[Help] Gardeners Question Time.

[Weststander]

I’ve got the same type of mower. Specialists, Ernest Doe of Albourne have serviced and repaired mine, at not great expense.
https://www.ernestdoe.com/branch/albourne/

I can’t see that they’re closed, possibly as their work is also vital to agriculture.

They also collect, but for a fee.

 

[Sirnormangall]

Any hedge experts out there? We have a wild privet hedge along the length of our garden - about 15m long and 3m high. It’s been there for years but it’s suddenly thread bare. Looks like it’s dying and some of the new buds are black. Should we leave it and hope it recovers? Apply some form of bug killer? Give up? Looking on the bright side, I don’t think I’ll need to cut the bl00dy thing this year!

 

[Jack Straw]

Any hedge experts out there? We have a wild privet hedge along the length of our garden - about 15m long and 3m high. It’s been there for years but it’s suddenly thread bare. Looks like it’s dying and some of the new buds are black. Should we leave it and hope it recovers? Apply some form of bug killer? Give up? Looking on the bright side, I don’t think I’ll need to cut the bl00dy thing this year!

When you say "Wild Privet", do you mean Ligustrum vulgare rather than ovalifolium? Sorry if I'm talking rubbish, but it might help to find the problem. If you don't know, don't worry. Have you any photos? A close up and one from slightly further away would help.
It could be Anthracnose. https://homeguides.sfgate.com/privet-hedge-disease-41820.html
https://homeguides.sfgate.com/privet-hedge-disease-41820.html

 

[wellquickwoody]

Ok question 2 (and probably more in keeping with you gardening types)


The thing in the bottom left corner of the original picture (google suggests it might be a Photinia) as you can see, is very close to palm tree.
There is nothing underneath the visible foliage, just bare, thick branches.
I'm assuming it's being 'strangled' by the palm, as the bigger the tree has got the more minging the shrub has become.

Now that neighbour Ted has saved the palm tree:-


Can I dig out the 10 year old (possibly) Potinia and replant it across the garden 6 feet away from a Ceanothus?

If so what will the new home hole need to stimulate growth.


Ta muchly.

Real downside to Cordylines, they suck every last drop of moisture out of the soil. I would move the Photina.

 

[Creaky]

Self-propelled/pedestrian - old Hayter.

It was working yesterday and I cut most of my grass.
It stopped and I thought it was very low on petrol.
I refilled the petrol tank with unleaded purchased this week.
It then wouldn't restart.
Yesterday when not starting it was firing up with a really healthy sound but not kicking in to continue.
Today it is just dead and not even doing that.

I have an old Hayter which had similar symptoms - turned out to be the adjustment on the cable from the “safety bar” which on mine needs to be held down when starting.

 

[LamieRobertson]

I’ve got the same type of mower. Specialists, Ernest Doe of Albourne have serviced and repaired mine, at not great expense.
https://www.ernestdoe.com/branch/albourne/

I can’t see that they’re closed, possibly as their work is also vital to agriculture.

They also collect, but for a fee.

That’s helpful ..my regular place is closed....ironically one of my mowers needed repairing week before last...so everything apart from one of my hedge cutters is working at the mo.....but you never know!

 

[LamieRobertson]

Self-propelled/pedestrian - old Hayter.

It was working yesterday and I cut most of my grass.
It stopped and I thought it was very low on petrol.
I refilled the petrol tank with unleaded purchased this week.
It then wouldn't restart.
Yesterday when not starting it was firing up with a really healthy sound but not kicking in to continue.
Today it is just dead and not even doing that.

Flooded? Fuel switch not on?...give it another go tomorrow ..you never know

 

[Coldeanseagull]

Any hedge experts out there? We have a wild privet hedge along the length of our garden - about 15m long and 3m high. It’s been there for years but it’s suddenly thread bare. Looks like it’s dying and some of the new buds are black. Should we leave it and hope it recovers? Apply some form of bug killer? Give up? Looking on the bright side, I don’t think I’ll need to cut the bl00dy thing this year!

