I needed to watch this! I have a large choisya (5’ x 5’) that was damaged during the record setting cold snap this January. It was already showing skinny branches in the interior with a few leaves on the outer perimeter. The frost killed some of those leaves, too. There is growth at the base. It’s end of July; is it too late to hard prune it? I live in Victoria, British Columbia (on the west coast of Canada). It’s quite temperate here. Thank you.
Hi, thanks for your comment and (slightly tricky) question! I am not sure about your specific weather patterns over the in beautiful British Columbia ... although I do have family over there and intend to visit one day ... over here in South Wales I would be cautious about hard pruning live wood at this stage .. I would be less worried about cutting out any dead wood. If you want to risk it then I would think about preparing some emergency plant protection (maybe using some horticultural fleece if you have that over there?) you could then make a protective tent over the new growth if required in a cold snap of weather? I would avoid any high nitrogen fertilizers as they can encourage very soft growth. Another trick could be to add a mulch of something like bark (I guess you have that over there?) a good layer of that can warm up the soil overwinter and at least protect the roots .. I hope this helps / makes sense?
@@mwc6397 hi, thanks for your comments, I have just replied to your other comment with some questions, so of which I can now see the answers to 👍😀 It’s called a pruning saw, a few different makes available. The one in the video was made by Fiskars, I find it particularly good and it can be connected to a telescopic handle which is very useful for higher branches. The branches I cut back in the video are already producing 5 or 6 new shoots, so the plan seems to be working!
@@mwc6397 that’s interesting…how tall are they? and are they in the shade? In the ground or in pots? There’s a number of factors which could influence flowering including the above questions but also are you feeding them at all if so what fertiliser are you using?
@@maxinewylie915 I know it’s as if they have have one set of standards inside the store but out the front (where everyone will see them) ‘anything goes’ !
@@melindaboyle6812 it’s horrible to see, such a waste of money and plants / compost / pots / trays etc Thanks for your comment, good to know so many people agree … I wonder if the supermarkets will ever reconsider ?!
@@rogthegardener1 Doubtfull. I go and tell them they should water them. I've even offered to water them, but health and safety apparently! Dreadful waste.
Yeah a while ago I actually had the audacity to tell an employee that I believe their plants in front of the entrance need some watering and she was like “I KNOW, we’re on it 🥲” and then I felt a little bad 😅 But also it was only part of the plants, nothing like in the video and it was nice to see they hadn’t forgotten about them 🙈
@@nyctilia thanks for your comment, I think part of the problem is that they leave them on the shelves of those ‘danish trollies’ so that light and water can’t get to the plants- those trollies are designed for packing the plants into a lorry for a few hours only as they get transported…in all the garden centres I have worked with we get the plants off the trolleys asap and onto tables / benches so they can stay healthy and growing … buy plants from folks who know how to look after them 👍😀
@@rogthegardener1 That’s good to know! I always wondered how they were doing with so little light. And yeah, I don’t think I have ever bought a plant from a supermarket. The one time I thought about taking home a beautiful beautiful lavender I saw spider mites when I looked closely 🙃 I’m glad I know enough about plants by now to not repeat the massacre I had on my balcony last year. And I told an employee too and was surprised that he actually went with me and looked and said that he’ll take care of it! I just hope that they put the trolly aside and treated them and didn’t just dispose of them. They were so beautiful 🥺 Since you say you worked with garden centers - I always wondered about the light for the plants that are indoors. Obviously what they get is limited and I doubt that garden centres use lights that are enough, or do they? How long do the plants usually stand around in the hall before being bought?
@@nyctilia great, thanks. So, many of the ‘houseplants’ currently popular are from rainforest/jungle environments naturally so don’t need so much light, good garden centres will allow a degree of natural light (plants such as cacti will enjoy that and plants generally enjoy a bit of light). My estimate would be that in garden centres houseplants will sell within an average of 6 - 8 weeks (some much quicker) The other benefit of putting plants onto to tables is that they can be spaced out and individually cared for / watered / visually checked / picked over and they can continue to grow … it’s just a much healthier environment than being squeezed onto trolleys. Hope that makes sense?
@@rogthegardener1 Thanks for your fast answers :) I know they’re mostly plants from rainforest-like conditions. Those are the best for my apartment too, succulents apart from snake plants don’t do well in my conditions, even on the windowsill 😂 Them being spread individually is a plus of course. 6-8 weeks is quite a long time to only have artificial light though 🤔 For that they seem to be doing quite well on average.
