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May
5, 2005
Hortiscope
Ronald C.
Smith, Horticulturist
NDSU Extension Service
Q: I have a small,
flowering weed that grows around my LP tank. I kill it every year, but
it keeps returning. It also is spreading out. Can you tell me what this
weed is and how to get rid of it? (e-mail reference)
A: I need more information
than you provided. Obviously you are not killing it, just burning back
the vegetative growth or allowing it to go to seed. The seedlings are
what you see coming up. For proper weed identification, we need the
weed’s geographical location, a photo or description of the foliage,
time of year it appears and when it flowers.
Q: I have a philodendron
that I recently transplanted. I’ve done it before without problems.
Now the leaves are turning in and becoming a bright yellow. The soil seems
dry, but I am afraid to water it because the symptoms are signs of overwatering.
I cut off three leaves and now there are three more I need to cut. Do
I keep cutting them off? (e-mail reference)
A: First, a mild
scolding to you and others who choose to correspond with me. If you
don’t put something related to the e-mail message in the subject
heading, you stand a very good chance of being dumped along with the
overwhelming spam that floods my address. Is the pot free- draining?
Underwatering and overwatering can have the same symptoms. In addition,
anaerobic conditions from having a nonfree-draining container can result
in the same symptoms. You didn’t indicate if you set the plant
back in the same location. Some plants are very sensitive to having
their location moved and will respond with leaf discoloration and drop.
I’d suggest you go to the following Web site for information on
houseplants:
www.ext.nodak.edu/extpubs/plantsci/landscap/h1123w.htm.
You also might want to check another publication on houseplants at www.ext.nodak.edu/extpubs/plantsci/landscap/h1260w.htm.
I believe that some of the information in these publications will help
you discover the cause of your plant’s decline.
Q: Where can I get
a pre-emergent herbicide to control mustard and barnyard grass? When do
I apply it? Should the temperature be in a certain range before applying
this spring? We also need to seed our back yard. Last summer we sodded
the front and seeded the back. The sod is doing great, but the seeded
area needs a little help. The grass seed grew, but it is patchy. There
is a lot of black dirt still showing. We do not have an underground sprinkler
system. Because we don’t have many trees in our development (Eagle
Run), the wind is quite strong. I overseeded late last summer/early fall.
Some of the seed took, but we still need help. I rented a power rake to
loosen the soil before overseeding. It didn’t work well, but it
did remove some of the dead barnyard grass stalks that I killed. What
is the best way to overseed? Should we hire a professional? For my last
question, our neighbors moved into their house in December. They have
a dirt yard. Now that the snow is gone, a lot of silt from their dirt
is blowing on my lawn. Any suggestions on how to deal with the silt? It
is getting a few inches deep. Is there a way to keep the dirt from blowing
onto our lawn? I thought of using some silt fence material, such as the
black fabric that contractors use, but I have no idea where to get it.
(West Fargo, N.D.)
A: There is only
one pre-emergent herbicide that you can use. Siduron is the only one
on the market that allows for control of annual grasses without inhibiting
the desired cool-season grasses. It is not readily available in the
Fargo-Moorhead area, so I would suggest that you hire a competent local
contractor to make the application. Generally, the material is applied
around the time the lilacs begin to bloom. For silt control, the best
method is hydromulching using a tackifier. This nails the soil in place
and prevents wind and water erosion. Setting up a screen fence will
collect the silt in one place for later removal. The ultimate answer
is sodding the entire yard, which is expensive, but then you have an
instant lawn.
Q: I would like to
buy my sister an orchid and have it delivered to her house. What type
is the easiest to grow? I found a great Web site that sells orchids at
www.ontarioorchids.com/default.aspx.
(e-mail reference)
A: The classic beginner
orchid is the Phalaenopsis, which also is known as the moth orchid.
It is a member of the Dendrobium group. I’m sure she will enjoy
it!
Q: I was searching
the Web to find out how much to water a sanseveria. I cut some large leaves
off and was going to throw them away, but a co-worker took them and stuck
them in water to see what would happen. To my amazement, they rooted,
but it took awhile. We planted two babies in pots, but they’re not
doing much. I have accused my co-worker of overwatering. I cut off another
big leaf and stuck it in water and the new baby is growing past the container,
which is about 8 feet tall. So rooting this plant in water works extremely
well! (e-mail reference)
A: The cultural
practice that will kill this plant is overwatering, but can be used
in the pure form to root the plant by using a cutting. Strange, but
true. Thanks for letting me know about your success!
Q: I will be helping
my kids landscape a yard on Elmwood Avenue in Fargo. The homes in the
area are small and close together. The kids would like a couple of trees
between them and the neighboring house. What type of tree would have more
upright growth without spreading a lot? Your advice column is the first
thing I read every Friday. Keep up the great work! (Maddock, N.D.)