Personally, I think it's not a bad thing the privet is dying back. Flowers smell like cats pee!
Semi evergreen so a cold snap 'blackens' new growth. I'd be surprised if it's dying, they're normally fairly resistant to pest and fungal attack. I've dug a few of these out in the past, believe me when I say they're bullet proof and hold a grudge to being removed. They hypocritically react well to severe hair cuts though

 

[Jack Straw]

Personally, I think it's not a bad thing the privet is dying back. Flowers smell like cats pee!
Semi evergreen so a cold snap 'blackens' new growth. I'd be surprised if it's dying, they're normally fairly resistant to pest and fungal attack. I've dug a few of these out in the past, believe me when I say they're bullet proof and hold a grudge to being removed. They hypocritically react well to severe hair cuts though

Agree with everything here apart from the smell of the flowers. It's an acquired taste, but I quite like it. If you have room in your garden for a privet and you can leave it alone, it will have loads of quite attractive flowers, but best of all it is one of the best plants for hover-flies, as well as being the caterpillar food plant of the Privet Hawk-moth.

 

[Taybha]

Would naming your plants be acceptable in the gardening fraternity.

 

[wellquickwoody]

They all have names already.

 

[Moshe Gariani]

I’ve got the same type of mower. Specialists, Ernest Doe of Albourne have serviced and repaired mine, at not great expense.
https://www.ernestdoe.com/branch/albourne/

I can’t see that they’re closed, possibly as their work is also vital to agriculture.

They also collect, but for a fee.

Sadly not doing domestic jobs at the moment.

 

[Moshe Gariani]

Flooded? Fuel switch not on?...give it another go tomorrow ..you never know

Unfortunately no good this morning either. Brief glimmer of one better firing noise when on a lower throttle but nothing really.

 

[LamieRobertson]

Unfortunately no good this morning either. Brief glimmer of one better firing noise when on a lower throttle but nothing really.

Taken spark out? Does it need a clean up? If it’s dry fuel not getting to it?

 

[Raleigh Chopper]

My wife wants me to trim her box.

 

[WATFORD zero]

One for the experts Jack Straw, Jevs, Lamie etc

I have a lot of Box hedging all around my front garden and a couple of nice variegated box plants in the back garden, along with a small hedge.

End of last year, Box tree caterpillars absolutely decimated the hedge at the back and looking closely at the other boxes and front hedges I found evidence of them. I sprayed with Provanto Ultimate Bug Killer (luckily I managed to get concentrate, because it took tons of it) and then went round taking off all dead leaves, cocoons and other crap and burnt it all.

All of the hedges are now just starting to show good new growth (even the decimated one) and I have just had two pheromone moth traps delivered, one for the front garden and one for the back. Do you think I should give them another blast of the pesticide when I put the traps up (probably in the next week, when it warms up), or should the traps alone be enough ?

Thanking you in anticipation

(You'll notice that unlike some, I didn't go for the cheap Box joke )

 

[Moshe Gariani]

Taken spark out? Does it need a clean up? If it’s dry fuel not getting to it?

The mower was serviced and "repaired" very recently so I don't think it needs cleaning.

What does "If it's dry fuel not getting to it?" mean...? I wish I knew more about how engines work as I'm desperate to cut my grass and don't want to fork out for a new mower...

Two days ago it cut most of the grass lovely.
It stopped and I thought it was out of fuel so I filled it up.
At that point it was firing on the pull and sounding very healthy but just not continuing to run.
Now today it is just pretty much dead when I pull the rope - apart from one very brief firing that quickly died.

 

[jevs]

One for the experts Jack Straw, Jevs, Lamie etc

I have a lot of Box hedging all around my front garden and a couple of nice variegated box plants in the back garden, along with a small hedge.

End of last year, Box tree caterpillars absolutely decimated the hedge at the back and looking closely at the other boxes and front hedges I found evidence of them. I sprayed with Provanto Ultimate Bug Killer (luckily I managed to get concentrate, because it took tons of it) and then went round taking off all dead leaves, cocoons and other crap and burnt it all.

All of the hedges are now just starting to show good new growth (even the decimated one) and I have just had two pheromone moth traps delivered, one for the front garden and one for the back. Do you think I should give them another blast of the pesticide when I put the traps up (probably in the next week, when it warms up), or should the traps alone be enough ?

Rather than go round spraying for something that's not there, I would be inspecting the plants every day. I appreciate that's a complete ballsache but I have to do that with Rose sawfly caterpillers. I then just tend to spot spray. I becomes a bit of an obsession in the end....not letting the little feckers beat you.

Incedently, I was having a beer with former Brighton Parks trainee and Blue Peter Gardener Chris Collins the other day (we worked together years ago) and he said the question he gets asked about the most was about Box caterpillers or Box blight.

 

[Coldeanseagull]

Would naming your plants be acceptable in the gardening fraternity.

Yes weirdo, it would

 

[jevs]

Yes weirdo, it would

I've got a Salvia that I call Hotlips