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Deadhead as soon as the flowers look past their best and then give it a prune, for size, height and shape, once it's finished flowering. But, most mophead hydrangeas flower on last seasons wood, so if you prune too hard you'll lose some of next years flowers.

I use wd-40 or white spirit and a piece of wire wool or dish scourer to clean them of all the sap build up, and usually a wipe of a cloth with methylated spirits on, between cuts to sterilise them if I'm doing cuttings. I hope this helps.

Don't cut down all of your blackcurrant bushes, as they fruit on old wood. On established blackcurrants, remove up to a third of the oldest wood, leaving younger stems to carry the fruit next year. If your bushes are three years or younger, prune off up to half of the stems, to encourage new shoots to grow. Usually pruning is left until autumn or winter, when the plants are dormant.

Although you might get a bit of a smaller display, you should be fine to cut it back and repot now. Give it a bit of houseplant feed once it's started growing. I hope this helps. Regards Nick

Thank you for your kind comment. Whilst in the video I divided my echinacea in mid-May and they still went on to flower. I'd suggest it's probably getting a bit late in the year to divide them if you still want a good flower display. The best time to divide them is March and April, just as they start to shoot. Perhaps you could dig up your echinacea without disturbing the roots too much, take off a small section of the root ball and split that into pots and then replant the larger plant, giving it a good water after replanting. Also, don't forget to collect the seeds in the autumn. I hope this helps. Regards Nick

Hi Matt. If your dogwood is established and growing well, you can prune it like this. If your dogwood is growing in partial sun or poor soil and doesn't put on much growth each year, don't prune it back quite as hard as I have here, give it a trim all over, or prune a third of the oldest stems out each year, and over a three year period you'll have regenerated the whole plant. I hope this helps. Regards Nick

I'm glad the advice worked for you, my fuchsias are all sprouting now as well. I agree the milder winters do help the survivability of plants, although the cold couple of weeks we had in December seemed to kill off all of my pelargoniums in my unheated greenhouse, so I think I'm going to have to rethink how I store them in future.

I'd say 6-8 cuttings in each pot, but it really depends on the size of the pot and size of the cutting.

@UKGardening thank you for the reply my cuttings are forming leaves but have not yet formed roots ,they still look healthy no signs of rotting or anything is this normal?

Morning Lesley. Sieved, home made compost is what I use, but you could also use a bought potting compost. I mix mine with a little perlite or grit to help with drainage. I hope this helps. Regards Nick

If they are outside in the border, or large pots/containers, carefully lift the roots with a hand fork, or a small gardening fork. You can then rinse the soil off of the roots in a bucket of water. Leave the plants on a piece of newspaper, on the draining board, to dry, before wrapped them in newspaper and storing them or hanging them to dry. Alternatively pot them up into smaller pots and leave them somewhere dry and frost-free. They can also be potted up and brought inside and put on the windowsill as a houseplant. I hope this helps. Regards Nick

Thanks nick . Will try… @@UKGardening

Thanks for the message. I used a few broken pieces of an old terracotta pot at the bottom of the new pot, but small stones or pebbles would be just as good. It's not absolutely necessary, but I find it does reduce the amount of compost that falls through the holes in the bottom of pot.

It's quite difficult for me having a different climate to you to suggest what's happening to your fuchsia. But, I'd suggest the shorter days/longer nights we now have in the northern hemisphere are making your fuchsia go into hibernation, so its going to stop producing flowers and start loosing its leaves. It's a good idea to leave the compost to dry out and water sparingly, as they don't like to be overwatered. If it's getting spindly and you want to tidy it up, you should be able to trim it back now, but you could also wait until the spring, when it should start growing strongly again.