A: The Lombardy
poplar often is used for that purpose, but it is such a sorry excuse
for a tree that I should have my mouth washed out for even mentioning
it! One of my favorite trees from when I was living in Ohio is the spring
snow crabapple. It is more oval than upright, has nice white flowers
in the spring, but no messy fruit. It is hardy to Fargo, with an eventual
height of 20 or more feet and a spread of about 12 to 15 feet. If you
want to experiment, try the fastigiata ginkgo tree. This is an excellent
choice if horizontal space is limited. I don’t know what the eventual
horizontal spread is, but this is a fruitless male clone. The reason
I say experimental is because it is not “officially hardy”
in our state, but there are several growing in and around the city.
You probably will have to go to a nursery in South Dakota or the Twin
Cities to obtain it. A very hardy plant introduced by our own Dale Herman
here at NDSU is the prairie spire. It is rapid growing and narrow pyramidal
in form. Thank you for the very kind comments about the column. It is
supported by good questions from people like you!
Q: I have a question
regarding the safety of lawn chemicals and pets. We have had a lawn care
service do our lawn for several years. We just got a puppy and are concerned
about chemicals in the lawn. I am concerned even though the service calls
a day ahead to let us know when it will be spraying the lawn and says
it’s safe once the chemicals are dry. Are there any safe products
that you can recommend that we can apply for fertilizer and weed control?
(Moorhead, Minn.)
A: There are safe
products. The most notable is corn gluten meal, which is a herbicide
and a fertilizer, supplying 10 percent nitrogen. It is very expensive,
but effective. Your lawn care provider can order it for you or you can
go to Gardens Alive at www.gardensalive.com/.
I believe the product
it is promoting is the corn gluten meal developed by Iowa State University
scientist Nick Christians. You will find a whole selection of environmentally
friendly materials that you can use on your lawn, garden, flowers, trees
and shrubs on the Gardens Alive Web site. Generally, your lawn care
operator is right. Following proper procedure, what is applied is safe
for pets and people. Some folks want to go organic, which is fine, but
understand that the intent is to eliminate unwanted pests, weeds, insects
or diseases. To do that, something has to kill it. Anything that kills
one organism has the potential to be harmful to other organisms as well.
Q: I have a client
who is requesting information on poppy seeds that her grandmother grew.
The plants were grown in Wisconsin and the seeds were edible. Does anything
come to mind about this type of plant? (e-mail reference)
A: Grandmother was
growing opium poppy, which is used for edible purposes. Some still exist
on old farmsteads. It is kept secret because it is considered an illegal
plant. The growing of this poppy for food purposes is carefully controlled.
Q: I am looking for
a nice medium-sized plant that I can put in my bedroom. My bedroom gets
a good amount of sun. Do you have any recommendations? Any suggestions
on how to keep a bamboo plant healthy? (e-mail reference)
A: I can suggest
growing many different houseplants, but I would rather that you make
the decision. Go to www.ext.nodak.edu/extpubs/plantsci/landscap/h1123w.htm
or
www.ext.nodak.edu/extpubs/plantsci/landscap/h1260w.htm
for the information. Visit, download, read and enjoy!
Q: When do lilies
bloom, where do they grow and what type of climate do they need? (e-mail
reference)
A: This is like
asking when people named Sue get up in the morning, where they live
and what their favorite temperature is! The lily family (Liliaceae)
is huge, with far too many to begin mentioning. Lilium, the generic
name for the lily, has more than 100 species that are native to the
temperate regions of Europe, Asia, North America and the tropical regions
of the Philippines. Botanically, lilies vary in growth habit, method
of reproduction and the shape, size and color of their flowers. Most
will flower in summer and most on the market today are hybrids. This
is the best answer I can give you based on what you asked. If you need
anything more specific, get back to me. I also would appreciate knowing
who is making the inquiry. Thank you!
Q: Is there a herbicide
treatment that can be used on potatoes in small plots to control weeds?
(e-mail reference)
A: About the only
thing I can suggest is “strawing” the potato pieces. The
seed pieces are placed on the soil surface and covered with 4 to 6 inches
of straw. The sprouts should emerge through the straw and weed growth
should be inhibited. Add more straw as the season progresses and the
plants continue to grow. This will keep the tubers cooler, the soil
moister, control weed growth and be easy to harvest. The straw is pulled
away carefully and the tubers harvested right from the soil surface.
This is an organic method of weed control and produces (usually!) prize
winning potato tubers.
Q: How will this cold
weather affect newly planted strawberries? In addition, I noticed many
of my fall raspberries were damaged after the temperature dropped into
the 20s the other night. Will they send out more plants if the first ones
froze off? Looking through my Master Gardening material, I couldn’t
find anything pertaining to cold temperatures. (e-mail reference)
A: Then it is an
oversight in the Master Gardening program, which I will correct this
fall. Thanks for pointing it out to me. Actually, strawberry plants
are tough, assuming you selected cultivars that are hardy for our region.
It is the blossoms that are tender. Thank goodness the plants haven’t
blossomed. If you can get some water on them or cover them during cold
nights, that will help protect developing buds.
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.
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Source: Ron
Smith, (701) 231-8161, ronsmith@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Rich Mattern, (701) 231-6136, richard.mattern@ndsu.nodak.edu
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