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March
16, 2006
Hortiscope
Ronald C.
Smith, Horticulturist
NDSU Extension Service
Q: I will be moving
into a new house in May. Can I move my plum tree without destroying it
or should I leave it and plant a new tree? The tree is two years old.
(e-mail reference)
A: You can move
it or plant a new tree, but it is always best to leave a tree in a location
where it is doing well instead of moving it to a location that may be
in question. Since you have not invested a great deal of time, money
and loving care in the tree, it would be better for you to purchase
a tree for your new location.
Q: I just purchased
some wooded land and would like to get a raspberry patch going. A friend
has some on his property and offered to give me some. Can I cut slips
or do I need to dig up entire plants? (e-mail reference)
A: You can go either
way. Generally, it is a better idea to dig up suckers from around the
base of healthy plants. With raspberries and strawberries, viruses are
transmitted through insect feeding activity, which often results in
a gradual decline of fruit productivity. Digging the new sucker growth
is a way of getting ahead of the virus migration in the plant, which
could exist in the older cane cuttings that also could be used for transplanting.
Q: I live in northwestern
Montana and have a few Colorado spruce trees. The tops on some of the
trees have died. I took my fingernail and peeled the bark and found little
white grubs or worms. Do you know what the grubs are and what I can do
to get rid of them? (e-mail reference)
A: They sound like
the larval stage of the white pine weevil or the pine shoot moth. There
should be some small holes that the adults emerge through. Cut off and
destroy (literally burn them!) all the parts of the tree that are infested.
Check with the Montana Extension Service in your county to see what
insecticides it recommends for controlling the adult female. There may
be pheromone traps available for this species. Once the spruce trees
get more than 15 feet tall, this pest usually becomes less of a problem.
Possibly avoiding a monoculture is one of the ways to foil their activity
in the future. We have the same overplanting problem in North Dakota.
Q: I bought a potted
calla lily a few weeks ago. When I purchased it, it had two blooms and
two more coming. Since getting it home, all four blooms have died. I understand
that those in full bloom were bound to die at some point, but I’m
concerned that the two that were about to go into full bloom died. Also,
the leaves are turning brown at the tips. What are your thoughts on what's
happening? (e-mail reference)
A: Something is
wrong with your water source is my best guess. The brown tips are from
excess salts of some kind, such as sodium, fluoride or chlorine, that
are causing this decline. If you can, switch to distilled water for
a while or at least use 50 percent distilled water. This will not cure
the foliage that is already damaged, but it should stop the damage from
continuing. Given enough energy accumulation, the plant should rebloom
within a year.
Q: I am about to acquire
two jade trees. Are jade trees poisonous to animals? I have two cats.
It will be impossible to keep the cats away from the plants even though
they have their own cat grass. (e-mail reference)
A: It is not listed
as toxic to animals or humans, but that doesn't mean that your cats
wouldn't have some reaction to consuming some of the leaves. Depending
who had the plants before you got them, there could be pesticide residue
in the soil or foliage, which could have a negative impact on the cats.
Try keeping the cats away from the plant by spraying the plant with
a vinegar solution.
Q: I was given some
blackberry plants. Should I grow them away from my red raspberries? Do
they ramble or grow upright? How do I control them or cut them back? (Pelican
Rapids, Minn.)
A: Grow the blackberries
away from the red raspberries. Blackberries, at least the type I believe
you have, grow upright. Blackberries and raspberries bear primocanes
the first year. The second year the primocanes become floricanes, which
bear the fruit and then die. You want to care for the blackberries much
the same way you would raspberries, by removing the fruit-bearing canes
in the fall and tipping out the fruit-bearing canes in the spring before
new growth begins. Cut them back to about 36 to 40 inches.
Q: I have a ficus
tree with a braided trunk. Ever since I brought it home it has dropped
leaves and not flourished. The ficus has now stopped dropping leaves,
but the leaves still are shriveling. There is new growth at the lower
part of the trunk, but the top is dying. I have cut off many dead branches,
but nothing helps to get the top back to life. Help! (e-mail reference)
A: Most ficus trees
are given preferential care in the greenhouse, nursery or flower shop.
The homeowner unwittingly brings a ficus home into a 10 percent to 15
percent relative humidity environment, doesn't mist to compensate, fails
to pour off the excess water in the saucer, waters with cold tap water
or doesn’t give the plant enough water. The plant drops leaves
in response, with crown thinning or dieback taking place. Many houseplants
are at their low ebb at the end of the winter months. Most will begin
showing new growth as daylight increases and the use of centralized,
indoor heating decreases. All you can do is cut out the dead, woody
tissue. Encourage and nurture anything that shows life with tender,
loving care. Mist with distilled water and lightly fertilize as new
growth commences. When summer sets in, move the ficus outdoors for several
weeks to a protected location to give it a shot of energy before moving
it back inside.
