Dan Pearson on gardensLife and style This article is more than 17 years oldMoving an outdoor grapevine
This article is more than 17 years oldQ Is it possible to move an outdoor grape vine from a north-facing aspect to a more sunny one? If so, when is the best time to do this and how far should it be cut back?
Richard Kingston
A Richard, yes, it is possible to move a vine if it is still youthful, as it will have a compact rootball. I would not recommend trying to transplant an old plant - by that I mean anything over five years old. It would be better to take hard-wood cuttings now and leave it where it is. To move a youngster, prune hard to 18in as soon as the leaves drop and try to lift with as much rootball as possible. Prune any damaged roots with a sharp cut to avoid infection, and keep your fingers crossed!
Q I was very excited this year, as my oleander produced lots of flower buds - but only a couple actually made it into flower. This was very disappointing because it has such a heavenly scent. I grow it in a pot so that I can bring it indoors in the winter, and this year I repotted it into a non-peat-based general-purpose compost. What do you think went wrong? And what do I do to achieve a better outcome next year?
Jacqueline Shane
A Jacqueline, your recently repotted plant may have put quite a bit of its energy this year into producing new root and top growth, and flowering will not have been a priority. Oleanders flower best when they are restricted or growing a little 'hard', so you should find that next year, having filled its new pot, your plant will flower more profusely.
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