GROWING pineapples is a subject I visited a few years ago and it is always nice to hear success stories, like that from Christina Gordon who has produced a fruiting plant.

She writes: “Please see my pineapple plants.

“I planted two over two years ago and got a lovely surprise when I found one of them had produced a fruit.

“I have had them in my lounge - no greenhouse - and with a big sunny window they must think they are in Florida!

“My husband, Bill, wanted to get rid of them as they were taking over our bungalow but I wouldn't let him...

“I am not a gardener but learnt how to do this, so I feel very proud.”

The Victorians, of course, who prized this magnificent fruit, went to inordinate lengths to produce them for table but today in our warmer homes it is easy to do and especially fascinating for children.

They can be grown from the crown, or established plants often produce offsets from around the base which can be separated from the mother plant.

Crowns, or offsets, should be planted in moist but well-drained compost to form roots, which can take a couple of months.

It is important at this stage to maintain moisture but for them not to be too wet because that will encourage rot.

The plant needs all-day sunlight and a temperature range between 65 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit.

A monthly application of a soluble houseplant fertilizer is desirable because they are hungry in a container and will exhaust the potting medium quite quickly.

It can take three years to reach maturity and even then be reluctant to flower.

Enclosing the whole plant in a clear bag with a ripe apple for three days has been shown to force flowering, the apple producing an aroma that encourages the pineapple to bloom.

I have been genuinely touched by the number of messages I have received welcoming my return to this page.

I was especially pleased to bump in to (not literally) an old contact from my reporting days on his bike.

He said he had been inspired to take up gardening by this little column, which is wonderful.

One, who has not been so inspired preferring more sedentary pursuits, is the County Press sub-editor Malcolm Harrison who has faithfully subbed my column these past few years.

He is moving on to West Country pastures new and his patience, good humour and layout skills will be much missed.

His diligence slipped only the once and I will always remember his large headline extolling the virtues of that useful root crop, the Leak.

The problems of leylandii

THERE are many dilemmas in gardening and none more difficult than what to do about our old chum, leylandii.

The monsters, with their myriad fibrous roots, suck everything out of the soil and as a hedge, because only green growth can be cut without creating brown spots that will never re-grow, the hedge creeps every outward as it grows unrelentingly up.

They remain a popular quick-hedging fix but they are trouble with a capital T.

Leylandii often become unsightly at the base but what to do to mask that if it is not possible to fell them, either because they belong to a neighbour or you want to retain a useful windbreak?

It’s a problem grappled with by gardeners, including Lisa Dowden, who appealed for help.

She e-mailed: “I wonder if you could suggest a suitable plant for my dilemma?

“I have a 9ft leylandii tree hedge and have chopped 2ft off the bottom back to the trunks. The trunks are interwoven with a chainlink fence. I would be grateful if you could please suggest a plant/s, climbing or shrub, that will grow underneath the remaining hedge to hide the chainlink fence.

“It faces south-south west.”

Christina can try digging out a tench at the base and filling that with enriched compost also inserting a physical barrier as deeply as possible in an effort to prevent the leylandii roots taking everything.

Having said that they will still encroach and regular watering and feeding of any hedge will be needed.

The fast-growing evergreen common laurel Prunus laurocerasus Rotundifolia, recognised as the best of its type for hedging, could be tried.

There’s also photinia x fraseri Red Robin, but I would probably give Euonymus a go and, depending on the length of hedge, mix up some of the many varieties.

Euonymus fortunei Emerald n Gold has gold variegation on green, Euonymus japonicus Jean Hughes is green and Blondy is predominantly gold.

Best o’ luck...

Top tips

  • Hardy, large-seeded vegetables should be sown this month and protected with cloches.
  • Early sowings of carrots, beetroot, salad onions, lettuces, radishes and summer cabbages may be made under cloches as the weather shows signs of warming up.
  • Broad beans and peas can be sown now. Consider dwarf broad bean varieties, which do not require support and produce smaller, sweeter, tender crops.
  • Shallots can be planted now with the tops just showing above the ground, 15cm (6ins) apart, with 30cm (12ins) between rows. Plant them quite deeply to prevent birds pulling them out of the ground before they have rooted. If conditions allow, parsnips can be sown to get a head start. Sow thinly — they will need thinning to at least 20cm (8ins) apart.
  • Prune wisteria now, cutting back summer side-shoots to two or three buds.
  • Prune overwintered fuchsias back to one or two buds on each shoot.