511 - Saving drought-hit plants, the wildlife wonder of apples, more bulb inspiration

511 - Saving drought-hit plants, the wildlife wonder of apples, more bulb inspiration

From Gardening with the RHS by Royal Horticultural Society

September 10, 2026 · 33 min

About this episode

The episode discusses saving drought-hit plants, the significance of apples in wildlife, and features a bulb of the week.

Is it dead? Or is it just sulking? That’s what many listeners will be wondering after returning from their summer holidays to find many plants exhausted by hot and dry weather. Horticultural advisor Nick Turrell provides a dose of reality – and some much-needed hope – when it comes to saving, or binning, the hardest-hit perennials. Presenter Gareth Richards speaks to RHS science editor Olivia Drake about this month’s Wildlife Wonder plant - apples! There’s more to this popular fruit than meets the eye. September is the month for bulbs, and RHS Wisley’s James McDonnell offers his pick for the next instalment of our Bulb of the Week series - Ipheion. Plus, we answer some of your gardening questions. Host: Gareth Richards Producer: Dan Cocker Contributors: Nick Turrell, Olivia Drake, James McDonnell, Melissa Mabbitt Links: RHS Climate Change Survey  RHS Ipheion trials  Wildlife Wonder plant: Apple Send your questions to podcasts@rhs.org.uk

People in this episode

Host: Gareth Richards

Guests: Nick Turrell, Olivia Drake, James McDonnell

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Royal Horticultural Society

Products: Ipheion, apples

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