NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665

December 10, 1998

Hortiscope

Ron Smith, Extension Horticulturist
North Dakota State University

Q: I have two Swedish ivy plants that are blossoming with tiny white flowers on a sprig. They have never bloomed before, and nobody that I know has ever seen one bloom either. Is this normal? (Hecla, S.D.)

A: Whenever a foliage houseplant flowers, it is unusual. This is because the conditions we keep these plants in are not beneficial or conducive to the reproductive stages of growth. Hence, they remain vegetative. You apparently provided some conditions unwittingly to encourage the vine to flower.

Q: Where can I buy a Tea bush? Is any type adaptable to our South Dakota weather? (Belle Fourche, S.D.)

A: Likely from a nursery in South Carolina or Georgia. The tea plant is Camelia sinensis and is hardy in zones 6 and 7—the southeast region of the United States. I wish they were hardy in our area. They are beautiful evergreens where they are grown.

Q: What can we do to save our cotoneaster hedge? Most of the branches are very rough (scale?) and the leaves get discolored. Some of the leaves are light green like they are lacking nitrogen, while others are small and curled on the edges. (Sisseton, S.D.)

A: Good diagnosis! Your cotoneaster hedge has one of the heaviest infestations of oystershell scale I have ever seen. It may be too advanced to save the hedge, but here is what I would suggest. Cut the hedge to the ground early next spring before leaf out. Spray the stubs with dormant oil and lime sulfur. As new growth emerges over the following months, spray once a month with Orthene, a systemic insecticide that will control any new invaders! See if that works. If not, dig up and replace!

Q: After reading your column, I have discovered that many people are writing to you about cyclamen, and I would like to share with you some of my experience. I think that they are quite easy to propagate, and I have had a lot of luck in doing so. When they are through blooming I cut them back and set aside for about three months. I then bring them out and care for them in the usual way and they grow and blossom beautifully. The last one had such a large root bulb that I cut it in half and planted two plants. They are coming along nicely. I don't have a green thumb, so I think that anyone can care for cyclamen! (Carrington, N.D.)

A: Thank you for providing so much interesting information about cyclamen plant culture! I am pleased to have your experiences on file and available for our readers to enjoy. With your apparent good luck you should get into gardening more extensively!

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Do you have a gardening or houseplant question? Write to Hortiscope, Box 5051, NDSU Extension Service, Fargo, ND 58105 or e-mail to Ron Smith at ronsmith@ndsuext.nodak.edu.

Source: Ron Smith (701) 231-8161 ronsmith@ndsuext.nodak.edu

Editor: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136