NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665
April 20, 2000
Ron Smith, Extension Horticulturist
North Dakota State University
Q: Does a person need to have more than one African Violet plant in order for them to bloom? Killdeer, N.D., e-mail)
A: No, two are not need to produce a bloom, but two blooming together are twice as attractive! Time and patience are the primary ingredients, along with ample light and nutrition. Use African Violet fertilizer to help stimulate blooming.
Q: For some time now I have been trying to grow oak trees from the seeds they drop. Is there some secret that I don't know? (Pollock, S.D.)
A: Acorns can be mined by weevils quite frequently. Generally, this mining is determined by a "float test," whereby the mined ones will float to the top in a pail of water while the sound ones will sink.
Also, acorns need an overwintering or cooling treatment. What often happens is the acorns are collected, checked out for soundness and then planted. Squirrels or other nut-eating critters in the area find them. I've seen it happen many times.
There are two basic categories of oaks: the white oak group with rounded leaf edges and the red oak group with the pointed leaves. The white oak group will germinate readily if they are sound, once they have dropped to the ground; the red oak group needs cold stratification for 90 days, generally, at a temperature of between 32 F and 41 F.
If you are successful in collecting some sound acorns from the ground next fall, sow them in rows about 1 foot apart and cover with about 1 inch of firmed soil. Mulch the planting with leaves and hold them in place with hardware cloth, which also will keep the rodents at bay. After spring frosts are past, remove the mulch and the hardware cloth.
Q: Please advise what is wrong with our raspberry plants. We planted these in the spring of 1998, and in 1999 we had a lot of bushes, a lot of blossoms and lot of bees to pollinate but berries never formed. What did we do wrong or what should we be doing now? We have pruned them this year to only new canes. They were fertilized with 10-10-10 and watered a lot. (Milbank, S.D., e-mail)
A: I have no idea what you did wrong, as everything you said sounds OK to me. Raspberries are usually quite easy to grow productively. I would say just be patient and see what this year brings. You should get some fruit, unless the variety you selected is not hardy in your area or the blooms were killed by a late frost. If you have a fruit failure again this year, send me a small sample and I'll see if I can spot something.
Q: I have had an iceplant (that's what I call it anyway) for 30 years, and its leaves have always been small. Recently, I went to a friend's house who has the same plant, and hers had large leaves. I asked here what she was doing to it, and she said she watered it with coffee. Now I water mine with coffee--not all the time--but the leaves are getting bigger too. Why? (Orient, S.D., e-mail)
A: Coffee "wakes" a plant up to many new avenues of life! Coffee, as you know, is a complex liquid, which also has an acid pH. Although there's no controlled research to prove it, I suspect that the acidifying effect the coffee is having on your soil's pH helps to release some of the nutrients that would otherwise be unavailable. There are likely many other growth-stimulating compounds in coffee as well, but I think the acid pH is the biggest help in our high pH soils and water.
Q: What happens if a blue spruce is sprayed with dormant oil? (Long Island, N.Y., e-mail)
A: The oil sprays will cause the Colorado blue spruce to lose its color, but the oils will not be phytotoxic to the tree--but that's assuming the temperature at the time of application was between 40 F and 90 F.
Q: Have you ever heard of driving nails in apple trees to get them to produce? (Bemidji, Minn.)
A: Yes, driving nails into trees is a form of stimulation to get them bearing fruit.
Q: I would like to know how to get avocado pits to grow. Can you help me on this? (Watertown, S.D.)
A: Avocado pits grow easily into nice houseplants. Using African Violet or similar potting soil, immerse the pit halfway into the soil with the pointed end sticking out. Keep moist, and in about six weeks you should see new growth starting. These plants generally have a lifetime of two to three years before most people dump them.
Q: Do you know what is the best way to get rid of grape hyacinth in a lawn? (e-mail)
A: Mow `em down to keep them from making the all important photosynthates for growth and survival. Or, if you choose to use a 2,4-D type herbicide, you will need to add a wetting agent because the foliage doesn't soak up herbicides too well.
Q: I've seen "Lemon Grass" advertised for a mosquito repellent. Does it really work? Also, is it a perennial? (Davenport, N.D.)
A: The essential oil of lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratur) along with other citrus-scented lotions have a short-term repellent effect on mosquitos. The plant itself does not, to any significant degree, have a repellent effect. It is annual up here, perennial in Texas, New Mexico and other such balmy places (zones 7 to 9).
Q: I have been reading your Web page in order to find a tree that would do well in our area--Denver. The local tree farm recommends the Spring Snow Crabapple, but after reading your information on crabapple trees, I am not sure if it is disease tolerant. Would you recommend this tree for our climate? I would like to obtain a tree which is not disease prone, does not need too much water, and grows in kind of an oval shape. Other choices I have looked at are the Canada Red Cherry and the Newport Plum, but they too seem to be prone to disease. (Denver, Colo., e-mail)
A: Spring Snow crabapple is rated in our trials as having good disease resistance. It bears no fruit and is oval to round in shape. Other highly recommended crabapples that you may want to consider are the following: Centurian, Donald Wyman, Indian Magic, Indian Summer, Prairiefire, Red Splendor and Thunderchild. All are fruit bearing, and all are rated as excellent to good with respect to disease resistance. Our trials are carried on all across North Dakota. I don't know of any reason why they shouldn't do as well in your area of Colorado.
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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