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Chamomile - Best Variety for Infusions I want to grow chamomile to harvest for a soothing infusion drink. Does anyone know which is the best variety.
Chilli Water I like to soak chilli seeds in water for a few days - apart from making a good splash-on addition to spice up your food, its also an excellent pest deterrent. Things like aphids hate it - yet its a cheap and easy solution, just add a little washing up liquid and spray on. Make sure you wash your hands thoroughly afterwards. If you wipe your eyes with chilli water on your hands you'd curse me to kingdom come.
Chipper/Choppers Does anyone know where to get a really strong Chipper from - I do lots of pruning and like to mulch the result - the green stuff gets chopped up with my mower but I want something a bit stronger for the woody stuff. To tell you the truth I'd really like one of those giant ones on the back of the council trucks that chop up tree prunings - but thats a bit over the top !!! Most of the regular ones are too flimsy.
Citrus trees have no new/inconsistent growth Okay I’ve bought 2 orange trees and a lemon tree about 3 -4 months ago. I’ve repotted them all into huge containers, mixed a special soil mix, with sand, citrus soil, compost and I used a layer of rocks at the bottom for drainage. I’ve got a thick layer of mulch on the top. Which should be optimal for growing citrus according to the many YouTube videos I’ve watched. I gave them all the same amount of fertiliser, same amount of sun/water. Now here’s the weird part. The first orange tree is growing fine, it went through a growth spurt and got heaps of new growth then stopped after that. The second orange tree has not grown at all, no new leaves, the new leaves on it are still small, and it looks all shrivled up, the leaves are still green and there’s no yellowing but the leave are compact compared to the other. The lemon tree had had no new growth at all and the bottom leaves are starting to yellow and drop. I’ve given them pellet fertiliser and coffee grounds, water once every 3 days. Why are the results so inconsistent. I have a dwarf lemon next to them in the same conditions and it’s growing rapidly. With lots of new growth. Any help is appreciated thanks the trees are in order as I’ve spoken about them, you can see in the image the difference between the two orange trees, and the yellow leaves on the lemon tree and the healthy dwarf lemon. P.S. note from editor - no image supplied (must have forgot to attach it)
Citrus Yellowing Leaves Whats going on with my citrus tree - is it dying? What should I do?
Clay soil Hey hope its going good, I've just been asked to break up a hard bed of clay under a rich top soil with a high content of decaying matter from the surrounding eucalyptus trees. the first 10cm or so is very loose and comes off with a spade easily but under that is an almost rock solid layer of soil that i use a steel pike to get through. i was wondering if there was any way to break up this layer of soil without having to remove the trees that are currently growing in it. the trees have been in for almost 2 years and haven't grown more than knee height. i suspect its due to the lack of root penetration through the soil. Cheers, Adam
Clay Soil and Harsh Winds i have an area by a shed that is very poor clay, it is exposed to all the winds especialy the hot northerly and strong easterly at times. I want to plant some tall shrubs to hide the shed and act as a bit of a wind break, any ideas? (pref natives)
Coleus leaf propagation Hey I can not seem to find anything much about doing Coleus Leaf Vein propagation so I have decided to go ahead and test the theory myself and post results as I go for future reference to those whom think they might want some info. Ok so I am doing this in such a method anyone at home can also do. There are 2 leaves pinned to a mix of Sphagnum moss and peat moss, sprayed with tap water to keep moist. The pot is covered with plastic kitchen wrap and a half job plastic wrap tie to keep some sort of environmental control. Notes: 1. I have used cable ties to pin leaves but you could use Plant ties, a stone or anything that works for your situation. 2. The Sphagnum and peat moss could be substituted for any of your favorite propagation media. I just had it there. 3. The kitchen wrap could be subbed with a prop dome, tray and cloche or anything that allows light through and easy access to respray if needed. Cheers for now Staffy
Companion Planting I am planning a herbacious border in my newly inherited garden in Oberon and would like to try companion planting. Plants will need to be wind hardy which narrows down my range! but would love to be able to companion plant.
Companion Planting of Vegies We are starting a vege patch and would like to know which veges you can plant together and which do not "like" each other. I have heard this called companion planting and would appreciate some advice. Thanks.
