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Editorial

Hello there,
The grey green tulip leaves are cradling fat buds in my garden and the mini daffodils are sending up new buds daily. In the surrounding streets, the prunus are a mass of pink blossom and the magnolias are about to burst into bloom. All around is life, life, life just waiting to break through and put on the best show of all. Spring is free to all and infinitely magical. The anticipation is almost as wonderful as the performance. Enjoy!

Let's enjoy growing together,

Kay Gee
Editor
Global Garden

Magnolia stellata

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Your Gardening Questions Answered Stumped? Need some gardening advice? Send your garden question to us by clicking here and filling out our question form. Before you send a question: Check the recent back issues. Check the Garden Basics section. Moving plants? Try here. Problems with lemon trees? Try here. Yellowing gardenias? Try here. We very much welcome your gardening questions but please note that due to the sheer number we are sorry that we cannot guarantee to answer them all. Please keep questions short.
Topics this Month
Screening plants SA Holes in lawn NSW Plants for deep shade NSW Safety for cows NSW Frangipani VIC Clerodendrum suckers QLD Night-scented Jessamine VIC Acid loving plants in pots SA Killing unwanted grass in lawn NSW	Moving Port Wine Magnolia NSW Pruning lavender WA Bracelet Honey Myrtle under power lines NSW Yellowing yuccas QLD Fruit tree book NSW Kikuyu in buffalo lawn WA Cumquat dying SA Passionfruit leaves eaten NSW Buckinghamia in pot SA
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	Topic and Question	Answer
	Screening plants SA Can you tell me please what plants, shrubs, climbers or trees I can use as screening from my neighbours. I love them but we have housing trust 5ft fences and I want some alone time to relax! BACK TO TOPICS	Leafy shrubs about 2.5 - 3m tall are the best choice for screens. Climbers are a pain on fences because if your neighbour snips the stem on his side you can end up with a mass of dead foliage on your side. Trees are nice when they are young but soon shoot up so that all the foliage is above your head and not at eye level where you want it. Some plants to consider are Callistemon citrinus ‘Endeavour’ (Lemon-scented Bottlebrush); Viburnum tinus ‘Lucidum’; Abelia chinensis ‘Variegata’ (Golden Abelia); Michelia figo (Port Wine Magnolia); Camellia sasanqua (Sasanqua Camellia) or one of the many fabulous lillypllies such as Sygyzium 'Cascade'. Can you tell me please what plants, shrubs, climbers or trees I can use as screening from my neighbours. I love them but we have housing trust 5ft fences and I want some alone time to relax!
	Holes in lawn NSW There is something digging holes in our lawn overnight. The holes are approx. 5-10cm in diameter, and roughly the same depth. There is usually a small pile of dirt next to the hole. We are trying to work out what is digging these holes as they are now everywhere, and more appearing each night. We found droppings next to one of the holes - it was long and thin, like a thin pencil cut in half, but did not have the typical appearance of a pellet. Any ideas would be much appreciated. BACK TO TOPICS	It sounds as though you might have bandicoots in your garden. How fantastic. These poor little guys are finding it harder and harder to find places where they can live so a few holes in the lawn is worth it when you consider you may be helping to preserve these great little Aussie animals. Switch all the outside lights out early and then creep out late and see if you can see them.
	Plants for deep shade NSW What type of plants are suited to a fairly shaded area that gets very little sun. I'm not keen on fern type plants. BACK TO TOPICS	Clivia, Dietes, Liriope and many Bromeliad species grow happily in full shade. Campanula poscharskyana and Impatiens flower freely in shade too.
	Safety for cows NSW I want to grow Photinia robusta as a hedge plant but have neighbours who have dairy cows. would this be a problem for the cows if they ate it? BACK TO TOPICS	I don't know about cows but some species of photinia are poisonous to horses. Perhaps you could consider a lillypilly hedge instead.
