - nicely focussed.

Cacti and herbs both need good drainage. Water collecting in the bottom is not good for these plants. I would re-pot.

Try air layering your Camelia.

If you want something exotic and interesting try a Tree Ferm (Dickensonia Antarctica)

It is always slugs and snails that eat my hostas. I use slug pellets. It may not be eco friendly but they are very effective.

I really like the colouring on this leaf. What variety of maple is it?

A perfect corner of the garden.

This is a mature specimen and measures some 8x8 feet. Reliably flowers every spring.

I think it is too big a plant for a pot in a conservatory. I had a 100yr old 'Muscat' in my garden in France against the wall where it was rampant. They have an expression in Fance that you can't kill a vine. I agree with Sid, your sounds diseased in some way. Grapes in England are generally planted outside a greenhouse and trained inside where they will take over for he summmer. You can prune as much as you want.

Yes I built this Folly as my own way of celebrating the Millennium.
It is rather pretentiously known as 'Goring Folly'
visit http://goringfolly.netfirms.com for further information.

Thank you Emm for the lead. Looking up Spirea it is almost certainly Spirea Arguta.

This is one of my favourite flowers. Have just sown some more 'Magnus Purporea' and 'Pink Parasol'

I love Acer's just at this time when the leaves are new and fresh.

I always take soft wood cuttings. Six or so dibbed around the edge of a pot. Initially put in the greenhouse.Generally all of them strike and and are potted up individually to get planted out the following year. However, I agree with Majeekahead French Lavender (Lavedula Stoeches) is more problematic. Only one cutting struck for me last year.

I do not advise the following for you if the tree is near the house but out of interest there is the following method.
Buy some sodium chlorate which is basically a weed killer. Dig out a hollow in the trunk and fill with the SC. Allow it to be absorbed over many weeks and top up if necessary. Make sure there is no powder left at all. Then set fire to it! This is potentially dangerous so beware SC is used in home made bombs, but if done properly the stump will burn right down into the roots.
For anyone else interested proceed with caution and research this method first of all.

I grow a lot of these and it often happens to plants that are just getting old and woody. I then find that the whole plant withers and dies in a year or so. Very easy to replace with one of the many self sown seedlings that must be nearby.
TimB

It looks like a type of Philodendron to me. I had one like it many years ago. It does look 'sick'. I would repot it, trim away any dead or crowded roots and put it somewhere bright but out of sunlight. As a last desperate measure cut off the large leaf as well.
TimB

Yes this is a true colour. I am seeing what my new camera can do. decided on a Ricoh Caplio R7 and exremely pleased. I am down on the south coast and this Chaenomeles has been out for 3 weeks or so.

Thank you all for your ideas. The consensus is then that they are for use with growing tomatoes in grow bags. (Which unfortunately I do not use) It makes sense - the resovoir does have little holes in it.

My Aloe vera is in direct sunlight and thrives. I find that they like to be fairly pot bound so make sure your pot is not too big. Mine gives off lots of offsets every year and I 'bring them on' in very small pots in the green house.

Sounds like fungus gnat to me. very commoon in all house plants. I try to eradicate them by adding Malathion to the when I water or better still make up a bucket of mixture and immerse pot in it.

I have had this device for several years to stop the neighbours cat calling and it works brilliantly. At first it wandered though trying to ignore it but now it never comes in at all. They also have a dog that is seemingly unaffected.