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August 12, 2004 Hortiscope
Q: We bought a house last summer that came with a lot of land. In the middle of about eight acres of grass is a small patch of what appears to be rhubarb. I am assuming it was there last summer, but it would have been mowed down. I love rhubarb and would like to move it elsewhere. Does it do better in the shade or full sun? Does it need dry or wet soil? (e-mail reference)
Q: I have a creeping hydrangea that has been trained to climb an iron lattice. It gets half-day sun. This is my third year without blooms. This spring it grew more vigorously, but still no flowers. Any advice? (e-mail reference)
Q: A lady in town is having a lot of trouble with a lawn that was hydroseeded last year. She has many bare spots and is looking for tips on how to get rid of these patches. The company that did the hydroseeding says it is her problem. Personally, I don't think she watered enough early on, but I'm not an expert. (Dickinson, N.D.)
Q: I have three flowering crabs, one white and two red. Last spring the white and one red were loaded with flowers, more than I’ve ever seen in the 15 years I’ve had them. When the flowering was done, I noticed they were really thin on leaves. This spring they were dead. The other red one is okay. They are in a row within 20 feet of each other. What happened? Also, my Dutch elm is loaded with what might be seeds. They are small, round, flat pieces. I’ve had the tree for 20 years, but have never seen it like this before. It, like the flowering crabs the year before, has very few leaves on it. My other elms seem to be fine. It’s almost like they spent all their energy on flowers and seeds. (Hartford, S.D.)
Q: We recently planted some flowers in our front yard. The bunnies love the petunias and some of the other flowers. Our local hardware store told me to sprinkle moth balls in the flower bed to keep the bunnies away. So far, it doesn't seem to be working. Also, we saw a grackle pick a moth ball and rub its feathers with it. Have you ever heard of this before and will the moth balls harm the grackle? What do you recommend to keep rabbits from devouring our flowers? I don't believe that trapping them will be effective because the neighborhood seems to be overrun with the fluffy critters! (e-mail reference)
Q: My maple tree is at least 18-years-old and appeared healthy until this spring. It leafed-out beautifully, but now its leaves are falling and there are black streaks on the bark. I don't see any bugs or worms on it. (e-mail reference)
Q: I had a young lady in with leaves from a schefflera plant. The underside had little bumps that resemble rust spots. Any suggestions? I also had a stop in with pepper plants that have been chewed off at ground level. The culprit did not eat the plants. I thought of rabbits, but they would eat the plants. Could the problem be pocket gophers? (Lisbon, N.D.)
Q: I had someone call saying he recently planted some blueberry bushes. The booklet that came with them recommends using aluminum sulfate to lower the soil ph. He can’t find aluminum sulfate around here, so he is wondering if doubling up on Miracid would do the trick. (Mandan, N.D.)
Q: Can you tell me where I can get a Queen Ann’s lace plant? (Jamestown, N.D.)
Q: Last summer my cotoneaster hedge became highly infected with fire blight. I waited until winter to cut it down to six inches above the ground. While there was new growth this spring, I decided to remove it completely. Do I need to remove any of the soil before planting a new hedge? The area gets two to three hours of sun a day. I am thinking of trying alpine currant. Should I stay with cotoneaster? Is there another hedge that would be better? (e-mail reference)
Q: I purchased two hydrangea hobella plants three years ago and planted them in front of my home. They get some morning sun. They flowered the first year, but haven’t since. The tag that came with the plants states that this plant is as hardy as other hydrangea macrophylla and can sustain temperatures to zero degrees. What can I do to get the plants to start flowering? Someone told me to prune them back, which I did this spring. After reading some of the advice you gave others, I don't think I should have! (e-mail reference)
Q: I have a potentella that looks terrible. Its mate died last year. Should I be pruning this bush in the fall or spring? There is no shape to it at all. It just grows all over the place and has a lot of exposed brown branches. (Fargo, N.D.)
Q: My neighbor just spot seeded his lawn with a tall fescue blend (Oregon origin). I was under the impression that tall fescue should not be grown in our area because of its contrasting coarse texture, color and clumping nature as compared to our blue grasses and fescues. I know tall fescues are used on football fields in the south, but do we want this seed sold in our area? I have fought this grass as a weed for many people and was surprised to see it being sold here. (e-mail reference)
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. Note to e-mail correspondents: please identify your location (city and state) for most accurate recommendations.
Source: Ron
Smith, (701) 231-8161, ronsmith@ndsuext.nodak.edu |
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