Eeek! Here we are trying to come across all professional and wise and we plain forgot to mention autumn  fruiting raspberry canes in our newsletter this month.

So, the point was: if you have autumn fruiting raspberry canes, prune them down to the ground now to get a good crop later this year.

P.S. Thanks to My Tiny Plot for the reminder!

We’ve checked out a trial copy of a digital plant library called Horticopia here in the office – after all, not everyone here is a plant nerd and us real nerds have better things to do than answer questions and enjoy the sound of our own voices sounding smart all day.* It has all the info that you would expect from a quality plant encyclopedia, loads of pretty printable piccys and it can go everywhere with you on your laptop.

At Ashridge Trees HQ, we have a very advanced system for logging all the queries that come in from our customers. Her name is Frances and we’d be in deep trouble without her, so please be nice to her when you give us a call.

One question that she’s heard a few times is about which of the three famous laurel bushes to use in a particular site. Cherry or Common Laurel, Portugal Laurel and Bay Laurel will all do well in shady spots, although Bay Laurel won’t be happy in very deep shade.

We are having a nice warm autumn with just a few cold nights. If you are thinking about planting a hawthorn hedge this winter, now is a really good time to strike a blow for the good guys and go after a few weeds. Perennial weeds like bindweed, docks, thistles, dandelions, ground elder and the rest behave just like any other deciduous plant as they head towards winter and dormancy (which is the plant equivalent of hibernation). They build up their food reserves to see them through the winter and to fuel the surge for growth that happens in Spring.