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December 22, 2005 Hortiscope
Q: My mother and I have a lucky bamboo that was given to her a year ago. Since that time, I have changed the water and washed the stones before repotting the plant. The bamboo is in a clear glass container and we are trying to use pure water, rather than tap. The problem is that every week after the water has been changed, the plant or the water starts to stink. What is going on? Can I transplant the lucky bamboo to potting soil instead of using stones? (e-mail reference)
Q: Four years ago, I bought my daughter a "bulb in a box" at Christmas time. It turned out to be a calla lily. The plant came up, but didn't get very large and never bloomed. Since then, I've planted it in my garden. Each summer the calla lily grows larger, but never produces blooms. Why doesn't it bloom and how should I be storing it during the winter? I've been digging it up, repotting it, and moving it to a sunny window in the house until it’s time to plant it outdoors in the spring. (e-mail reference)
Q: I planted some very beautiful dahlias, but it is getting cold and I want to save them. What do I need to do to preserve my flowers? Do I have to dig up the bulbs? If so, how do I store them? (e-mail reference)
Q: My wife was having problems with deer eating various plants in her gardens. By chance, she tried cutting scented dryer sheets into strips about an inch wide and tying the strips on her plants. She has not had a problem with the deer since. It seems the deer don't like the smell and so they stay away. I thought you might want to pass this along to your readers to see if they have the same results. (e-mail reference)
Q: We have a dogwood bush that is approximately 8 years old and stands about 4 1/2 feet tall. I would like to move it to another location in our yard. What type of roots do dogwoods have, can they withstand being cut to be moved and how deep are the roots? (e-mail reference)
Q: Is it possible for dead corn stalks (used for decoration) to emit pollen? (e-mail reference)
Q: A couple of years ago we removed a pine tree next to the house. We did not replant for a year. Since then, we have planted hosta and snow on the mountain in this area, but they are very slow growing and seem dwarfed compared with other hosta and snow on the mountain planted nearby. Is the soil too acidic? How can we fix this? (Jamestown, N.D.)
Q: I subscribe to putting trees to bed wet in the winter but the Oct. 5 snowstorm carried things a bit too far. We have a beautiful Scotch pine in the back yard. The top third broke from the weight of the snow and wind. Will it recover and is there anything we should do to help it recover? As usual, we value your advice. You haven't steered me wrong yet. (Turtle Lake, N.D.)
Q: I enjoy reading your weekly columns. Several years ago, violets started growing in my yard. I sprayed them with 2,4-D. The violets were not deterred, so I sprayed them with Trimex with about the same result. Then I sent for Confront, which eventually may kill them, but it takes time. The company recommends spraying Confront in late summer or early fall. I did this, but noted that the violets already had sent up seed heads. I noted that each seed head had about 60 seeds and about 30 percent had already set seed. With hundreds of seed heads in my yard, I had thousands of seeds dispersed this year, so spraying violets in late summer is not going to reduce the number because they seed before they die. Is there another solution to eliminating violets? Several years ago, I wrote you and indicated that my spruce limbs were drying and dying on the northwest side of the trees. This is not spider mites or any other insect that I can see. The limbs continue to suffer and I have friends with limbs succumbing also predominantly on the northwest side of the trees. Do you have any idea what the problem might be? (e-mail reference)
Q: I heard through a friend of a florist that jade plants affect the immune system and that households with young children should not have these plants in the house. Is there any truth to this? (e-mail reference)
Q: I want to thin out some iris bulbs and transplant them to a different location. What is the proper procedure for dividing bulbs? (e-mail reference)
Q: I need your advice on what fertilizers I should use for my rose and lilac bushes. I planted them in July. I am going to mulch them before winter sets in and I wasn't sure if I should give them some food before I put the mulch down. (e-mail reference)
Q: I have several variegated dogwood shrubs that I cut back about every three years. I have done it in the fall. Is it better to do it in the spring? (e-mail reference)
Q: My father-in-law is an incredible gardener. Year after year he grows beautiful, tasty, juicy tomatoes. He keeps seeds from the year before to plant the next year. This year his crop of tomatoes looked amazing. The plants were healthy, they flowered, tomatoes appeared and grew to amazing sizes, but they did not fully ripen. Most of the tomatoes stayed green. He didn't do anything differently from other years. We have looked high and low on the Internet for an answer, but could not find one. (e-mail reference)
Q: I have an English ivy plant that has been doing very well, but suddenly the vines started drying out from the bottom up. The leaves are turning brown and withering. I've fertilized it, but that isn't helping. Do I need to repot it? It's also in a window that, with the change in weather, has gotten quite a bit colder. (e-mail reference)
Q: I happened upon your Web site and am wondering if you could tell me how to transplant my staghorn. It weighs about 250 pounds. The basket I started it in is rusty and basically gone. I don't want to hurt it. (e-mail reference)
Q: I purchased a valiant grape plant this spring. I asked the garden center about the beta grape because I would like to plant one or two of those along with the valiant. Because the garden center did not know anything about the beta, I gave them your name as a source of information. I hope that they will do that because I plan to go back this spring to purchase the beta. The climbing area is 8 or 10 feet long and equally as high. It appears that three plants (including the valiant I already have) would be appropriate for that space, judging by the size the valiant got to the first year. Does my thinking seem reasonable? Will beta and valiant plants get along in the space I will provide? Can you please send me any information you have on how to care for my grape plants and any information on how to process the grapes into jams, juice or wine? (Osnabrock, N.D.)
### Source: Ron
Smith, (701) 231-8161, ronsmith@ndsuext.nodak.edu |
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North Dakota State University |