	Frangipani VIC Hi I live in Melbourne & have 2 frangipani in pots should I be covering them with something to keep the frost, cold etc off them over winter? When do you cut the stems back to encourage new growth? BACK TO TOPICS	Frangipani won't survive being frosted so put the pots under the eaves or somewhere sheltered until all danger of frost has passed. They are deciduous so lose their leaves in the cold weather. Don't prune the branches or you will remove the growing point and next summer's flowers. You only need to shorten the occasional branch if the plant has got out of shape. If you must do this, do it in late spring.
	Clerodendrum suckers QLD I have a pink Clerodendrum vine and last year I disturbed the roots by digging around it to improve the soil. Ever since then I have had suckers coming up EVERWHERE which I do not want. I have tried pulling them out but more come up and I have painted some of the leaves of the suckers with Zero but it still isn’t killing it. I am prepared to lose the parent plant if it means the suckers (which are coming up all through the other plants in the garden bed) will die too. If I cut down the mother plant and kill it .... will that kill the sucker too?? Or what can I do. BACK TO TOPICS	Disturbing the soil often leads to the emergence of suckers. Killing the parent Clerodendrum plant won't necessarily kill the suckers as they may have already developed some roots of their own. It would make it easier to eradicate them though. Spraying or painting suckers with Roundup, Zero or other glyphosate products can sometimes kill them off without killing the main plant, but often the parent plant is damaged or killed as well. You would need to treat all the suckers at the one time and ensure good coverage of the leaves. This would be worth a try before anything else. The root system of the Clerodendrum is obviously very extensive and it may simply respond by sending up more suckers in a bid to survive. If the parent plant is removed, you will probably still have some suckers emerging over the next couple of years but if you treat or remove them as soon as you see them, the remainder of the root system should eventually give up.
	Night-scented Jessamine VIC Hi there. We're trying very hard to find a flower named night jasmine flower. It scented at night and we've been looking around many nurseries in Victoria but no luck. It will be great if you can let us know where can we find this flowers/plants in Melbourne. BACK TO TOPICS	The plant that I think you are looking for is called Night-scented Jessamine (Cestrum nocturnum). The Digger's Club (in Dromana) and St Erth Nursery (which is owned by The Digger's Club) in Blackwood are listed as sources in The Aussie Plant Finder. You can call them on 03 5987 1877.
	Acid loving plants in pots SA How can I maintain acidity in potting soils for growing blueberry bush, azalea, daphne, gardenia? BACK TO TOPICS	If you fertilise the plants with fertilizer for acid-loving plants eg Azalea food or Camellia food that contains sulphur they will be fine.
	Killing unwanted grass in lawn NSW I seem to have a problem with my Buffalo grass as it seems to be getting taken over from another form of grass/weed I have tried spraying with the broadleaf weed and feed but it doesn’t seem to be working and the grass is getting patchier and taken over... Please help. BACK TO TOPICS	The selective herbicide you have tried won't work because it is designed to kill broadleaf weeds (eg oxalis, clover, dandelions, etc) in turf. It won't select out a grass you don't like from your lawn grass. In fact, most selective herbicides can damage buffalo grass so you may have made the situation worse. You may need to target the undesirable grass with a non-selective herbicide (ie it kills everything) such as glyphosate and then resprig or buy a small amount of instant turf to fill the bare patches.
	Moving Port Wine Magnolia NSW Can you move and replant the port wine magnolia - it is only small and too close to the house we have just bought? BACK TO TOPICS	The success of moving any plant comes down to how big a root ball you can manage to dig out. The larger the rootball, the better the chance the plant will survive the move. Have a new wide planting hole the same depth as the rootball prepared beforehand and replant it without delay. An application of liquid seaweed with help to reduce transplant shock. Keep the transplanted tree well watered, but not water-logged for the first year.
	Pruning lavender WA My lavender plants were beginning to die. I cut them back and fertilised them, kept watering them, but they don’t look like they are improving and they are not reflowering. I still have old dead flowers on some of them. Can you give any hints on how to improve them? BACK TO TOPICS	Lavender does not like to be cut back to old wood and often won't regenerate if it is cut back too far so you need to keep your pruning to just above where the plants become green. Remove any dead flowers. If they are going to come good they will do it in the next month or so.