I'm beginning to think that plants are a loss leader and they make money from soil and pots and glorified gift shops now 😬 all that time and effort put in by the growers
I started growing from seeds in the last 2 years and thought I'd sell locally what I don't want. Wont be making any money from it thats for sure! Soil, pots space and time. Unless it's excess they are selling to the shops @@rogthegardener1
And earlier i found an american wolf spider the size of a ship in my bathroom. Lol Ughhhh Im not a spider person. I like the design of their webs. We have black widows here in dark places and brown recluse . I am in East Texas. We have pale colored scorpions as well and at our huge spring fed pond we have water moccasins and we have copperheads and usually not seen but they're around... Rattle snakes. We live in the piney woids and also have road runners. I never know scorpions and road runners would live in a pune forest, but we have powdery dirt with clay and iron ore. Might be interesting to your class. We have an iccasional cougar, black panther too. And bobcats and a wild turkey, and owls and hawks , and coyotes who run through our property at night with theur young yapping. It is very nice to hear. We also have red and grey fox. Lots of turtles in our pond. Beautiful indigo bunting birds. Blue jays, cardinals etc. Have a great day. Its 1 am here ,nearly.
Wow - you sure have some wildlife over there! Sounds amazing .. and slightly challenging?! Here in Wales we don't have many scary / dangerous animals .. but it does seem to rain for about 9 months of the year! Thanks for getting in touch
Hi, thanks for your question. We rarely need to water them; partly because they are planted in heavy wet clay at the bottom of a bank of soil , and living in Wales nature provides them with plenty of rainfall so only need to water them during long spells of very hot weather. Young / newly planted plants or plants in dryer climates will require more watering. Please note that our heavy clay soil also helps stop the plant/roots spreading too much
Can someone tell me why my forest flame has flowered red twice this year, in February and July, it's never happened before and I have had it a long time, could it be down to climate change or have I just hit lucky and will it go red in March again next year, thanks. 🍀🐞🌺.
Hi, thanks for your comment, I assume you are referring to the new red leaves that normally appear in spring? So, it is not uncommon to get a 2nd flush of new growth here in south wales we we live, depending on the weather but the 2nd flush is not usually as big as the first flush. Are you living in the UK too? Sounds like you have been blessed with 2 good flushes of growth - certainly the weather can have an influence but not sure if climate change is behind it as I have seen it happening fairly regularly since the 1970's . Either way congratulations I bet it looks lovely?! Yes the plant should spring back into new growth as usual next year.
Thank you so much, I live in Hartlepool, and the weather is not exactly tropical here in fact we haven't really had a summer yet, but I really appreciate your reply, I'll enjoy the beautiful red leaves that are coming out now. Thank you so much. 🌺🐞🍀.
Hi - many thanks for getting in touch, It is Westland Grow sure slow release fertilizer (with a high potash balance of nutrients) available in most garden centres ion the UK - are you in the UK yourself?
Great video, I did attempt to clean my carb and the problem still persisted, so I replaced the carb completely and works like a dream. Looking back when cleaning the old carb the gaskets were quite worn so maybe that was what the main issue was, because the older carb seemed to work correctly when inspecting.
@@rogthegardener1 i have just bought a brand new carburetor on line for my RS100 and its now started hunting, but was okay before, what i have done wrong do you think
Thanks for the great video. I am in the Seattle area (somewhat UK-ish) have an older plant and trying to decide how much to cut off big stems/trunks. No obvious buds on it currently but maybe?
Hi - many thanks for getting in touch, I would wait until early spring if possible ( as we did in the video) because by pruning it now (in midsummer) you might encourage new growth later in summer / autumn which could mean you have soft new growth going into winter .. which in the UK could get frost damaged. But by pruning in early spring you will hopefully encourage new growth at the normal time of year in late spring / early summer which will have more time to 'toughen up' before winter ... does that make sense? By the way, if you go to the community section of my channel and scroll down through the pictures there to about 6 weeks ago you will see how the new growth looked on our Fatsia earlier this spring - looks lovely!
Cats are one of the most destructive animals! They will crap anywhere! They don’t just crap in soft soil! They are one of the reasons why the wild bird population are declining! It’s up to the cat owners to keep their cats under control. It’s illegal to let your freaking cats run loose!
Best video along with your update. Watched 2 others. Your plant looks beautiful after doing an Edward Scissorhand. Unbelievable. I just purchased one a few weeks ago and was not familiar with this plant. Like the advise on fertilizer granules also pushing it into the soil. I just deadheaded mine after it stopped blooming. To hot now for reblooming hoping before or around fall? T.Y.
Hi, many thanks for your encouraging comment! I am guessing you may not be living in the UK? because it rarely gets 'too hot' here! yes I would hope / expect you get some more flowers by early autumn - keep us posted please, have a good summer!
