Main content

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 91热爆 Radio 4

Available now

45 minutes

Plant List

Questions and timecodes are below. Where applicable, plant names have been provided.

Q 鈥� 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)听

Anne 鈥�

Pelargonium

Agapanthus

Q 鈥� I鈥檓 keen to grow a climbing rose up the front of my mainly south-facing cottage, although it鈥檚 roots and early growth will be on the west side. I won鈥檛 be able to dead head so would love your advice on something that loses its petals quickly when it鈥檚 past its prime or perhaps doesn鈥檛 turn brown at all.

(5 minutes 44 seconds)听

Anne 鈥�

Camellia

The Generous Gardener

Matt 鈥�

鈥楨nglish Rose鈥�

鈥楪ertrude Jekyll鈥�

Bathsheba

Ashley 鈥�

Star jasmine, Trachelospermum jasminoides

Feature 鈥� Kathy, Ashley, Anne and Matt visit the Temperate House at Kew and chat to its Manager, David Cooke

(9 minutes)

Kathy 鈥�

Encephalartos woodii

Dave 鈥�

Commidendrum

Cast-iron plant, Aspidistra

Lemon

Orange

Q 鈥� Is it too early to plant seeds for flowers in my new Lean to Greenhouse?

(11 minutes 44 seconds)

Matt 鈥�

Lettuce

Chard

Leek

Ashley 鈥�

Cosmos

Zinnia

Nicotiana

Anne 鈥�

Sweet pea

Dave 鈥�

Chilli

Q 鈥� 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鈥檝e also noticed some furry white spots on the flesh 鈥� what is it? Can it be treated?

(15 minutes 14 seconds)

Feature 鈥� The team scale the heights of Kew鈥檚 treetop walkway and chat to the gardens鈥� Head of Tree Collections, Kevin Martin

(19 minutes 40 seconds)

Kevin 鈥�

Sweet chestnut

Oak

North American oak

Pine

Redwood

Q 鈥� What plants can I hang in my two skylights?

(21 minutes 02 seconds)

Matt 鈥�

Rosemary Prostrata Group

Ceropegia linearis subsp. woodii, Hearts on a string

鈥楧onkey鈥檚 Tail鈥�

Ashley 鈥�

Mint

Q 鈥� 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)

Q 鈥� 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鈥檛 remove them, will they be detrimental to the growth of the tree?

(26 minutes 17 seconds)

Feature 鈥� Kathy and the panellists take a turn about Kew鈥檚 Rock Garden and The Davies Alpine House and chat to Gardens Supervisor - Alpine, Rock and Aquatics, Faye Adams

(29 minutes 6 seconds)

Fay 鈥�

Solanaceae

Gesneriaceae

Q 鈥� 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)

Anne 鈥�

Common thyme

Lemon Thyme

鈥楥颈迟谤颈辞诲辞谤补鈥�

Sweet Marjoram

Origanum onites

Ashley 鈥�

Pelargonium

Lemon verbena

Fay 鈥�

Stachys byzantine

Paperwhite daffodil, Narcissus poeticus

Q 鈥� Could you help identify what the tool I have inherited is?

(38 minutes)

Broadcasts

  • Fri 11 Mar 2022 15:00
  • Sun 13 Mar 2022 14:00

Six of GQT鈥檚 naughtiest gardening innuendos

When Gardeners' Question Time got mucky.

Podcast