QUESTION: I have a Fatsia japonica in a pot in a shady corner near the house. It was originally a pot plant grown indoors but found its way outside when it grew too large. Although the leaves are lush and green at the top of the plant, it now looks rather leggy and bare at the base. How can I encourage it to produce more leaves and side shoots from the bottom of the plant?

ORACLE: Fatsia japonica does have a habit of getting rather leggy after a few years. You can easily rejuvenate it to produce a more branched and bushy plant by cutting the stems down to 30cm or so above the surface of the compost. Although this may seem rather drastic, the plant will soon shoot again to produce vigorous stems and large lush leaves. Cut it back in early spring. I suggest at the same time you replace the top 2cm of compost with fresh John Innes No. 3 and a handful of controlled release fertiliser.

QUESTION: I like the idea of a nice terracotta strawberry pot dripping with succulent fruits on my terrace this summer. I have strawberries growing in the garden; could I transplant a few into a pot, and what are my chances of success?

ORACLE: Strawberry pots seem like a good idea, but they do dry out quickly. The secret of success is to choose as large a one as you can find. Fill with John Innes No.3 compost with added controlled release fertiliser, planting your strawberries through the holes as you fill the pot. I do not recommend you use plants from the garden. Buy new individually pot grown plants produced from certified virus-free runners or seed. Wherever you grow strawberries you should treat them as short-term crops. In the open ground replant with new stock every three years and replant pots every two years. As for varieties, there are many to choose from. ‘Elsanta’ is a reliable favourite that does well even in a dull, wet season.

QUESTION: I had snowdrops in the lawn under an oak tree. They spread over many years but over the past couple of years they disappeared. Have you any idea why?

ORACLE: Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) like a semi-shaded position in moist, humus rich soil. Under an oak tree they will like the soil, because it is rich in leaf mould. However it may be that as the tree had grown, and with recent hot, dry summers (apart from last year!) the soil conditions, and competition from the tree, have been just too much for them. Alternatively they may have been damaged by lawn treatment containing weedkillers. Snowdrop bulbs are only a couple of centimetres beneath the surface and can be susceptible to lawn chemicals.

QUESTION: I have a large but old forsythia in the garden which used to flower well, but in recent years the flowers have been fewer, and the branches have peculiar corky ball-like growths on them. Has the shrub simply had its day, or can I give it a new lease of life?

ORACLE: This is just the right time of the year to deal with this one. Like all flowering shrubs forsythia should be pruned straight after flowering. Cut back most of the branches that have flowered right down into the centre of the shrub, or to where you can see vigorous new green shoots appearing. This will be best done with a pruning saw and should remove those corky growths which are in fact forsythia gall. This is a common condition of old specimens that have lost vigour. After pruning feed the plant with a generous application of Vitax Q4.

QUESTION: I have a very old rose ‘Zephirine Drouhin’ which grows against a south-east facing wall. Every year it suffers with bad mildew and the blooms are getting smaller. We spray regularly with a combined insecticide and fungicide but with very little improvement.

ORACLE: ‘Zephirine Drouhin’ is a lovely bourbon rose with fragrant deep pink flowers. Unfortunately it is prone to mildew, especially in this position. Dry conditions at the roots of a plant, as you would expect at the base of a wall, put the plant under stress, making it susceptible to mildew. Also there is little air movement around the plant to keep the spores at bay. Mulch the ground with well rotted farmyard manure and a generous application of rose fertiliser, and water thoroughly during the growing season. If this does not produce results, remove the plant and replace it with one of the English Roses that can be grown as a climber; ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ would be an excellent alternative.

QUESTION: I planted a number of mini cyclamen in my patio pots in the autumn. They flowered beautifully until Christmas. They are still alive and some have healthy leaves. What shall I do with them and can I keep them for next year. Perhaps they can be planted out in the garden?

ORACLE: Cyclamen ‘Miracle’ and similar varieties of dwarf cyclamen are best grown as seasonal bedding plants and they are really not worth keeping for another year. I advise committing them to the compost heap and starting afresh next season. If you want cyclamen to plant in the garden then look out for Cyclamen hederifolium ‘Amaze Me’. This is a new seed-raised strain that gives brilliant results in the garden year after year.