Q: I need a new sprinkling
system this spring and should have my lawn aerated. Which option should
come first? I am getting conflicting answers. (e-mail reference)
A: It makes little
difference what you do first, but you need to flag the sprinkler heads
before aeration to prevent damage. If this is too bothersome to take
into account, aerate first and then install the irrigation system. The
pipe is usually 8 to 12 inches deep, while most aeration machines go
3 to 4 inches deep, so hitting the pipe should not be a concern. With
an installed sprinkler system, you can have your lawn aerated any time
of the year the soil isn't frozen and not worry about the turf recovering
from aeration stress during the heat of summer. The irrigation system
can be installed as soon as the frost is out of the soil and the turfgrass
is dormant. Aeration should take place while the turf is in active growth
until about 30 days before freeze-up.
Q: My baby spider
plants have grown a thick, white. I guess they are called roots, but look
more like a small bulb. What are these called? I removed some from each
plant and put them in a good potting mix. Will this produce more plants?
I hope you understand what I'm talking about. (e-mail reference)
A: These are water
storage organs the plants sometimes develop. It is very likely that
no new plant will emerge from what you planted, but I've been wrong
before and it wouldn't hurt to be wrong on this!
Q: I allowed my calla
lily to go dormant. It is sprouting new leaves, but no flowers. Should
the flowers have come up and bloomed first? (e-mail reference)
A: Not necessarily.
Flowers will be produced when conditions are right within the plant
and its environment. Have patience.
Q: I received a large
peace lily at my grandfather's funeral. After reading through most of
the questions on the Web site, I think the plant wants to have a rest
period, but I'm not positive. It produced two flowers. One flower has
been cut off, but the other hasn't opened. The leaves are the same color
as they were the day we brought it home, but they're very droopy. The
stalks are strong, but at the point where the leaf opens up from the stalk,
it falls over and the bends in the stalk are light green. A few of the
stalks are almost white. I've been watering it about twice a week and
fertilizing once a week. I usually mist it once a day. What am I doing
wrong? Do I need to let the plant rest? (e-mail reference)
A: Most likely the
plant is a little weak from insufficient light. After the second bloom
opens and fades, dry the plant down and keep the plant dry for about
eight weeks to two months. Then repot the plant and start watering again.
Q: I had a lady call
and ask if she could use seed from a gypsy hybrid white pepper plant that
she grew last year for this year’s seed. She said she saved some
peppers and collected the seeds. She planted a few to see if they would
germinate this winter and they all sprouted. Will they produce if she
uses the seed from last year’s peppers? She said the seed is so
expensive. She also questioned how companies produce hybrid seed. (e-mail
reference)
A: Taking the seed
from a hybrid fruit will show her what the parental makeup of that hybrid
is. Whether the plants will produce fruit is anybody's guess, but they
will not be the same as last year’s in any case. Hybrids are made
by hand-crossing the pollen from one plant to the female (pistillate)
part of another plant. This is delicate work with lots of unknowns as
far as results go. The requirements are very exacting and there has
to be flawless recordkeeping. Once the crosses result in something attractive,
productive and nourishing, sufficient seed stock from the right crosses
has to be built up to make it available to the public. That is why hybrid
seed costs more.
Q: We will start building
a new house as soon as the ground dries. We received new, small lilac
plants (really root balls the size of a fist) as a gift. Can we plant
them in pots until we know exactly where we want them or are we better
off making our best guess and hoping they aren't disturbed during the
construction process? (e-mail reference)
A: Move them to
containers and keep them as far away from the construction process as
possible!
Q: How can I tell
whether the lilac starts I have are from trees or bushes? Some of these
starts were from shoots around a tree and others are from old bushes that
were neglected and overgrown. Can I prune a bush into a tree by cutting
the shoots at ground level or is this a bush that should remain a bush?
(e-mail reference)
A: Common lilacs
are considered large shrubs, but sometimes are referred to as small
trees. It depends on how the lilacs are pruned. Generally, the more
common parlance is a large shrub. Either way, the flowers are beautiful
and fragrant!
Q: What is your opinion
on mycorrhizae and products that claim that they can increase the success
rate for transplanting trees? Have you done studies on these products?
I plan to put bareroot stock in containers and have been looking for a
soil mix recipe. Do you have that information or can you steer me in the
right direction? (e-mail reference)
A: Unless the plants
are going into a sterilized media completely, save your money. While
the products will not hurt anything, we have not seen any evidence of
these products making a difference. Cornell and the University of California
have standardized formulations that are soilless. The one I like better
has some soil in it and is considered a classic organic soil mix. The
mixture has one-third mature, screened compost or leaf mold, one-third
garden topsoil and one-third sharp sand. This mix results in a potting
soil that is heavier than modern peat mixes, but has good drainage.
Compost has been shown to promote a healthy soil mix that can reduce
root diseases. Perlite can be used instead of sand. Organic fertilizer
can be added to this base. If perlite is used, understand that over
time, it tends to separate and migrate to the surface. With sand, make
sure it is sharp or coarse, not fine.
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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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