516 – Incredible ivy, vegetable folklore and autumn planting essentials

Meet one of our most loved and hated native plants. You might think of ivy as a destroyer of buildings or a nuisance weed, but it’s actually just been crowned the most popular flower with pollinating insects in an 8 year study by the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme. It’s also the RHS Wildlife Wonder plant for October, so our Science and Horticulture editor Olivia Drake is here to explain what makes it so valuable, and worth including in your garden. Staying with plant wonders, did you know if you dream of cucumbers, it means you might speedily fall in love? RHS Head of Libraries and Exhibitions Fiona Davison offers fascinating tales of vegetable folklore for an upcoming online seminar. Hyde Hall’s Andy Tebbutt tells us why autumn is the best time of year for planting, but what’s happening to that plant when you put it in the ground? And Gareth Richards and Melissa Mabbitt answer your gardening questions. Host: Gareth Richards Producer: Dan Cocker Contributors: Olivia Drake, Fiona Davison, Andy Tebbutt, Melissa Mabbitt Send your questions to [email protected] Links: Ivy Butterfly Conservation pollinator survey Vegetables, dreams and folklore RHS Libraries Why autumn is the best time for planting

A new season, and a new edition of The Plant Review, the quarterly magazine published by The RHS that delves a little deeper than the regular RHS Garden mag. If you prefer your plant stories and horticultural happenings that bit more detailed, The Plant Review is the publication for you. In this special programme, RHS plant pathologist Jassy Drakulic talks fungi in lawns, Plant Review editor James Armitage tells the story of Blanche Ada’s Thornycroft apples, and Gareth Richards and Melissa Mabbitt answer your gardening questions. Host: Gareth Richards, James Armitage Producer: Dan Cocker Contributors: Jassy Drakulic, Melissa Mabbitt   Links: The Plant Review Waxcap Watch Thornycroft apples Plants mentioned by James: Haplocarpha scaposa Lepechinia hastata Eryngium pandanifolium Vernonia crinita Cyperus involucratus Carex secta Send your questions to [email protected]

So many jobs to do at this time of year, but not enough time! As we rush to garden centres and nurseries, you can make it easier on yourself by narrowing down your new plant choices to those which are ultra wildlife friendly. Pollinators will always appreciate a helping hand, and a good place to start is with a new RHS guide, Plants for Pollinators. One of the authors, RHS entomologist Josie Stuart, is on the podcast to talk about what to plant now to boost wildlife diversity. If edibles are more your thing, Guy Barter offers sobering news on the future of Britain’s favourite brassicas – is it the end of the line for cauliflowers? And we continue our guide to essential jobs to do in autumn, this time it’s why and how to divide perennials. Host: Gareth Richards Producer: Dan Cocker Contributors: Josie Stuart, Guy Barter, Nick Petters, Melissa Mabbitt Links:  Plants for Pollinators Autumn ox eye daisy - Leucanthemella serotina No more cauliflowers Guardian article Dividing perennials Rootstocks for fruit Send your questions to [email protected]

Head to the bottom of the garden this month and you might end up with a face full of spiders’ webs. Before you run screaming into the house, RHS spider expert Ben Brough offers an insight into why an arachnophobe’s worst nightmare is a fantastic garden ally. Want more plants for next spring without the cost of buying? RHS Garden Wisley’s Sam Gallivan teaches us how to take root cuttings and instantly multiply your plants for free. Last week we ended our series looking at bulbs to plant now for spring interest, and today we begin a new series of serious jobs for serious gardeners throughout a busy autumn, beginning with autumn veg planting with Liz Mooney. Host: Gareth Richards Producer: Dan Cocker Contributors: Ben Brough, Sam Gallivan, Liz Mooney, Melissa Mabbitt   Links: Wildlife gardening advice Plants for bugs Taking root cuttings Grow your own fruit and veg: September Liz Mooney’s allotment life Send your questions to [email protected]

Many listeners’ turf will have taken a bashing over summer, and now is the time to glow-up the green. RHS Garden Wisley’s Jim Millward shares his tips on how to get your grass ready for autumn. The holiday is officially over for our houseplants, time to bring them back inside after enjoying a hot summer. RHS indoor plant specialist Freddy Fuller offers do’s and don’ts for seasonal houseplant success. And to round-off a month of spring bulb suggestions, RHS Wisley’s Jess Jansdotter offers her choice in the final 'Bulb of the Week' of September. Plus, we answer some of your gardening questions. Host: Gareth Richards Producers: Dan Cocker Contributors: Jim Millward, Freddy Fuller, Jess Jansdotter, Melissa Mabbitt Links: Lawncare advice Autumn houseplant advice: Snowdrops Send your questions to [email protected]

