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What is this dense shrub? The berries reveal its identity
The hanging yellow-orange berries reveal more than the leaves. In late August, they make the shrub in your photograph particularly recognisable.
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Real questions from readers, with answers from Tomasgreen. Browse published garden cases or ask a question of your own.
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An edible mushroom? This brown fungus in pine needles is not a safe find
It grew on the ground in pine woodland and has clearly decurrent gills, but that combination is not enough to make it suitable for the table. The photographs show why it should be left alone.
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Hungry? This red mushroom in the moss is not for eating
A small red cap with white spots among the pine needles is a classic clue. It may look tempting at this stage, but this is the wrong mushroom to take a chance on.
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Too late to plant ‘Nova Zembla’, or is late summer a good time?
Your rhododendron still looks suitable for planting, despite its spent flower heads and seed capsules. What matters now is not the flowering, but how you plant it and whether it can root before the cold.
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A kiwi plant in a pot: can it go outside with autumn approaching?
The large, heart-shaped, coarsely toothed leaves point to Actinidia. The main question is less its identity than whether it can root outdoors before the cold reaches the Västernorrland coast.
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Too late to plant a Japanese maple in Hartungviken, or does the position matter more?
Your Japanese maple already has its autumn colours, and where you live the calendar is not the only deciding factor. What matters most now is how sheltered a position you can offer and how you help it through its first winter.
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Lots of rowan berries: does that really mean a snowy winter?
Your rowan’s clusters are clearly full, but they tell us more about this year’s flowering and fruit set than about the coming winter in Hartungviken. Here is why the old saying persists despite being an unreliable forecast.
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Is this just a small spruce, or will it soon outgrow my garden?
The needle arrangement and short, dense needles point to spruce, rather than pine or fir. The deciding issue in your garden is not whether it can cope with the sunny position, but how large it will eventually become.
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A thuja in the sale: can it establish before winter?
The yellow-green thuja in the photograph can often be planted late, but in Hartungviken a few weeks and the watering matter more than the discount. There is a straightforward way to judge whether the purchase is still worthwhile.
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What is this golden yew, and can it still go into the ground this autumn?
You have a yellow-green yew in a pot. The question is not only its name, but whether planting now is still suitable. The rootball and autumn timing matter more here than the exact cultivar.
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What is this shrub? Its dark leaves are the strongest clue
The almost black-purple, shallowly lobed leaves point clearly to one shrub. Here is what identifies it, and why its position in the border matters so much to its colour.
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Helping your hollyhock return next year: what matters over winter
Your hollyhock is already in the ground in Hartungviken, which makes overwintering easier. The key is not doing a lot now, but protecting the right part when the cold comes.
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