Compost Content I am thinking about making a compost heap and using kitchen waste/scraps ect. My question is, would the absorbent pads that come in meat trays and the like, be suitable to throw in to the compost to act as water retainers when dug into the veggie patch.
Composting Wood Could anyone give me advise on how to compost branches? Foliage is no problem but the woody stuff seems to stay around for ever. Is it just a matter of chopping it up small?
Convolvulus Sabatius - looking like Ash Hi Folks - I'm having problems with my Convolvulus Sabatius as parts of them seem to be dying and looking like burnt ash. Up until recently they been flourishing. I've got gardenia growing next to it that seem ok. Wondering whats causing part of the plan to die off like this? Appreciate any input. I've attached a photo so you can see the effect
Convolvulus Struggling I have been trying to grow Convolvulus cneorum for a few years along the top of a rockery (maybe 40 separate plants). Without warning they start to change colour and start to die. This is quite random and I have some plants took 2 or more years to die this way and others have not died. I replaced the soil in areas where they died with fresh garden soil from my landscape supplies after digging out the existing soil to a depth of at least 400mm. Note the garden is only about 300mm wide with large sandstone rocks on one edge and lawn the other side separated by pine sleepers which would be at least 10 years old. I replaced 8 plants into the new soil which had been placed there at least a month earlier just 2 months ago (watering them in daily for the first week and then once a week) and today I notice that two plants are starting to wilt and die. I feel that I should replace all of these Convolvulus with something else but what? See attached photos. What could be causing this?
Cosmos not blooming After about a month and a half, my cosmos are huge but don't have any blossoms. I read that they don't bloom in over fertilised soil. Is there any way to 'UN-fertilise' my soil?
Crabapple Tree Problems We planted a crab apple tree last December and it looks less and less well as time goes on. The leaves are curled, some leaves are yellow and the tree appears droopy. The small amount of the fruit on the tree dropped off while still small and green. The tree was around five feet when it was planted. I was told by the nursery that this may be a potassium deficiency but treating with super phosphate hasn't made any difference.
Crepe Myrtle burnt leaves Hi, I have a crepe myrtle in Adelaide that has some burnt leaves. I don’t think it’s a normal autumn browning. It’s not impacting the newer growth as much. Any idea what this is? I’m watering twice a week on drippers.
Cucumbers getting munched by something? Hi All, My cucumbers have just started attracting something that is taking what looks like small bites out of them. I have no idea what they are. They have also just moved ont my small roma tomatoes. Pic attached.... Help!!!
Cumquat tree I'm a novice gardener and have received a cumquat tree. The leaves have now (July) started turning a bit yellow. Is that normal? The tree is producing lots of fruit and they are ripening well.
Cumquat tree all leaves falling off Hi I have two new (12 months old ) small cumquat standard trees in potting mix at the front door. They are only about 600mm in height. All The leaves have a blotchy look to them and have falling off. New growth did start but the leaves are doing the same thing They get regular water and have been feed with slow release fertiliser The potting mix drains well. My guess is that they are missing something in the potting mix Thanks for your help. John
Cupressus sempervirens Stricta Hey Lizel, They don’t like heavy pruning but respond well to topiary, which is generally just small scale shaping - e.g. spiral. So you should be fine.
Cupressus sempervirens Stricta - fire resistant I am reading up on what trees are fire retardant and I came across an article that said that the mediterranean cypress wins hands down. Have you come across this and is this particle type the one they are talking about?
Cypress Tree - Identification problem Hello & thank you in advance for answering my question if possible. Can someone identify my cypress trees please? I would like to replace a couple & ideally would like to purchase them from the same family but I can't identify them for certain. When we purchased them (many moons ago) they were commonly called "Limelights" however, I cannot find any referrence to this tree now. Any help you are able to give me would be much appreciated. Kinde regards - Belle
Dahlia imperialis Will Dahlia imperialis grow in Sydney. I saw some in Japan but its much cooler there. cheers
Dahlias Hi!! I just brought a new house and the previous owners had planted two dahlias in the front yard. After looking them up online I see that there is a big thing about digging them up in winter? We live in south west Victoria. I was wondering if sometime can explain it all to me? Do I have to dig them up?
