Hello, It sounds as though only one stem has been affected, so I suspect some form of physical damage, in which case it will not recover and should be removed.

Helen

Hello, Loniceras are prone to powdery mildew I'm afraid, so do make sure your plant is kept well watered, and spray with a good fungicide if necessary. Also any pruning should be tackled immediately after it has finished flowering, as if it is done at any other time of the year it will have an effect on the flower production. All you can do now is make sure it is kept well fed and watered and next year you should have an abundance of flowers again.

helen

Hello, This usually happens when a plant is stressed in some way, so make sure it is getting lots of water and give it a feed with a good, general purpose fertiliser such as Vitax Q4.

helen

Hi Helen Many thanks I think we will go for the Hydrangea Regards Sue

Crocus Helpdesk

Hello Sue, The Hydrangea is really quite slow growing and you can easily cut it back if it does get too big, so if you really like it, I would be tempted to go for it. Alternatively you could opt for one of the Loniceras or a Hedera, both of which can be trimmed back if they get over-large. I hope this helps. Helen Plant Doctor

Sue Mather

Hello Joanna, If you click on the link below it will take you to our fast growing climbers, which will cope with low light levels. If you click into each card you can then see the eventual height and spread of each plant - some of them are pretty big. http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/climbers/plcid.15/vid.186/vid.237/ I hope this helps. Helen Plant Doctor

Crocus Helpdesk

Thank you so much Helen, this helps a lot.

Joanna Swainson

Hello Peter, I have done a search on our Plant Finder and if you click on the following link it will take you to all the climbers which will grow on a north facing aspect and are fast growing (although keep in mind most plants are going into their dormant period now) http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/climbers/plcid.15/vid.186/vid.237/ I hope this helps.

Crocus Helpdesk

Hello There, There are a couple of ways you can deter cats from the garden. Firstly you can plant lots of things that have spines or thorns, thus making it awkward for them to dig in - here are some of my favourites. Pyracantha's are ideal - this is a prickly wall shrub that has small white flowers which become fabulous red berries in autumn. http://www.crocus.co.uk/findplant/results/?CommonName=pyracantha Berberis is another good choice: http://www.crocus.co.uk/findplant/results/?CommonName=berberis Chaenomeles: http://www.crocus.co.uk/findplant/results/?CommonName=chaenomeles Ilex (holly): http://www.crocus.co.uk/findplant/results/?CommonName=ilex All of the above plants are evergreen (except Chaenomeles), so you will have year round interest. There are loads of cat deterrents on the market that work by scent or water. We have a few on our site. http://www.crocus.co.uk/products/_/tools/pest-control/cats/prcid.87/vid.484/ Other methods that you could try include sprinkling curry powder around the boundaries where they frequent, drying your used tea bags and then putting a few drops of eucalyptus oil on them before scattering in the garden. Orange peel when broken into small pieces and scattered around the borders works wonders and it's cheap as does grated, perfumed soap. As for the lilies, I think they are all quite toxic to cats, so they should be avoided. Finally, the best scented climbers for shade are the Loniceras - just click on the following link to go straight to them http://www.crocus.co.uk/search/_/search.lonicera/ I hope this helps and good luck! Helen Plant Doctor

Crocus Helpdesk

Hello there, The most likely cause is a lack of sun, although other factors could include pruning at the wrong time of the year, or not enough feed or water. If you want to give them a bit of a push, then feed them with Sulphate of Potash (following the manufacturers instructions).I hope this helps, Helen.

helen.derrin