GT, Co Dublin
Bamboos are a wonderful screen plant, but they need certain conditions. Two are particularly important: shelter from wind and sufficient water. If your front garden is quite exposed don’t go for bamboo because the wind will “dry” the leaves and leave them barren and scrawny. One way to counteract this is to erect a screen on a wall behind the bamboo, which will provide shelter. The soil should be moisture-retaining and you should either install a watering system or water generously when they need it. The best guide to the many varieties of bamboo is from www.stambamboo.com.
How and when should I prune a large, rather woody, rosemary plant that is getting out of control and looks quite ugly?
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YI, Co Wicklow
Though it’s tough, rosemary doesn’t like hard pruning into old wood — this can actually kill it. If you neglect rosemary for several years it can become bare, ugly and woody, especially at the base. The best way to manage it is to prune the tips by about a third every season after flowering. If the plant is really old and woody pace your pruning over several seasons, gradually taking out any dead and damaged wood. Never remove more than a third of the oldest wood at a time. You can also shorten any newer shoots to balance the overall shape of the shrub. The best way to do this is to cut back to a sideshoot lower down.
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I recently moved to a new home with a north-facing garden that is quite open. It has no trees, so it’s not really dark. Are there roses that would do well there?
FB, Co Kildare
In general, roses are not good shade plants. To be at their best, most need at least six hours of direct sun. Shady situations not only inhibit flowering, but can also cause disease problems, particularly blackspot. But if you have an open, north-facing garden you should have some luck. Plant in the sunniest possible spot, water in the morning so plants dry off quickly, and choose disease-resistant, free-blooming varieties.
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In general, the amount of flowers and health of roses will depend upon how much sun they get.
Emma Philbin Bowman is the Sunday Times’s gardening correspondent