Q: Is there one particular fertiliser that you would recommend for fruit bushes e.g. gooseberries, blueberries, raspberries? KS, Monmouth

A: To promote flowering and good fruit development you need a fertiliser with a hi potash content like sulphate of potash. You can scatter that around fruit bushes two or three times during the growing season.

Q: My lawn has suddenly decided to grow docks. What can I use safely to get rid of them? We have children and a dog. FJ via email

A: Regular mowing will eliminate them. Seed must have blown in or maybe it is a newly sown lawn and dock seed has germinated. Spread some grass seed around to thicken the sward.

Q: I have a variegated holly bush in a large pot planter, approximately two feet high and three feet across, and the plant’s leaves are smaller this year! Is it time to break it out of the pot and plant it in the garden? How big will it get? Will I be able to keep it pruned to keep it a reasonable size, about six to eight feet? SB, Newport

A: Holly makes a good container plant but after a number of years it will want to go in the ground. They make a large plant if left unpruned so give it a trim once or twice a year to keep it under control and it will keep the foliage nice and dense.

Q: We have a small plot of land in the garden that we have dug over and prepared. My question is can I plant vegetables in it or I am too late now? If not too late, what do you recommend? MM via email

A: Vegetable plants are still available to buy from garden centres which will give you a head start. I would look to plant lettuce radish and spinach for a quick crop. Carrots, spring cabbage and beetroot can also go in for harvesting later on.

Tip for the week:

Keep your summer bedding plants and perennials at their best by regularly removing old flowers and keep them well watered and feed with a soluble fertiliser.

DO YOU have a question for our Garden Guru? Email maria.williams@southwalesargus.co9.uk, tweet @ArgusMWilliams, leave a message on the Argus Facebook page, or write to Garden Guru, Newsdesk, South Wales Argus, Cardiff Road, Newport NP20 3QN