Nita's Inbox

I think it could be foot and root rot, caused by fungal pathogens and the only thing to do is not grow them there, or change the soil.

it might be worth a trip to your local garden centre, to see if they have any plants left for sale. cucumber , toms. peppers etc. you could grow salad leaves in tubs/ pots.

Nita - check my blogs as I wrote two on pruning earlier this year. Might give you the information you need

The general rule of thumb is that shrubs that flower in the summer need to be pruned straight after they've flowered. If you don't know their names, post a photo so somebody can ID them for you then more specific advice can be given for the particular shrub.

Depends on the shrub. Do you know what they are called or can you describe them?

Catarpillars are very slow moving and their one defense strategy is to drop to the ground... catch and squish as many as you can...they may not necessarily be butterfly or moth larvae...they could belong to certain types of flies...I have a picture of sawfly larvae (I'm in North America) that tried to defoliate my roses and a mugho pine... I don't know if you have sawflies in the UK but thought you could take a look at these...if yours are like them, squish them all! then spray the plants with as strong a stream of water as they will stand...to dislodge any unhatched eggs...and keep a very close eye for the next two weeks... hate to use chemicals or even to advise their usage because of the effects on young birds. best thing you can do Nita, is pluck and squish...
good luck.

Oh dear. Sorry to hear that - but only you can decide whether to get rid of them or leave them alone!

You will have to be brave and pick them off - then dispose of them. However, please don't forget that caterpillars change into Butterflies - yours may be Cabbage Whites if they are on your veggies, I know, but Butterflies are getting more and more rare....I don't suppose you could leave them????

Sounds like mildew. Check the spray and try again. If the plant is not responding, I would cut it hard back. Honeysuckles do shoot again - hopefully without the mildew!