Dais cotinifolia Hey Jenny, Buds that do not open could be a symptom of many problems - so its best to take a cutting to your local nursery to discuss the conditions you are growing in. Some gardeners say that adding a 'Bloom Booster' fertiliser that has increased levels of phosphorous in it can help, but we disagree as the extra chemicals generally just go to waste or put your soil into imbalance. A 'tonic' like Seasol or other seaweed based products will always be best as they are rather benign, but boost bug and microbe populations in the soil which then in turn help release the natural elements for plants to take up.
Damage to agave Hi... We are in Perth . Recently we have noticed quite a few of our Agava , Yukkas ,Dragun tree and Dracaena have developed spotty leaves. There does not appear to be any little creatures on the leaves and it is as tho the spots are inside the leaf.. The underside of the leaves are unaffected What do you think the cause could be?
Damaged bark I have just planted sapling trees of mulberry and a grafted peach/nectarine tree. Unfortunately, my dog has attacked both trees and chewed a couple off branches off each and also ripped some bark off both trunks. Can anyone advise me if there is anyway to prevent disease from getting into stripped bark and whether or not the trees will in fact recover and grow normally? Thanks for your help. Sarah Watts
Dead Passionfruit My passionfruit vine was growing vigorously and had set a good crop of young fruit. I returned from holiday a couple of weeks ago to find it a bit wilted. I gave it a few good waters but it didn't come back. Slowly all the fruit began to wrinkle and the leaves turned yellow. Within two weeks it was pretty much gone. I tried a a pesticide and fungicide but may have been too late. I've cut it back to the woody trunk now hoping it will re-shoot. Any ideas what attacked it? Photos attached.
Dense Fense. Does it have a fragrant flower Hi, I'm looking a putting in a low growing fragrant hedge. Does anyone know if Dense Fence Sweet Viburnum have a fragrant flow?
Deodar Sick HI There, I hope someone can help me? I have a special, large Deodar Tree which is about 70 years old. At the beginning of Spring is shed most of its needles. Now it has new growth which also appears to be dying. We living in Central West NSW and have experienced 3 years of drought. Any suggestions would be fantastic! Thanks, Susie
Dianella caerulea Can I plant DIANELLA CAERULEA in an area that only gets a couple of hours direct sunlight each day? It will be planted in a narrow garden bed next to a fence and about 2 1/2 m from the house. Thanks! Michelle
dimpled lemons Hi, I have a 2 year old Lots a Lemons that is producing fruit for the first time. Half the fruit looks fine, half is dimpled. Is this something that I should be concerned about? Thanks, Terry
Discolouring of buxus hedges We have uprooted and moved mature buxus hedges and replanted in-ground within a few hours. We purchased new soil to replant. It’s been 3 weeks, and I have noticed some of the colour of the whole hedge has gone a slightly discolouring from the original emerald green from the date of the replanting. I’ve been watering every day or 2. Is my hedges dying because it has been up-rooted? Am I watering too much. Or is the colouring changing notmal? How can I get it back to the green emerald colour?
Diseases in Roses I have 3 x standard roses and 5 x other variety (unknown), they have all been very stunned in growth this season with 2 looking almost dead. There are red dots on leaves of all the roses - I think it's a magnesium deficiency Any ideas on how I can get rid of the red dots and why 2 out of 8 are not growing?
Does anyone know what variety of lavender this is? Hi. I’ve been trying to identify this lavender. It has long wiry flowers of deep purple. It only has a mild lavender scent compared to other varieties.
Dog Problem Im fighting an ongoing battle with a 12yr old border collie who either digs up, digs huge holes near or urinates on most of my plants. Any ideas for a solution? Ive tried "keepoff" spray and "Deter" but neither worked.
Drainage and recycling in one Instead of adding stones to pots for crocks to help drainage, I chop up some small, woody hedge trimmings. They do the job just as well as crocks and eventually they'll break down. Very eco friendly
Drying Gladiolii What do I do to preserve my Gladiola bulbs for the winter. Everytime I try, they either dry out or they get mouldy. I have put them in plastic case in my garage (they get moldy) and I have hung them in a bag in the basement (they dry out)..
Duff Daffs I planted a big bag of daffodils back in early July and less then half flowered. Lots of foliage but not a lot of flowers. Any ideas what went wrong?
