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Q – My grandsons love the carnivorous plants here at Kew.Ìý They have a Sarracenia Velvet which is surviving – can the panel suggest some more to go with it please?

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James – Venus Fly Trap.Ìý There are lots of different varieties e.g. Red Dragon.Ìý Vivarium nurseries would be a good place to start.

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Lara – Drosera or Sundew.Ìý Pinguicula.Ìý

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Anne – Sarracenia leucophylla

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Q – I took a cutting of a yellow Hibiscus from a Spanish hotel about ten years ago.Ìý It has grown into a shrub but has never flowered.Ìý What can I do?

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Anne – It’s probably to do with low light or low feed.Ìý I would advise potting it on too.Ìý Pop it out in the garden for the summer to get it some more light.Ìý

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Lara – This is Hibiscus rosa-sinensis I would assume

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James – Yes it’s unlikely to be an unusual variety like schizopetalus

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Q – What is the difference between a cultivar and a variety?

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Scott – A cultivar is man-made and a variety is naturally occurring

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Q – I have a palm in a pot on my patio that’s looking a bit tired.Ìý How can I perk it up?Ìý It’s about 4ft (1.2m) tall and in a 30 litre (6.5 gallon) pot.

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James – this is almost certainly the ‘Windmill Plant’ (Trachycarpus fortunei).Ìý I would make sure you’re giving it enough water and humidity.Ìý You can’t really over-fertilise either.

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Feature:

Bitter Oranges

Livistona chinensis

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Q – What do you think is the best thing to do with spent multipurpose compost in a small garden?

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Lara – Generally you can’t reuse it as compost but you can use it as a mulch.Ìý

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James – I have used old compost indoors for things like Proteas like Banksia, LeucospermumsÌý

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Q – I have some mature Olive trees that have been in the same pots since 2007.Ìý How can I pot them on?

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Lara – Olives don’t need great soil.Ìý I would pot them into something soil-based but with gravel in there.Ìý

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James – They don’t need a lot of topsoil so don’t worry about that but I would give them a good feed

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Anne – Feed them once a month from early-Spring until August

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Q – I always pot up combinations of Geraniums, Lobelias and Petunias but this year I’d like to do something different.Ìý What can you suggest?

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Anne – Melianthus major.Ìý Heliotrope (a variety like ‘Chatsworth’).Ìý

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Lara – Canna ‘D³Ü°ù²ú²¹²Ô’, Canna ‘P²¹²Ô²¹³¦³ó±ð’, Canna ‘C±ô±ð´Ç±è²¹³Ù°ù²¹â€™.

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Q – Are there any climbing plants (in the Temperate House at Kew) that are suitable for a windowsill?

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Scott – ‘Chilean Bellflower’ (Lapageria rosea).Ìý

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Anne – I’d recommend moving away from the windowsill if you want to grow things like Cestrums or African Hemp/House Lime (Sparmannia Africana).

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James – Cissus rotundifolia.Ìý Jasminium sambac (‘Arabian Jasmine’).Ìý Passion flowers like ‘Lady Margaret’ if you keep on top of the pruning.Ìý Tetrastigma.

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Q – I breed hardy passion flowers but seed germination is very erratic.Ìý How can I improve the odds?

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Lara – We have a brilliant tree Passiflora called Passiflora arborea that has done well here.Ìý You need to recreate the journey the seed takes through the body of the animal that eats it!Ìý

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