|
March
10, 2005
Hortiscope
Ronald C.
Smith, Horticulturist
NDSU Extension Service
Q: I have a client
looking for a shrub that is deer resistant. The shrubs will be used as
a snow fence located next to conservation reserve program land and a river.
I’ve seen deer devour evergreen trees in my client’s front
yard. The wildlife service has spread blood meal, but it hasn’t
stopped the deer. (e-mail reference)
A: Deer are tough
to control when they get a “herd mentality” and there are
no other sources of food, but I never have seen them eat spruce or juniper
trees. Your client could plant hedge maples, which are deer resistant.
These suggestions may or may not work entirely, so your client also
may want to consider using Thiram on woody plants because of its good
efficacy. Liquid Fence, Deer-Away, Deer-Off, Chew Not and Deer-Busters
are a few other products available. There are concoctions of human hair,
rotten eggs, smelly soap, etc. Some people swear by them, while others
swear at them for not working. At a seminar, they discussed how a low-voltage,
electrified fence set at a 45-degree angle to the surrounding planting
works best. They used multiple wires at staggered distances. The combination
of the slight shock, the angle and the varied wire spacing are too much
for the deer to get through. Hopefully, some of these ideas or a combination
will do the trick.
Q: I am looking for
information on how to keep common lilacs from spreading. We are concerned
about them spreading to our neighbor’s yard. Can we dig up the suckers
or would mowing over them be enough to control them on the neighbor’s
side? (e-mail reference)
A: There are barriers
that go down 6 inches or more that should keep the lilacs from spreading
to your neighbor’s yard. The barrier could be a poly-based material,
steel edging or copper screening. There are many products on the market.
Mowing only will exacerbate the suckering once it begins, not quell
it. You can tell your neighbors to get some Sucker Stopper RTU to spray
on the growing tips as they come up. This might drive them crazy and
destroy a good relationship. The product also is very expensive.
Q: I read your advice
on using Vantage in a hedge to eliminate grass. Where can I buy it? I
appreciate your column very much. (Hatton, N.D.)
A: Vantage (AI.
Sethoxyclim) should be readily available at any farm supply store that
sells herbicides. It is used as a post-emergent material to control
annual and perennial grasses selectively. Check local sources that sell
garden supply products. They also may have the product.
Thank you for the very kind words about the column.
Q: During recent construction,
a backhoe scraped and scared my beautiful oak tree. I have heard several
opinions about what I needed to do to save the tree. The scrape is about
18 by 10 inches and just affects the bark. (e-mail reference)
A: If the damage
doesn’t girdle the trunk, the tree likely will survive. Take a
sharp pruning knife and clean up the wounded area. Cut off all the remaining
loose bark. Don’t apply a wound dressing because it inhibits further
healing.
Q: I was rather baffled
by your recent reference that amaryllis is an aggravating plant. I have
had an amaryllis for more than 20 years and never have had a season that
it didn’t bloom. After the last frost, I set it outside in an area
where it gets half-day sun. I water it regularly, but do not fertilize.
Prior to first frost in the fall, I bring it inside and keep it in a cool,
dark closet. I bring it out after six to eight weeks and a few weeks later
it produces the blossom stems. The plant has produced many offsets. When
the plant gets too large for the pot, I dig it up and break off the offsets.
I put the offsets in pots and give them away. One year I forgot about
the plant and didn’t bring it out of storage until late June. It
had beautiful blossoms in July! I find amaryllis to be extremely dependable
and easy to grow. (e-mail reference)
A: Thanks for sharing
your amaryllis success story! I’m glad that you have had such
good fortune for so many years. Your techniques will be passed on to
the readers of this column. Perhaps I then will get fewer inquiries
as to why their plant failed to produce a flowering stalk.
Q: I had a gardener
call about applying Miracle-Gro potting soil on his garden. (e-mail reference)
A: If the plot is
small, it certainly will not hurt adding Miracle-Gro or any other potting
soil for that matter. If he has a large area, then he might find the
cost a little too outrageous. There is an advantage to using potting
soil. It is sterilized or pasteurized, so it won’t make any weed,
insect or disease contribution to the area. He might find sphagnum peat
moss to be a little more economical and just about as effective at correcting
his soil problem.
Q: I need help choosing
plants that will thrive under a large maple tree. The roots of the tree
extend above the soil surface. Last winter the deer ate the lamium that
was growing in the area. I did not have any success replanting the lamium
last summer. My assumption is that the area needs additional soil. I am
concerned about killing the tree by loading on more dirt. (Fargo, N.D.)
A: A couple of inches
of good, sandy loam over the roots will not hurt anything. Add enough
dirt to make a decent shallow planting area under the tree. Deer repellents
abound in our area of the state, but it takes a mix of repellents to
work at deterring these persistent pests. Dried blood, smelly soap,
human hair, predator urine, blinking and rotating lights, and hot pepper
spray are a few of the products available. Visit your local garden supply
outlet to see the broad selection available. Daffodils usually are left
alone by the bunny population because of the plant's poisonous nature,
so I’m assuming that the deer are at least that smart. You also
could try putting out feed stations for the deer to keep them from your
ornamentals. Fencing is another solution, but that doesn’t sound
like an option in your case.
Q: I’m looking
for information about white and variegated jade plants. My mother has
two variegated and one completely white jade plant. We are curious as
to the rarity and causes of such strains. (e-mail reference)
A: These jade plants
are the propagation “dreams come true” of jade specialists.
