"Spider" wrote in message
...
On 31/08/2014 19:05, Ophelia wrote:


"Spider" wrote in message
...
On 31/08/2014 00:05, Ophelia wrote:


"Spider" wrote in message

Cotoneaster.

Gosh thanks! It is just string but I will take it all off
immediately
and keep a good eye on my dog!

Just to assure you, I took it off immediately I had stopped posting



Good. I've seen some perfectly good trees wrecked by that kind of
restriction. You may find it worth while to check all your tree and
shrub ties, to make sure they're not biting in. I check mine a couple
of times a year and even nudge my neighbours if I see a biting tree
tie. It's usually well received.

The only things I tie up are my climbers. Roses, clematis, honeysuckle
and a broad leaf ivy. I can't remember its name



Could the ivy be Hedera colchica, or a cultivar of same?

I don't know but I will take a photo for you. It has a large leaf, not at
all like the smaller leaved ones I have in other places.


Incidentally, it's quite possible to strangle roses with ties unless
you're checking/pruning them regularly. They can grow quite quickly,
especially when you're absent for a while ...

Oh dear! These have not been pruned for a very long time. To be honest I
think it has strangled itself. The bulk of it I have tied to a trellis
under a window. When I came back I never pruned it, I just tied them in
and have trained it across to go up and over the arch.


Right. Just as well I mentioned it then! It's a lovely plant, whether
grown horizontally or vertically and, although deciduous, I love both
the autumn colour and the winter framework. Just make sure that when
you prune it, you are sympathetic to that herringbone framework.
I haven't asked if you have a grasp of formative pruning?

No Not only do I not have a grasp, I've never heard of it. I am
hoping the book (when it arrives) will explain that?


It's a posh
name for pruning to (below) the bud you want the next growth to sprout
from.

Right! I do that with other stuff I have cut back. Heh I know how to
do it, I just don't know the name of it)



Great! That makes proceedings much easier.

Phew I got something right!!!!! g


You probably already do it with your roses, but you need to
understand it to shape your trees and shrubs properly.

Right! My roses are climbers and I am leaving them to do their thing
along with some other climbers, over an arch recently erected)


If recently erected, and the roses et al, recently pruned to their
situation, then all is probably well there. Some future pruning will be
inevitable, though. You will have The Book by then ... and URG, just in
case :~).

Oh Yes, thank goodness. You are a godsend) Will this book cover such
things as the climbing roses too? I haven't pruned them at all since I have
been back. They were all over the place but I just tied them into the
rest so I would have something to train over the arch. I have to say there
is quite a thicket. They have honeysuckle growing through them too. Hmm I
don't remember planting that At least now I will be coming up fairly
regularly so it won't be left to its own devices for several years again and
the work I do now with pay off for the future. Taming this garden is a full
time job g


Yes, (in fact, it's probably on that Apple Scab link). You need
Bayer's Garden Systhane Fungus Fighter, the active ingredient of which
is Myclobutanil. There may be other brands on the garden centre
shelves, allowing you to compare prices. You also need to know that
Apple Scab can infect Cotoneaster, among others

Noted thank you! Can I get that any any garden centre?


You ought to be able to. Try your local gc first. Sometimes it's worth
checking Wilkinsons or the 'pound' shops first.

Thanks, will do) Incidentally, I have seen 'growmore' in the pound
shops. Will that be the same stuff I see in garden centres?


Yikes! Most important! Before you remove any significant branches
off anything, you will need to know about 'undercutting'. This is the
technique that stops bark tearing on the underside of the branch as
you finish your cut. I'll cover that next time. Ta ra for now.

Oh heck! You don't feel like a holiday in Scotland by any chance ????
;-)

Dinna panic, lassie, as they say up't there! :~)))

lol they do indeed)


It's all very straight forward. I will try and find a link tomorrow to
make it easier, but it's really basic common sense, truly. You will have
no trouble grasping it. You don't even have to be expert; even just
understanding it helps keep you from making mistakes.

) You are most kind))


I hope you are feeling better now. I will await your next foray into my
err busy garden))

Lucky O



Thank you, I am feeling a little better. I wake up most morning with head
pain and sometimes neuralgia/neuropathy, so I have to be used to coping
with it. Many people have worse things to worry about, so most days I
just try and get on with it. I'm just a creaky gate .. maybe I should get
a prescription for WD40!:~).

WD40 eh? LOL. Weell, whitever floats yur wee boat, hen )))) I used to
get migraine when I was much younger. So I have a bit of an idea what you
are suffering but certainly not the neuralgia/neuropathy



I am looking forward to my next foray into your garden. Quite an
adventure and remarkably good for my brain. Thank you.

Noooo thank YOU!!! You are welcome into my garden any old time you fancy
) In fact I welcome you with open arms !!!

Ophelia


--
http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/shop/