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Message from Richard Jackson…

Use my Garden Advice Centre to answer your gardening questions and pick up all kinds of tips, from planting techniques to growing vegetables and protecting your garden from pests and diseases. You'll also find advice from other gardening experts.

I'll try to answer as many of your questions as I can, but if not try looking for an answer using the search areas above.

Read more about Richard Jackson

Watch videos from our expert

November gardening jobs, part 1

Hi everyone,

It's cold, wet and windy outside, but there's still lots you can do around the garden to ready it for spring. Here's ther first part of my gardening jobs for November...

Plant tulips
November’s the ideal time to plant tulips. Most other bulbs prefer to be in by now, but if tulips are planted any earlier than now, their shoots can get damaged by cold weather and fungal diseases.

Encourage your cacti
To encourage cacti to flower next year, give them a winter rest. Move them into a cool light room and don’t water them until the spring.

October jobs, part 2

Hi all,

Here's the second part of my gardening jobs for October...

Rinse houseplants
Give yukkas and other non-flowering houseplants a treat. Pop them in the shower and rinse the leaves clean with tepid water. This will help them cope with lower light levels in winter.
 
Encourage lawn growth
Grass seed sown in September should have grown well and be a few inches tall. Help it thicken up by lightly trimming with a rotary lawn mower.
 
Tend to your vegetable plot
As crops are cleared from the veg plot, boost the soil (and next year’s crops) by digging in garden compost or well rotted manure.
 
Give dahlias some TLC
To save dahlias for next year, cut them down to 8cm (3") as soon the leaves turn black from the first frosts. Dig up the tubers with a fork, brush off the soil and prop them upside down for two weeks for water to drain from the stems. Dust with sulphur and store in a dry, frost-free place over winter.

Plant your lilies
For earlier flowers next summer, plant lily bulbs soon. Put 5 bulbs per 30cm (12") pot and use gritty compost. Alternatively, plant them in clumps in sunny parts of the garden.
 
Grow your Christmas plants
Now's the time to plant fragrant Paperwhite narcissi. Pop them in pots and they'll flower in time for Christmas. Grow them in the coolest room indoors - if the growing plants warm, the leaves can get too tall and floppy.
 
Prepare for next season
It’s the best time of year for planting trees, roses, hedges, shrubs and most fruit. The plants will settle in over winter and get off to a great start next season.

October gardening jobs, part 1

Hello everyone,

Autumn is well and truly in the air and it's one of my favourite times of the year. As well as keeping on top of garden maintenance, this month is a great opportunity to prepare for next season. Here are my top jobs for this month... 

Sort out dips in the lawn
Sprinkle half an inch of John Innes compost on to the dips and let the grass grow through. Add more compost at regular intervals through the autumn and winter until the lawn is level.
 
Last chance to bed spring-flowering plants
It’s your last chance to plant spring flowering bedding plants like pansies and primroses in pots or borders. Plant now to give them time to establish a good root system before the weather turns nippy.
 
Fruit harvest
Pick and use or store apples and pears before the weather worsens. Windfalls aren’t worth keeping as they’ll go rotten.
 
Spruce up your greenhouse
Remove shading from greenhouses and clean the glass to let in as much light as possible over winter. This will help your plants cope better during the cooler months.
 
Protect against wind rock
Tall growing butterfly bush (buddleia) and mallow (lavatera) should be cut back by half to prevent them from being damaged by wind rock in winter.
 
Lawn maintenance
In mild weather the lawn still needs an occasional trim. Set the blades to cut high, around 4cm (1.5"), and brush off worm casts before mowing 
 
Deal with slugs
The cooler weather hasn’t stopped those slugs and snails - they’re especially fond of newly planted spring bedding. Stop them in their tracks by sprinkling grit around the plants or use slug pellets, sparingly, one pellet every 15cm (6") will do the trick.

September gardening jobs: part 2

Here's the follow up to my first list of September jobs. Hope these come in useful...

Herbs for winter
Enjoy fresh home-grown herbs all winter. Pot up mint, chives, rosemary, parsley and thyme into 13cm (5in) containers. Leave them outside for four weeks then pop them on the kitchen windowsill where they’ll be handy for harvesting.
 

