Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: Postbag Edition
Kathy Clugston and the team are at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Kathy Clugston is at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew with panellists Ashley Edwards, Matt Biggs and Anne Swithinbank.
In a wistful turn about the gardens, some of the panellists remember the time they spent training at Kew, all the while sharing their advice on keeping plants alive when you go away on holiday, pruning plum and hawthorn trees, and planting for fragrant raised beds.
Between the questions, the team visits Kew Gardens' Temperate House, learning all about the fascinating history of some of its rarest plants, the Treetop Walkway, and the Rock and Alpine collections, where they meet Gardens Supervisor - Alpine, Rock and Aquatics, Faye Adams.
Producer - Jemima Rathbone
Assistant Producer - Bethany Hocken
A Somethin' Else production for Â鶹Éç Radio 4
Last on
Plant List
Questions and timecodes are below. Where applicable, plant names have been provided.
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Q – How can I make sure my plants survive whilst I am away? How long can plants last without constant watering in September?
(2 minutes 26 seconds)Ìý
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Anne –
Pelargonium
Agapanthus
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Q – I’m keen to grow a climbing rose up the front of my mainly south-facing cottage, although it’s roots and early growth will be on the west side. I won’t be able to dead head so would love your advice on something that loses its petals quickly when it’s past its prime or perhaps doesn’t turn brown at all.
(5 minutes 44 seconds)Ìý
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Anne –
Camellia
The Generous Gardener
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Matt –
‘English Rose’
‘Gertrude Jekyll’
Bathsheba
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Ashley –
Star jasmine, Trachelospermum jasminoides
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Feature – Kathy, Ashley, Anne and Matt visit the Temperate House at Kew and chat to its Manager, David Cooke
(9 minutes)
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Kathy –
Encephalartos woodii
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Dave –
Commidendrum
Cast-iron plant, Aspidistra
Lemon
Orange
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Q – Is it too early to plant seeds for flowers in my new Lean to Greenhouse?
(11 minutes 44 seconds)
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Matt –
Lettuce
Chard
Leek
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Ashley –
Cosmos
Zinnia
Nicotiana
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Anne –
Sweet pea
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Dave –
Chilli
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Q – My 17-year-old cactus has some larger new growth and has become a little top-heavy. Can the new growth be cut off and rooted? If so, how would this be achieved? And what will happen to the original plant? Should I discard it, or would it heal? I’ve also noticed some furry white spots on the flesh – what is it? Can it be treated?
(15 minutes 14 seconds)
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Feature – The team scale the heights of Kew’s treetop walkway and chat to the gardens’ Head of Tree Collections, Kevin Martin
(19 minutes 40 seconds)
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Kevin –
Sweet chestnut
Oak
North American oak
Pine
Redwood
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Q – What plants can I hang in my two skylights?
(21 minutes 02 seconds)
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Matt –
Rosemary Prostrata Group
Ceropegia linearis subsp. woodii, Hearts on a string
‘Donkey’s Tail’
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Ashley –
Mint
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Q – I have a plum tree. There is a large root from the tree in the way of some new design work I have planned for my garden. Would it effect the integrity of the tree if I removed the root?
(23 minutes 17 seconds)
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Q – I need some advice on pruning my common hawthorn, crataegus monogyna. Would it be safe to remove the branches from the lower part of the trunk? If I don’t remove them, will they be detrimental to the growth of the tree?
(26 minutes 17 seconds)
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Feature – Kathy and the panellists take a turn about Kew’s Rock Garden and The Davies Alpine House and chat to Gardens Supervisor - Alpine, Rock and Aquatics, Faye Adams
(29 minutes 6 seconds)
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Fay –
Solanaceae
Gesneriaceae
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Q – Please could the team recommend some suitable sensory plants and some drought tolerant evergreen shrubs for a raised bed, accessible by wheelchair, as well as some suitable fragrant and culinary herbs for another raised bed?
(31 minutes 46 seconds)
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Anne –
Common thyme
Lemon Thyme
‘C¾±³Ù°ù¾±´Ç»å´Ç°ù²¹â€™
Sweet Marjoram
Origanum onites
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Ashley –
Pelargonium
Lemon verbena
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Fay –
Stachys byzantine
Paperwhite daffodil, Narcissus poeticus
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Q – Could you help identify what the tool I have inherited is?
(38 minutes)
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Broadcasts
- Fri 11 Mar 2022 15:00Â鶹Éç Radio 4
- Sun 13 Mar 2022 14:00Â鶹Éç Radio 4
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Podcast
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Gardeners' Question Time
Horticultural programme featuring a group of gardening experts