GARDEN GURU

Q My three Cordyline ‘Pink Passion’ plants have started to fade. Will anything help their vivid pink colour to return? Celia Robbins

Growing to about 3ft, ‘Pink A Passion’ is more compact than most cordylines. Like many brightly coloured varieties, it prefers light shade as the leaves will fade if subjected to too much sunshine. As your plants are in pots, simply move them to a more favourable spot.

Q I have a big problem with a three-cornered leek. I keep it under control in beds by digging out individual plants but it has completely overtaken other areas. What can I do to get rid of it once and for all?

Pamela Price

Three-cornered leek is a A native of the Mediterranean that has been established in the British countryside since the mid18th Century. It’s an attractive little thing but very invasive. If it’s growing in open areas, you could spray with herbicide once it has finished flowering – the stuff is absorbed more easily if you bash the leaves first.

I have a spindle bush that’s Q covered in black fly. I’ve tried spraying it with pesticide but it’s had no effect. What do you suggest?

John Kellum

The black fly aphids are A drawn to new growth in spring. As the pests are mainly congregated on the tops of stems, snip off these badly affected bits and then spray the plant with organic pesticide.