Tidy up your pond
Cut off yellowing, dying and dead leaves from water lilies and other pond plants. Cover the pond with netting to stop the leaves from falling in and clogging it up during the autumn. 

 

Take cuttings
Take cuttings of your favourite tender bedding plants like geraniums, fuchsias and marguerites. Grow them indoors on the windowsill over winter and they’ll make good sized plants by the time you plant them outside next May.

 
Move shrubs
Got a shrub growing in the wrong spot? Now is the ideal time to move it. Re-plant with plenty of compost or well rotted manure and keep well watered.

September gardening jobs: part 1

Hi everyone,

With autumn starting to make itself felt, September sees the beginning of lots of change in your garden. Stay on top of things with my key gardening jobs for September…

Sow seeds now for colour next year
The cheapest way to pack your garden with colour next year is to grow hardy annuals like pot marigolds, larkspur and love-in-a-mist. If you sow the seeds now in a sunny spot outdoors, they’ll start flowering extra early next summer.
 

Dig up potatoes
Lift the last of your potatoes before the slugs get to them. Dig them up on a sunny morning, leave them on the soil to dry out completely during the day then store in paper bags in a cool shed or garage.

Trim your hedges
Privet and lonicera hedges need a final trim of the year to get them tidy for winter. It’s also the last opportunity to cut evergreen hedges like leylands, yew and laurel. 

August gardening jobs, part 2

Hello everyone,

Here's the second part of my gardening jobs for August - let me know how you get on...

Prepare your winter herbs
Pot up small plants of thyme, sage and rosemary into 13cm (5") pots of compost. Pop them on the patio and keep them well watered. By autumn, they’ll be the perfect size for placing on the kitchen windowsill where you can harvest them all winter.
 
Gladioli cuttings
Planning to pick some gladioli to bring indoors? For longer-lasting blooms, cut the spikes as soon as the bottom flower opens. Don’t cut off more leaves than you need, as they’re needed to build up the corms for next year’s display.
 
Getting the best sweetcorn
For the best flavour, harvest your sweetcorn when the silky threads at the end of the cob start to turn brown. As a double check, peel back the outer husk and press a thumbnail into a corn. If the juice is milky, the cob is perfectly ripe. 

Your August gardening jobs, part 1

Hello!

It's high summer (though you wouldn't always know if from the weather forecast!) and with any luck your gardens should be looking fabulous. To keep them that way, here's the first part of my August gardening jobs...

Pot up rooted strawberries
It’s the best time to pot up rooted strawberry runners. Potted now, they’ll establish before winter, ready to produce a bumper crop next summer.
 
Take geranium and fuchsia cuttings
If you want more geraniums and fuchsias next year, take some cuttings now from your favourite plants. Place them in gritty compost and they’ll root within a month. Then you can grow them on individually in 9cm (3.5") pots.
 
Top up your pond's water levels
Even in a poor summer, the water level in ponds can drop through evaporation. Top up the water level if needed or your fish and plants may suffer. If blanket weed is a problem, either remove it by hand every few days or control it with Hozelock Blanketweed treatment.

Charlie's gardening video clips - part 2

Here are some more gardening tips and advice from Charlie.

The best ways to screen off areas of your garden - view video

How to add colour and fun to outside space - view video

The benefits of sheds and summer houses - view video

Giving houseplants a new lease of life - view video

Caring for your lawn during the summer - view video

Read more Charlie Dimmock gardening tips

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Watch Charlie Dimmock's gardening video clips

Take a look at Charlie's quick video clips below for all kinds of handy gardening tips.

There are more gardening videos coming soon, so watch this space.

Ways to make your garden pet-friendly - view video

Looking after your water features - view video

Tips for effective composting - view video

Maintaining beds and borders - view video

Read more Charlie Dimmock gardening tips

If you are having trouble seeing the video above, click here

Still having issues seeing the video? Read the technical help guide

On tree peonies that won't flower...

Hi Richard,
Can you please help me, back in February I bought the pack of 3 Tree Peonies none of which have flowered, can you let me know if they will flower now this year or not.
Thanks, Julie Hirst

Dear Julie,
I'm disappointed your tree peonies haven't flowered this year, but to encourage them to flower next year, I'd recommend feeding them once a fortnight with a high-potash feed, such as liquid tomato feed or Flower Power. Richard