Duranta repens - new growth I have a Duranta Repen how do I stimulate new growth branches from the lower part of the tree I have cut some branches and they have not grown back . thanks
Dwarf bean plants - tips of leaves are drying, yellowing or turning brown I planted 4 dwarf bean plants from seeds. It's been three weeks and they were doing pretty well. Recently I've noticed that the tips of the leaves are drying out and curling inwards, or tearing at the edges. I have been watering these plants but I'm conscious of overwatering. About two days ago I gave the plants some diluted hydroponic fertilizer. However the problem was present before I put the fertilizer on the plants. I also examined the leaves and couldn't see any pests. The climate where I am is subtropical humid. I would love to save my bean plants and any help will be so appreciated!
Dwarf Flowering Gum Pest My dwarf flowering gum seems to have a pest that is eating away at the leaves. It looks like some sort of caterpillar that creates a web, joining the leaves. Does anyone know what this is or what pesticides is safe to use on a gum tree?
Dwarf Lilly PIllies Scorched by Sydney Heat A couple of weeks ago, the foliage of two Dwarf Lilly Pillies in our Sydney garden were scorched in the heat. Each tree is about 4 m tall and have been really healthy since they were planted 15 years ago. It reached about 45 deg C in the shade on that day, so it was probably about 55 deg C in the full sun. Since then, both trees have begun to drop all their leaves, which were burned to a crisp, not by fire, but just the heat of the day. There is no sign of any leaf regrowth yet. What are the chances of the two trees surviving this event? If they do survive, is there anything I can do to aid their recovery other than giving them plenty of water? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Dying Lawn Hi, What are we doing wrong?(please find attached before and after photos). Our Palmetto lawn is looking terrible. We have had plenty of rainfall and everyone else in our street has green lawn except us. We are afraid of losing our lawn altogether. We purchased and lay our lawn in September last year. And now it looks like this. Desperately need some help!!! Any advice would be much appreciated. Regards Anthony Priemus
Earwigs We need some advice on earwig control. At the moment we have traps set and a couple of different sprays which say they kill earwigs but i think it just acts as a cologne for them now. We have reduced the damage to all our seedlings and adult plants a bit but it doesn't seem like we are winning the battle and we want to win this battle. Has anybody got success with anything on the market which we haven't found yet or any different advice. Thanks all.
East facing glass house Hi all - this my first post - with a tonne of work to do in our new old house probably won't do any real gardening for some time; I am in the ideas/planning phase! So, we have an east facing heavily sloped (poorly terraced) garden. the flat area exiting the house is only about 4.5 to 5 metres wide before hitting the slope starting with 3 tiers of moss rocks. We have no and require an out door living space. First idea was to pave and install a vergola. I am now thinking about a glass house. I would like peoples thoughts if this would work being east facing. House is 2 story so not much direct light in winter. will this heat up house too much in summer or with the right ventilation could it work - could you comfortably sit in this space, again with the right ventilation? could you incorporate outdoor kitchen with BBQ and pizza oven?? would want a glass roof, not polycarbonate sheeting? Look forward to your thoughts
English Oak I am a new Australian and love it here, especially all the amazing native plants, many of which I am attempting to grow in my garden. But there is one icon of olde England that I really want to have there too and thats an old oak tree. Do they grow here OK and where can I get one?
Eradicating Kikuyu Hi Guys! I have a question about Kikuyu grass... yuk! We have recently bought a 20 yr old house in the Perth Hills. The front lawn was two huge rectangles of thick, deep kikuyu - thicker and deeper over the leech drain, of course. I have killed it off (99.9%) with a systemic spray (3 applications). Now it looks awful and I have discovered how difficult it is to dig it up. (My poor back!) I want to cover this area with low growing, colourful, aromatic, varying texture, natives or hardy ground covers. I can see it in my minds eye. The problem is the dead grass - and you know what kikuyu is like, 12" roots and more, quite likely to rise up from the dead at any time. What can I do instead of digging it all up ? Any suggestions would be gratefully received. Thank you. Suey Perth, Western Australia
Escaped Ficus Roots I have discovered that the reason my potted Ficus Benjamina was looking so great is that the roots had escaped out the bottom of the pot and deep into the ground. How do I cut the escaped roots without killing the plant? I want to repot it back into the same pot. Is this possible? How do I best proceed?
