Long-term potted shrubs

Do your re-potting and topdressing now, says Ruth

- Ruth Hayes

THIS week it's been the turn of our potted shrubs to receive some TLC before they really get going for the summer.

Their numbers include a young bottlebrush that has yet to flower, a skimmia, twisted willow and a hydrangea that needed completely re-potting.

There is also a lemon and an olive, both of which survived our relatively mild southern winter in a sheltered corner of the patio. They will need pruning and topdressing but I am loathe to do this just yet, because if last April taught us anything, it's that bitterly cold weather isn't restricted to what we think of as the 'traditional winter months

So I will leave these more temperate plants undisturbed until the end of April when hopefully the weather will be reliably warmer by night as well as during the day. (If you live further north, you may wish to wait until later in May to do this.)