Question 1
What is a lemon-scented geranium’s true name?
A: It’s a pelargonium, just like most commonly grown ‘geraniums’, from brilliant red-flowered ones to downy-leafed peppermint or strongly scented ‘rose geraniums’. True geraniums are different plants.
Question 2
Which of these common garden berries are highly poisonous: castor oil plant, holly, privet, cotoneaster, daphne, lily of the valley, sweet pea?
A: All of them.
Question 3
What is a spring onion?
A: A green-leafed perennial onion with only a thin white bulb. Clumps will grow bigger every year.
Question 4
What is the world’s most often purchased rose?
A: Iceberg. Ever-blooming and (almost) unkillable.
Question 5
Caffeine kills snails. True or false?
A: True. Try spraying seedlings with strong coffee and see what happens to the snails.
Question 6
Lawns are best mown as short as you can, or high?
A: High. This will keep them neat but healthy. Low mowing can encourage weeds.
Question 7
When should a climbing rose be pruned?
A: After flowering, either once a year if they only bloom in spring, or trimmed back after each flush of flowers.
Question 8
Should potted ferns be fed a little or a lot to keep them gloriously bushy?
A: A little, at half-strength or even less. Strong fertiliser kills new fronds and the fern will slowly die if no new fronds grow up to replace the old ones.