There are two main types of fuchsia grown in the UK. The first is the hardy fuchsias which tend to be large, shrub-like plants. If they are in a sheltered position, they can be left outside over winter in the border or large container, but stop any feeding and they are unlikely to need watering. The second type is the tender, bedding fuchsia like I'm growing in my hanging baskets in the video. These need winter protection in a frost-free greenhouse, shed or cold frame. If they are being grown in a container, they can be left where they are for a couple more weeks where their flowers can be enjoyed, before being moved under cover. If the fuchsias are in a border, as yours are, you should lift them and put them into their own pots now and move them into the greenhouse or cold frame. This will enable them to recover from being transplanted and produce roots before it gets too cold. Don't feed them until they start growing again next spring and water sparingly, just to keep the compost from drying out and the plant ticking over. I hope this helps. Regards Nick

Hi Matt, if your cuttings are in pots you can transplant them into your borders after 8-12 weeks (around early summer), when you see your cuttings will have put on new growth and be growing away happily. There's no rush to move them on, you could leave them in their containers for as long as you like. I hope this helps. Regards Nick

@UKGardening thank you

You can push the cuttings into the ground as soon as you cut them and they should root, but I put them into pots so I don't have to remember where they are and it's easier to care for them and ensure they don't dry out. If cuttings are grown in pots, they can be transplanted into the ground when you can see them producing new leaf growth and are growing away happily, which would probably be late summer/early autumn. I hope this helps. Regards Nick

@@UKGardening That's a perfect response, thanks so much Nick!

Hi Kelly, thanks for your message. Sweet peas are annuals, which means they germinate, grow, flower and then die, all in one year. So they have to be grown from seed each year.

Hi Caren, thank for your question. Bulbs will grow and flower each year, as you suggest. Bulbs in borders are generally left alone, unless I want to plant something else in that position, lift and divide clumps of bulbs, like snowdrops, or as in the case of daffodils they begin to fail to flower. When I grow bulbs in tubs and containers, after they have finished flowering I like to empty and replant the containers. So, once the foliage has died back I lift the bulbs, dry them and store them somewhere cool and dry, ready for replanting in the autumn. I hope this helps. Regards Nick

Hi Amy, thanks for your message. I'm not too sure which part of your plant is brown. The stems will start to turn brown as the poinsettia matures, if it's the leaves, these will shrivel, turn yellow and then brown before falling as they age. It sounds like you've potted on your poinsettia well, but they are such fickle plants only time will tell. Try not to overwater your plant, I try to let the soil of my house plants dry out, checking a once or twice a week and then water sparingly. Obviously if a plant is starting to droop I water straight away. I hope this helps. Regards Nick

Morning Feargal, the number of plants depends on the size of your pot and how many plants you've got. If you've got a largish pot, two plants per cane, one each side is ideal, but if you've only got say half a dozen plants, you could put in six canes and have one plant climb up each support. I hope this helps. Happy gardening, regards Nick

Hi @PanamaSticks it sounds like your poinsettia isn't very happy, or has perhaps died. They are such fickle plants, it's difficult to know what's caused them to die, too cold a temperature or in a draft, not enough light, too much or not enough water. I sometimes wonder why I keep mine going. I try to keep mine on the dry side, watering once a week, first lifting the pot to feel how light it is and whether it actually need watering. However, sometimes during the week I may notice the leaves on one of them start to droop at which point I'll water them, but sparingly. I think even if your poinsettia begins to recover it will look sad for quite a while as just bare twigs, so maybe it's an opportunity to replace it with a different plant. I hope this helps. Regards Nick

@@UKGardening Thanks. Frustrated. A Neighbor gives me a pointsettia every november. They've all died despite my efforts.

Fungus gnats mainly feed on fungal material in the compost and dead roots, but the larvae can eat the fresh new roots of seedlings and cuttings, so whilst it shouldn't make a huge difference if you are just repotting your poinsettia, I'd get rid of the gnats first if you are taking cuttings. To control gnats, I use sticky yellow paper, cut into small squares and slipped into a cut end of a short length of a plant stick. Keeping compost on the dry side also seems to help. I hope this helps. Regards Nick

Typically if seeds are grown with low or uneven light or sown too densely, the seedlings can become leggy as they'll try to outcompete their rivals for light or reach towards the main light source. To try to avoid this, sow more thinly or If you are propagating your seeds on a windowsill rotate your seed tray each day. If your seedlings are already too leggy, prick them out into larger pots as soon as possible burying the stems up to half their length and they should recover. Regards Nick

@@UKGardening Oh ok, that makes sense. Thanks for the helpful advice!!

