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Q – My young Szechuan Pepper (Zanthoxylum simulans) has been growing in the middle of a low beech hedge.Ìý Something is eating the bark? What is it? Slugs?

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Pippa – People talk about Clematis Wilt but 99% of the time it’s slugs.Ìý So this probably is too.

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John – It’s related to the citrus family like Choisya or Rutaceae.Ìý

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Pippa – Keel slugs do the most damage.

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Q – Can you recommend tall, colourful alternatives to Foxgloves?

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Bunny – Verbena bonariensis.Ìý Verbascum bombyciferum ‘Polar Summer’.Ìý

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Anne – Hesperis matronalis (‘Sweet Rocket’).

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Pippa – Hollyhocks.Ìý With the Verbascums you might get Mullein Moths which have huge caterpillars

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Q – How can I get rid of Spanish Bluebells?

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Bunny – Cover the ground but they could survive for years in darkness.Ìý I think the only way is chemical.

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Q – I have a yellow and blue themed garden with with Rhododendron Luteum, Berberis Aurea, Festuca Glauca, Ceratostigma Griffithii, Gentiana Sino-Ornata, Molinia Caerulea and Euonymus 'Emerald and Gold', providing seasonal interest.Ìý Can the panel recommend any more suitable blue and/or yellow plants (either flowers or foliage) for my narrow front garden? The soil is acidic, moist and well-drained, and the site is fairly well sheltered.

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John -Ìý Caryopteris.Ìý Potentillas.Ìý

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Anne – Camassias.Ìý

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Q – I have a Vibernum on my balcony in Athens. It’s 4ft (1.2m) high in a big pot.Ìý Many leaves are going brown and it is not blooming. What is wrong?

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Pippa – It could be too hot and dry.Ìý Look for vine weevil and other grubs at the roots.

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Bunny – You need to water it much better and get the pot in a big saucer of water so it can stay more moist

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Anne – This is usually a woodland plant

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Q – I’ve often heard the GQT panel recommending adding lime to the soil.Ìý Which plants would have the same effect?

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Bunny – Â鶹ԼÅÄmade compost, if it’s aerobically made, is normally about pH8 which is alkaline so that will help.Ìý Clematis and brassicas.

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Anne – I’ve never heard of mulching a limey plant but things like mushroom compost is quite limey.Ìý Wood ash compost is highly alkaline but it can scorch foliage and roots so mix it with something else too

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Q – I have an unheated greenhouse and am bored of growing the same things (tomatoes, peppers etc).Ìý What else could I grow?

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Anne – Camellias.Ìý Rhododendron fragrantissimum.Ìý Jasminum polyanthum.Ìý Canary Island Cytisus.Ìý Bulbs like Tigridias, Gloriosas, Zantedeschia, Canna lilies.Ìý

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Bunny – Wasabi.Ìý Lemon verbena.Ìý Green tea.Ìý

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Anne – Devalia.Ìý

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Q – I have a three-year old Trachelospermum jasminoideswith an oily, soot-like deposit on the foliage.Ìý What is it and what can I do?

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Pippa – Scale insects will be behind this.Ìý There are biological controls you can use or chemicals – depends on your preference.Ìý

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In the spring wood there is a carpet of Erythronium revolutum (something violet.)Ìý Also Hostas.Ìý

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Q – What do I do with grub-infested soil? I don’t want to waste it.

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Bunny – Put the soil in an open area of the garden with big, thuggish plants.Ìý Potted plants are much more affected by the grubs.

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Pippa – There is a Vine Weevil nematode that works very well.

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Q – How can I stop doves from eating my Wisteria beds apart from netting?

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Anne – Spray with something similar to a rabbit/deer spray might work.Ìý

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Bunny – There’s a calcium spray for pigeons which could work. I use a pretend bird and plastic snakes to scare the real birds away

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