Eumundi Quandong Hi,A pest has been eating the top leaves of my Eumundi Quandongs. The trees look really healthy apart from the top. I've lopped the top eaten sections off, but when it grows back and the leaves are eaten again. I put possum spikes on the fence but i don't think it's possums because they eat all around. However a couple of branches are broken. The flowers and leaves on my Tippuchina against the same fence also get eaten.
Evaporation from Water Features When you have water features in your garden its very important to keep them topped up during dry weather. But its also good to not waste water. With this in mind I suggest that providing shade is the best protective measure that will minimise evaporation. The best sort of shade is natural plant life and water lilies are excellent on ponds - but if you have no organic shade then try a shadecloth cover. You can stretch it over the water and it will definitely help keep the surface temperature down and therefore minimse evaporation.
Evergreen Climbers I am trying to find an evergreen climber that doesn’t flower and will grow well in full sun in Sydney (directly west facing to cover a wall next to our pool so don’t want flowers/leaves falling in to the water). Any suggestions?
Everything turning yellow in raised Garden Bed Hi there, I've just put in some raised garden beds. Filled them with layers (lasagne style) with the last 40cm or so of 'organic garden soil'. I planted a whole bunch of veggies, many of which i have grown successfully in pots previously. They all germinated fine, however, since germination, they have all stopped growing and are looking very yellow and sick. I tested the pH of the soil and it was a little high so i added some sulphate. I've fed the plants with powerfeed and seasol. I'd appreciate any advice. I'm worried the soil is just terrible
Fern by the Pool I have a native garden and a saltwater pool with natural bushrock surrounds with Photinia and Hakeas providing a screen hedge. I need to fill a gap in the corner and thought a fern would be nice - it is a relatively shady spot. My question is - are ferns salt and/or chlorine tolerant or will the first splash kill it off?
Ficus Pumila in Shady Location? How do you think a Ficus pumila will go on a shady, south facing wall? I am after something that will hide a very unattractive corrugated fibre-cement fence (Old Super 66 fence). Have tried a climbing hydrangea which failed and now need to try something else .. maybe this is worth a try?
Fiddle leaf fig looking unhealthy My fiddle leaf was doing brilliantly but now it’s leaves are all going brown. Any advice on how to fix much appreciated
Finger Lime Blues I Have a grafted Ricks Red finger lime that I purchased about 5 years ago. I am in Melbourne. The plant is in a large pot. Plenty of green leaves and red tips to end of branches, I have tried the magnesium fertilising thing a couple of time, seems to make it flower prolifically but flowers are not showing fruit this year, and just die off. I have 1 fruit left on it from last year - it just sits there not growing, currently it is around 1.75 cm long and hanging in there where I stare at it every morning It lives mostly in sun after around 10am. It is watered every 2nd day or daily when whether is hot (over 35 degrees C) Should I shift it to a place more shaded. Or is there something really wrong
Finger limes I have a finger lime grown in a container it is now about 5ft and produced some blossoms that developed into fruit only to fall off. l would appreciate any clues to as why as it does seem to like where it is growing.
Flat Leafed Parsley I have been given some flat leafed parsley seeds to sow. Is there a certain time I should sow these seeds or is any time good and how do i go about sowing them successfully.
Fleshy Foliage - what plant is this? I love these and I'd like to buy some but don't know what to ask for at the nursery. Can anyone help please?
Flowering Tobacco - poisonous? Hello, I have some seeds for the very fragrant tobacco flower. I also have an inquisitive puppy. Can both co-habit in my front yard? I have been told tobacco flower is poisonous, but is it poisonous for dogs? Will it just make them vomit a bit, or is it deadly?
Fountain Grass - Pennisetum alopecuroides Has anyone any suggestions as to why my Pennisetum grass, at least two years old has not bloomed?
Fragrant Poplar When I was in England, I came across the most delicious smelling poplar. I think it may have had 'Balsalm' in the common name. I didn't ever see the tree so I don't know what it looked like, but the foliage smelled glorious and lasted ages in a vase. I would like to plant one/some in my tree paddock in Oberon if anyone knows where I could get them.
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