70th Anniversary Garden Party at Ness Botanic Gardens: Part One

Q – Has the world found a way to kill Himalayan Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera)?

Matthew – The only way to get rid of it is to go on mass weeding sessions and pull as much out as possible.

Anne – You need to cover your soil because it is an annual. Establish a really good ground cover.

Matt – I grow Impatiens tinctoria which is not so pervasive. They grow to 5ft tall (1.5m) and the flowers are white.

Q – Should I be more tidy and clear up snippings from garden?

Roy – I compost them or put them in the green bin.

Matthew – It is fine as long as the cuttings are not diseased.

Anne – I can only see a problem if you chopped up and left a plant that had an allelopathic effect.

Q – I have been asked to grow tulips for table decorations for a wedding next year, what are your suggestions for purple and pale lilac?

Matthew – Plant some now and wait to plant others for 6 weeks and then leave another set until just before Christmas. I would put some in pots too. For royal purple I would recommend ‘Jan Rues’.

Matt – I would also plant them in different locations around the garden.

Q – 12 years ago I sewed some Satsuma pips, when can I expect them to bear fruits?

Anne – This is typical from citrus raised from pips. I would switch from seaweed fertilizer to a citrus fertilizer, which is higher in potash. I would keep them in a cool room inside the house so they are warmer over winter and they will go less dormant.

Rosie Yeoman’s feature:

Matthew Wilson: Eupatorium (Bonesets) and Rudbeckia subtomentosa (Little Henry), Helianthus (Lemon Queen).

Q – I’d like to grow my own tea. What is the best variety for the north west?

Anne – Camellia sinensis is the most popular in the UK.

Matt – I wouldn’t recommend it for sandy soil. It will need acidic soil or compost in a pot. It needs to be protected from the frost.

Q – I once heard that you can put anything that ever lived into compost. What do the panel think?

Anne – Technically you could. I don’t put cooked food in. I just use vegetable waste.

Matt – My mum used to put all sorts in – woolens, cotton shirts, underpants!

Q – Do any of the panel believe that caressing plants encourages growth?

Matthew – I wouldn’t want to caress a Colletia paradoxa which has some fearsome thorns. But I do like to caress my grasses; particularly Pennisetums like ‘Red Head’ and viridescuns and ‘Hameln’. I would be wary of a cactus too.

Anne – I used to play the spines on my cacti! There is a benefit for seedlings – you can toughen them up by brushing them and mimicking the wind