Hi Mica, thanks for your message. I'm not too sure of the light levels of where you are, but in the UK, it's probably still a little early in the year to prune or repot. I'd wait until April to prune your poinsettia and then repot, if necessary, in May when the plant is showing signs of regrowth from your pruning. I think pruning and repotting at the same time would put unnecessary stress on the plant, especially as poinsettias seem to like to sulk at every opportunity.😉 I hope this helps. Regards Nick

Hi George, thanks for your message. If you buy a plant, typically from a garden centre, look at the label. If it contains the initials PBR or PVR (Plant Breeders Rights or Plant Variety Rights) or words to the effect of 'cultivation prohibited' after the plant name then it has a 25 years (or 30 for some plants) protection, from the date of registration, prohibiting anyone taking cuttings or collecting seeds of these plants and raising and selling them. If you take cuttings of these plants to sell, you should contact the rights holder and ask for permission and or pay a licence fee. However, non-commercial and private growing are not prohibited under PBRs* * IP Case law www.withersrogers.com/news/ip-case-law/plant-breeders-rights/ More information can be found on the UK Government website here: www.gov.uk/guidance/plant-breeders-rights#how-pbr-can-protect-your-plant-varieties I hope this helps. Regards Nick

Thanks for your message. Whilst coleus are perennials, in the UK they are usually grown as annuals, as they are very sensitive to our cold weather. You can pot them up and bring them indoors as they make attractive houseplants. Otherwise they are fairly easy to grow from seed, sowing indoors in March and planting out in the garden in May. Good luck with your pelargoniums. Regards Nick

Putting your pot of cuttings in a clear plastic bag is effectively creating a mini propagator. So it would keep the moisture in, as you suggest, create a warmer environment and protect the cuttings from any cool drafts. However, I wouldn't take any cuttings until spring unless you are going to keep them inside or in a heated greenhouse. I hope this helps. Regards Nick

It is unseasonably warm for this time of year and according to the weather forecast it's also going to continue to be warm into next week. My pelargoniums, fuchsias and dahlias are still growing well and it's tempting to leave them where they are for the next couple of weeks. I have already started to move some of my pellies and dahlias into the greenhouse, thinking that if the weather suddenly turns colder during the working week I'd have a problem trying to move and save my plants, especially with the darker evenings and an unlight greenhouse. I'm going to try to plant up my winter baskets this weekend. As I use a lot of the same pots and containers for my summer and winter bedding, I'll lift, pot up and move most of the tender plants into the greenhouse in readiness. Perhaps just leaving one or two colourful pots of pelargoniums and fuchsias here and there that I can move into the greenhouse if it does eventually turn colder.

Going to try this with the gerbera pots I've had this summer...previously they've been killed by frost death before I got round to them but I'm already shifting them to t'greenhouse...

Hi Carmen, pots are usually measured across the top of a pot (the diameter) and the size is often stamped on the bottom of the pot. Otherwise they are quoted in capacity of litres or gallons. Don't worry too much about the size of the pot too much though, it only determines how many plants you can plant and how often you might have to water it (larger pots will need more water, but need to be watered less frequently). I hope this helps. Regards Nick

Thanks for explaining, would a 1.5m plant be suitable for a 40cm pot without having to transfer it to a larger pot?

@@carmenbugeja8722 Hi Carmen, it really depends on the plant you are putting in the pot, its shape and where the pot is positioned. For example a 1.5m dwarf fruit tree, rose or clematis should be fine in a 40cm pot as they have quite open branch structure, allowing any wind to pass through, but a conifer or densely leafed shrub that tall will often be blown over in the wind in all but a sheltered location. You'll also have to consider how vigorous your plant is. Slow growing plants would be happy in a 40cm pot for years, something vigorous would perhaps need to be transplanted into a bigger pot in a year or two. I hope this helps. Regards Nick

Thanks for letting me know.

A pandorea jasminoides grows about 2m, would this be ok to grow in a 40cm pot or will I have to transfer it to a larger pot?

Hi Delilah, if the unheated room is frost free they should survive over the winter. Regards Nick

@@UKGardening Thank you. I have a mud room where we take off our coats and shoes. We don’t heat it and winters can get cold in the mountains of Virginia. I just have a good number of plants that winter there. If you’re in Kentucky, our weather is very similar.