The white one is probably Crassula aroborescens arborescens, also known
as the silver dollar jade. They are rare and generally need more light
than the more common C. argentia. Such anomalies are often the result
of chimeral formations in the somatic tissue of the plant. The observant
propagator will catch these and begin an asexual propagation schedule
to build up inventory. This can be done with tissue culture or, if enough
material is available, through leaf or stem cuttings. They are usually
very limited in availability.
Q: I have a client
who would like to start grape cuttings (indoors). When is the best time
to do this? (e-mail reference)
A: It depends on
whether or not your client has cold storage capabilities. If not, then
wait until the cuttings can be set directly outdoors early this spring.
If cold storage exists, then anytime should be acceptable. Assuming
not too many are going to be taken, here is a routine that can be followed
to have fair success in getting them to root. First, callus tissue must
form before the cuttings can root and before they can be placed outside.
Make sure there are at least three nodes per cutting. Stand the cuttings
in water for several hours or overnight to allow them to imbibe as much
as possible. Dip the cuttings in a medium-strength rooting hormone.
Dip the cuttings for about five seconds if using something such as Dip’n’Grow.
Then dip the cuttings in powdered endomycorrhizal fungi. Fill a 6-inch
tall plastic or open-bottomed paper pot with light potting soil or a
mix of perlite and peat (3-1 mix). Set the pots in a flat and place
the flat on a heat mat. Be sure the bottoms are within an inch of the
heated area, tamp in lightly and water it well. Keep the flat in a cool
area and out of direct sunlight. The sun isn’t needed until the
buds break. Keep the soil moist, but water as little as possible. Water
cools the root zone and slows root formation. It will take two to four
weeks for the cuttings to root. When rooting takes place, they can be
moved to larger pots, which are usually gallon containers or directly
set out in a permanent location. This information was gleaned from the
book “The Grape Grower - A Guide to Organic Viticulture”
by Lon Rombough.
Q: I received a vase
of tulips and want to know how to keep them alive as long as I can. I
keep finding material about treated and planted tulips, but mine are cut.
(e-mail reference)
A: Tulips as cut
flowers are very short-lived. You can help extend their beauty by changing
the water often (daily), making fresh cuts on the stems and keeping
them in a cool location out of the sun. When they are not going to be
viewed, put them in the refrigerator to help extend their beauty.
Q: I would like to
propagate a large number of caragana trees from cuttings. What method
should I use? In addition, is it possible to propagate Russian olive trees?
(e-mail reference)
A: With caragana,
cuttings taken in May and June will root at an 80 percent rate if treated
with a rooting hormone. Russian olive trees do not root well. Seeding
is the preferred method of propagation. Stratify the seed for 60 to
90 days at about 40 degrees.
Q: I have a croton
plant that I had to repot. Now all the leaves are falling off. What is
wrong with it? It was all in one pot, but I separated it into three. Should
I not have done that? (e-mail reference)
A: Don’t panic.
The leaves probably will grow back in a few weeks. These plants often
“pout” when they are separated and repotted. Give the plant
its normal care. Do not fertilize, and follow your normal watering regime.
New leaves should begin emerging in two to four weeks.
Q: I just bought a
beautiful little schefflera. I would like to take it to my workplace,
but I don’t have windows. I have a pleasant, open cubicle with a
lot of overhead fluorescent light. Is that considered low, medium or bright,
indirect light? I also would like to bring some ivy to my workplace, but
I’m afraid that it needs natural light from a window. I have thriving
pilea (aluminum plant, I think) that I’ve had at work for a few
months. Should I get a plant spotlight for the umbrella plant or the ivy?
I’ve looked at sites on the Web, but can’t seem to get an
idea of what constitutes the different levels of light and how fluorescent
office lights fit in.
A: Very good question.
Thanks for asking it! Fluorescent lighting does a very good job of helping
sustain our affection for houseplants. Proper lighting for indoor plants
is best described as the product of intensity and duration. What this
means is that the welfare of the plants is dependent upon not just the
intensity of the light during the lighting period, but also the length
of that lighting period. Tied in is the regularity of the lighting period.
Lighting should not be sporadic. The age of the lighting units and the
distance from the light source the plants are placed need to be considered.
Plants will benefit if the lights are changed once a year and the plants
are placed as close to the light energy source as practical. All of
this said, offices typically make good locations for houseplants. In
our office complex, we have a variety of houseplants growing. The plants
range from Norfolk Island pines, all kinds of ivies, Christmas cactus
and dracaena schefflera. With our fluorescent lighting system (the bulbs
are changed only when they burn out), the plants get about 150 to 200
foot-candles of light. This is considered moderate lighting directly
under the lights and at desktop level. The light fades to low light
if the plant is stuck in a corner away from the lights. The foot-candles
drop to 100 or less in the corner. Our lights burn from 7:30 a.m. to
5 p.m. five days a week and sometimes on weekends. All of the plants
appear to be thriving. In a nutshell, with all of this background information
being fed to you, any of the plants you are considering for your office
should do well. Thanks for being a faithful reader of the Web site and
for asking a good question. Nice to answer something different for a
change!
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
Editor: Rich Mattern, (701) 231-6136, richard.mattern@ndsu.nodak.edu
|