Is it dead? Or is it just sulking? That’s what many listeners will be wondering after returning from their summer holidays to find many plants exhausted by hot and dry weather. Horticultural advisor Nick Turrell provides a dose of reality – and some much-needed hope – when it comes to saving, or binning, the hardest-hit perennials. Presenter Gareth Richards speaks to RHS science editor Olivia Drake about this month’s Wildlife Wonder plant - apples! There’s more to this popular fruit than meets the eye. September is the month for bulbs, and RHS Wisley’s James McDonnell offers his pick for the next instalment of our Bulb of the Week series - Ipheion. Plus, we answer some of your gardening questions. Host: Gareth Richards Producer: Dan Cocker Contributors: Nick Turrell, Olivia Drake, James McDonnell, Melissa Mabbitt Links: RHS Climate Change Survey  RHS Ipheion trials  Wildlife Wonder plant: Apple Send your questions to [email protected]

There’s a myriad of weird and wonderful beasties out there who feast on flowers, but all is not rosy inside the garden gate. Pollinators are in trouble, and Josie Stuart, RHS Senior Entomologist at RHS Garden Wisley shares some unexpected ways home gardeners can help pollinators thrive, no matter the size of your plot. Horticultural specialist Jim Arbury offers expert advice on a hot topic many RHS website visitors want to know more about: figs. Which variety should you choose? How do you get started? And how do you grow them successfully? As September brings cooler temperatures and an increasingly autumnal feel, RHS Wisley’s Claudia Connal offers her pick for the next instalment of our Bulb of the Week series - the mysterious and beautiful Turk’s cap or martagon lily. Plus, we answer your gardening questions on dealing with tomato gluts, growing echinaceas, and pruning hydrangeas and evergreens. Host: Gareth Richards Producer: Dan Cocker Contributors: Josie Stuart, Jim Arbury, Claudia Connal Plants mentioned: Turk’s cap lily (Lilium martagon); lilies 'Claude Shride’, ‘Golden Morning’, ‘Pink Morning’ and ‘Albi Morning’. Hoop petticoat daffodil (Narcissus bulbocodium), Crocus ‘Vanguard’. Figs ‘Brown Turkey’, ‘Little Miss Figgy’ and ‘Brunswick' Links: Find information on all the topics covered at rhs.org.uk Send your questions to [email protected]

While many garden plants have struggled for survival this summer, one which has truly thrived is the lantana. Horticulturist David Hurrion was one of the judges of last year's lantana trial at RHS Garden Wisley in Surrey, and he joins us to share his takeaways of growing these eye-poppingly colourful bedding plants, and some of the standout cultivars.  Deadheading is a practice key to ensuring repeat blooms throughout the summer, and RHS Horticultural Advisor Nick Turrell shows us how to do it properly. And finally, as we enter autumn, we’re kickstarting our bulb of the week series with horticulturist Gemma Burr who shares some favourite coronet tulips from another recent RHS Plant Trial. Plus answers to listener questions on bay trees, lawns from seed and Salvia 'Hot Lips'.  Host: Gareth Richards Producers: Dan Cocker, Poppy Waring Contributors: David Hurrion, Nick Turrell, Gemma Burr Links: Lantana trial results Deadheading Send your questions to [email protected]

Even though it's still August, the signs of autumn are starting to show. False autumn is a survival-driven stress response where trees shed leaves and change colour prematurely due to extreme heat and drought, and you may find yourself doing the autumn jobs a little early this year.  We dive headlong into seed collecting with RHS horticulturist Lucie Rudnicka, plus find out how best to prune your trained apple and pear trees with RHS Garden Wisley’s fruit tree expert Jim Arbury. And finally, we relish in the joy of wildflowers with our very own Gareth Richards, as today sees the publication of RHS Wildflowers: A Pocket Guide. Plus we answer questions from the listener inbox on late sowings of salads, raspberry pruning and hornets. Host: Gareth Richards Producers: Dan Cocker, Poppy Waring Contributors: Lucie Rudnicka, Jim Arbury, Jenny Laville Links: Seed: collecting and storing Apples and pears: pruning RHS Wildflowers: A pocket guide Send your questions to [email protected]

In a summer of rolling heatwaves, we look at what we can do to help out one of the garden areas most vulnerable to parching - plants in pots. RHS Horticultural Advisor Nick Turrell explains what you can do to keep them alive and thriving as temperatures soar. The heat and high humidity this summer have provided the perfect conditions for fungal plant diseases to spread like wildfire. RHS Plant Pathologist Dr Jassy Drakulic tells us about powdery mildew, and shares what you can do if your plants have succumbed. And finally, our Chief Horticulturist Guy Barter sheds some light on how we can make the  most of this summer's most precious resource, when rainfall finally arrives where you are. Plus some listener questions answered. Host: Gareth Richards Producers: Dan Cocker, Poppy Waring Contributors: Nick Turrell, Jassy Drakulic, Guy Barter Links: Drought resistant plants for pots Powdery mildew Send your questions to [email protected]