	Bracelet Honey Myrtle under power lines NSW Is it safe to plant the Melaleuca armillaris positioned under power lines? BACK TO TOPICS	I wouldn't expect Bracelet Honey Myrtle (Melaleuca armillaris) to grow to more than 5m. In old age the shrubs tend to open out sideways rather than grow tall. Pruning after flowering is a good idea as it keeps the plant compact. This is a good tough shrub that will tolerate a lot of stresses and the birds love it.
	Yellowing yuccas QLD The Yuccas which I have in large pots around my pool have gone yellow over the winter months. I don't water them as they seem to get enough through occasional rainfall. Are they lacking something (minerals?) or are they getting too little or too much water? BACK TO TOPICS	Check the drainage of the pots. If they are not draining freely, the yuccas will rot. You may need to tip them out, lightly prune the roots and return them to the pots with some good quality potting mix. In spring add some controlled release fertilizer to the pots, or do it when you repot.
	Fruit tree book NSW Would you be able to recommend a good book specifically on fruit trees and their care. What I'm looking for is guides on when/how to prune, feeding and the common problems encountered by the home gardener. BACK TO TOPICS	The best book about fruit trees is by Louis Glowinski and it's called The Complete Book of Fruit Growing in Australia.
	Kikuyu in buffalo lawn WA How do you control Kikuyu in a buffalo lawn?. If you use a poison like Roundup how long should you keep your dog away? Is there another more effective poison control? BACK TO TOPICS	The Roundup will kill off both the kikuyu and the buffalo where you spray it. Nevertheless, apart from digging it out by hand, it is probably the only way to get rid of the kikuyu. Keep the dog away while you are actually spraying the Roundup and keep him out of the area until the product has dried off.
	Cumquat dying SA Our cumquat tree has done extremely well over the dry period in Adelaide with just the restriction dripper & buckets... Have just returned from 10 days away, when it has been raining, and now all the leaves have dried/falling off. Looks very much like its dying completely. We've had it for 15 yrs or so. BACK TO TOPICS	Could the area have become water-logged while you were away? Other than that I have no explanation.
	Passionfruit leaves eaten NSW I live in Sydney, and recently planted 2 healthy passionfruit vines, one was eaten at the leaves and died, and now the other which has grown 2 metres, is having its leaves eaten off at the stem. What is doing this, slugs? snails? fruit bats? its a mystery, but my plant is going to die if I cannot find a solution. BACK TO TOPICS	It sounds like possum damage to me. If the vine is growing along a fence you might be able to put up some kind of barrier to make it difficult for the possum to walk easily along the fence. If the vine is on a trellis, cut any nearby branches which make it easy for the possum to access the trellis. You could try some of the repellents mentioned in the article on possums in the Garden Basics section http://www.global-garden.com.au/gardenbegin_techniques_2.htm#Dealing%20with%20Possums You could also try leaving out some fruit for the possum to reduce his appetite somewhat.
	Buckinghamia in pot SA Would it be possible to grow Buckinghamia celsissima in a pot for some years - with the expectation that I could keep pruning it and keep it at about 5-6mtrs? BACK TO TOPICS	From your postcode I see that you live in South Australia. Be mindful that Buckinghamia is a tropical rainforest plant. It needs plenty of moisture but good drainage and is frost sensitive when young. However I have seen it flowering very well in Melbourne in a sheltered position. I don't know how it would go in a pot. If you wanted to grow it into a large plant you would need to gradually move it into larger and larger pots over time. A 5-6m plant would need a massive pot, both to accommodate the root system and for stability. You would need to be careful to disturb the root system as little as possible when repotting. Also this plant is very sensitive to phosphorus and you would need to use only low P fertilizer such as Osmocote Native Gardens. Most plants can be grown in pots if the conditions are right.

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