Garden Guide, Gardening Advice - Q & A

Got a gardening question ?

If you have a question which relates to gardens and gardening, we may have the answer.    You may wish to ask about soils, mulches, pests, shrubs, trees, annuals, lawns, pot plants, irrigation etc etc.   Please provide us with as much info as possible including your  geographic location (Eg. Epping, Sydney, Aust )  and send us photos, if you like.    Photos help a lot in solving many problems, or giving you advice.  

Please also provide a name, so you can search for your answer using our site search box.   To find your answer just place your first name into our search box.   You can also search for topics by using questions such as "Spots on roses" or "Grubs in lawn" etc.  

Please send your questions to questions@gardenguide.com.au  

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Flax plants - Dying back around base- Megan, Vic

Hope you can help !

I have a garden bed full of flax plants.  A row of green ones infront of a row purple ones.  With the drought in Victoria, and heavy watering restrictions in Geelong, the plants have only been watered with grey water from the washing machine, and little rain.  The purple flax have some sort of fungus/disease which is white and powdery mainly at the bottom of the plant.  There is also lots of spider webs and snails though the plant.  The plants are just over a year old and have gotten very thick in this time. We were advised to trim them right down which we have done.  We have also attempted to treat the white disease with Pestoil.  The green flax are going brown and dying.  Both plants begin dying fromthe outside, and eventually the entire plant basically rots and can be ripped out of the ground with very little effort.  It's as though the roots are either rotting or being eaten.  We have attached a photo, please help with some advice.  Megan, Geelong, Victoria.

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How to transplant tree ferns - Mars, QLD

 Can tree ferns be transplanted and what is the best way to do this ?.  Can I put them in pots for a few months ?.  I also have a fan palm which has been in the ground for 9 years and I would like to take it with me when I move house.   Do these plants transplant well ? or should I put them into pots ?.  I only have a few weeks to get them out of the ground, but it will be months before I have to move.  Mars

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Brown spots on Cordylines - Julia - Perth

"Hello,

           I have various Corylines (Red Star, Red Sensation) that I recently planted in my garden, and they have develped brown, dry spots on the leaves.  Also the leaves at the bottom seem to dry up and die..... I water them every second day.   Is this due to underwatering or overwatering ?  Could you also recommend a good fertiliser for them ?

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