Fatsias are quite tough and ours has been left outside without protection for almost 20 years, with only slight occasional overwinter damage with some leaves looking ‘slightly rough’ (as you can see on many evergreen shrubs after winter) and the fresh new spring growth quickly covers the old leaves, in my experience. I avoid using fertilisers after early spring on Fatsia as I do not want any soft new growth appearing later in the year as it will be more vulnerable to cold winter weather, I like the spring new growth to have plenty of time to ‘ripen’ and toughen up before winter. I only use high potash fertilisers (and only in early spring ... March / April) such as Rose / Tomato feeds or Westland Grow Sure slow release which will encourage tougher new growth … and that works well for me. Hope this helps / makes sense? Thanks Roger
@@rogthegardener1 Yes :) this helps a lot! I was just wondering because in Poland fatsja is sold as indoor plant, and when I saw yours growing in the garden and you said 'UK' I started wondering. Since we have quide mild winters, in my region the lowest temperature is barely dropping till -10 I might try it outside (when I will finally have my garden ;) ).
@@Isfetka ah I see, I would be cautious of growing them outside in Poland (lovely country by the way I think, I went there once to a plant nursery conference in summer) another option would be to put it in a large pot so that you can bring it into a conservatory or greenhouse overwinter …? … so now you need to buy an greenhouse too!
@@rogthegardener1 A greenhouse is a dream to me :D one day I will have it! Right now I will try grow my fatsia indoor, and when I will have balcony or garden I will put it outside for the summer :)
Hi, thanks for your comment. There are a number of possible causes of those yellow spots - I assume it is outside (growing them in a greenhouse can cause problems) - Is it in a pot or in the soil? - Where do you live? (thinking of different weather conditions around the UK / world) - have a look under the leaves to see if there are any insects / anything unusual underneath ...? - Are you feeding / treating it at all? You could email me a couple of pictures (including 1 close up of the spots) to rogercrookes@lcsuk.net Hope this helps? Speak soon Roger
@@rogthegardener1 I live in Derbyshire, I purchased this beauty about 6 weeks ago an it’s about 5ft tall growing in the garden, theirs nothing under the yellowing leaves ! I’ve noticed theirs a lot of growth around the bottom wondering if I need to trim around the bottom?
Yes, but .. The main issue (for me anyway) is that the plants natural response to a prune like that is to put on lots of fresh new growth (ours in the video has just started producing new shoots just beneath where I cut it) by cutting in early spring the new growth has plenty of time to mature / toughen up before winter and any potential frosts… if you cut it back now the new growth may not start until September and into autumn which could mean you have vulnerable soft new growth in winter … which might be a problem in a cold winter … in a mild winter it should be fine though … so it’s not the summer cut back that could cause a problem it’s the new growth in winter could be frosted … does that make sense?
@@rogthegardener1 thank you so much for all the information and that’s very clear, we are in north Devon and winters can be milder but occasionally very cold too, all the best cheers 👍
True! But millions of people in the UK know it it as the ‘the Torbay palm’ or ‘Cordyline palm’ … as Shakespeare said ‘what is a Rose by any other name’ … botanically of course 100% correct, thanks for your comment and fir watching … where are you living … UK?
I have tried everything organic over the last 15 years, neem oil,garlic spray,tumeric spray etc with no great effect. I have given up this year and used 'ultimate bug clear'this year.Probably only sprayed each plant 4 times.The lilies are ready to flower and clear of damage.It definitely works better than anything else Ive tried and saves me picking off the beetles by hand every morning.
Hi, many thanks for your comment, yes I have successfully used ultimate bug clear or similar for the last 10 years or more with success, but the concern is what other insects / can be killed / affected by those indiscriminate pesticides … I am trying really hard to avoid using it this year … but do have some ready in the garage if I get desperate! Enjoy those flowers 😊👍
Great video Roger. My lily plants have been decimated by these little critters but I never see them on there! I have tried bug sprays but to no avail. My neighbour said that when you pick them off alive and hold them in your hand they scream so that completely freaked me out about removing them if I do see them. I’ll keep watching to see if this product works. Thanks.
Hi, good to hear from you again! Yes they do squeak! there are pesticides which I have sprayed in the past which are very effective for a month or two .. but like lots of people I am trying to be more sustainable in my approach.
Hi rescued a cordiline from a skip last year the bark has been eaten by rodents but still looks healthy enough do you think it will survive with most of bark taken off thank you Rob Jones north wales
Yes looks really healthy just re potted in to a whisky barrel but if the skin of a normal tree is stripped it will die but is it the case on the cordiline thank you
@@robertjones7182 Cordylines are amazingly resilient, they seem to be 'full of life' - I have damaged the outer 'skin' on some of mine over the years and they have been fine ... each case is different of course, but it sounds like yours is happy and healthy - so well done, I have a few 'skip plants with a happy ending' myself. If you get any problems / concerns in the future don't hesitate to get back in touch. Enjoy your garden!
I took some pods off my mothers tree 2 years ago and have been growning 10 plants from seed since, been growing them inside window for most of the duration, introducing them out in full sunlight and cold weather so often
