Hello there Cornus alba 'Siberica' will tolerate most soils but it won't like it if it is water logged. Also varieties like this that are grown for the spectacular stems colour best in full sun, so if there is little sun you won't get the best stem colour. Hope this helps

Hello Claire, If you click on the following link it will take you to all our winter flowering plants. I would definitely recommend hellebores and snowdrops, perhaps some Cyclamen and and Euonymus fortunei for foliage colour. http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/vid.204/ I hope this helps. Helen Plant Doctor

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Hello Margaret, it is rare to find larger sized Ceanothus as they are usually quite short-lived and don't normally live longer than 6 - 8 years. We do have a selection of larger shrubs on our site like Hamamelis, Hydrangeas, Magnolias, Acer, Cornus, Cotinus, Philadelphus, Syringa and Viburnum, so you may find something of interest. They will be listed in this section. http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/ I hope this helps. Helen Plant Doctor

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Hello Mark, Young Camellias can be very variable in shape, and some pruning is often needed to encourage a balanced, bushy shape. If yours is long and thin, then you can encourage it to bush out by pinching out the growing tips and shorten over-long stems. Ideally this should be done in spring, after it has finished flowering but before the leaf buds break. As for the Cornus, it may simply be concentrating on putting on new root growth rather than top growth, or perhaps you have very heavy soil, which will slow growth down. You should not really be feeding many plants at this time of the year as you can do more harm than good by encouraging new growth at this time of the year. I would however expect to see some signs of growth in spring next year, at which point you can start feeding again. I am not really sure what insects you found on your Acer, but it may have been woodlice. These are completely harmless, but they do eat decaying organic matter such as leaves etc and they do like cool, damp spots to hide out in. Finally, there are a number of reasons why plants don't flower including too much shade, not enough water or nutrients, or pruning at the wrong time of the year. I am not really sure why yours has not produced buds, but you can often give them a bit of a push by feeding with a high potash fertiliser during the growing season. I hope this helps. Helen Plant Doctor

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Deer can be a real problem and deer proof plants are usually thorny, poisonous or simply taste awful, but it is hard to give a definitive list as you might get the odd deer with unusual tastes which might like the bitter taste! Below is a list of good plants that generally are quite successful though. Cornus varieties, Rhus, Sophora, Solanum, Berberis, Rosemary, Buxus, Cotoneaster, Ilex, Pyracantha, Garrya, Juniperus, Nandina, Elaeagnus, Aralia, Aucuba, Cortaderia, Yucca, Santolina, Hypericum, Myrtle, Vinca, Achillea, Digitalis, Echinacea and Dryopteris. Finally, fencing is one method to protect garden crops from deer. Since deer jump, you need an 8-foot fence for best results or stout chicken-wire fencing securely around smaller garden plots. Alternatively, fence the area with a thorny shrub, preferably something that will grow to at least 6 feet. Deer eat roses and some thorns but hawthorn, boxwood and holly will exclude them. Deer are also deterred by dogs, hanging aluminum foil, mirrors, wood that hits objects in the wind and other noise-makers. Some old-fashioned repellents are human hair and blood and bonemeal. Hanging bars of fragrant deodorant soap from branches may work. Other well-known deer repellents are mothballs or moth flakes spread on the ground or put in mesh bags for hanging in a tree. Unfortunately though, no repellent is 100 percent effective, especially if the deer population is high and deer are starving.

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Deer can be a real problem and deer proof plants are usually thorny, poisonous or simply taste awful. It is hard to give a definitive list as you might get the odd deer with unusual taste which might like a bitter taste, but the following is a list of plants that generally are quite successful. Cornus varieties, Rhus, Sophora, Solanum, Berberis, Rosemary, Buxus, Cotoneaster, Ilex, Pyracantha, Garrya, Juniperus, Nandina, Eleagnus, Aralia, Aucuba, Cortaderia, Yucca, Santolina, Hypericum, Myrtle, Vinca, Achillea, Digitalis, Echinacea and Dryopteris. Finally fencing is one method to protect garden crops from deer. Since deer jump, you need an 8-foot fence for best results or stout chicken-wire fencing securely around smaller garden plots. Alternatively, fence the area with a thorny shrub, preferably something that will grow to at least 6 feet. Deer do eat roses and some other thorns but hawthorn, boxwood and holly tend to keep them out. Deer are also deterred by dogs, hanging aluminum foil, mirrors, wood that hits objects in the wind and other noise-makers. Some old-fashioned repellents are human hair and blood and bonemeal. Hanging bars of fragrant deodorant soap from branches may work. Other well-known deer repellents are mothballs or moth flakes spread on the ground or put in mesh bags for hanging in a tree. Unfortunately though, no repellent is 100 percent effective, especially if the deer population is high and deer are starving.

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Ideally you should prune this Cornus in late winter or early spring. However you may still get away with it if you do it very soon. Just cut back the branches you don't want by pruning to an outward facing bud.

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