Submitted by: agcomm,  Thu May  1 11:10:49 1997


HORTISCOPE
 Ron Smith, Extension Horticulturist
 North Dakota State University
 
Q.   Read your Hortiscope and find lots of helpful answers.
     I have a beautiful Easter lily. Can you save them for
     next year? 
     Thanks for any help you can give me. (Lehr, N.D.)
 
A.   Thanks for writing. Easter lilies are pretty tough
     customers and will grow nicely outdoors in North Dakota.
     I would suggest setting it out after the last frost, in
     the same container, in a sunny location. Then, as fall
     approaches, you can allow the plant to go through
     vernalization or low-temperature bud initiation. You will
     need to cover the plant with straw or boughs to prevent
     freezing at night and reheating during the day. If you
     can keep it outdoors for 4 to 6 weeks after the first
     frost, it will flower in about 109 to 123 days. If you
     want to shorten the flowering time, then move the bulb to
     a place (e.g. cold frame) where you can keep it from
     freezing for 10 weeks and it will flower in about 100
     days.
 
     It will be difficult to time the blooming to occur at
     Easter.
 
Q.   What do you recommend for lilacs to avoid mildew? The
     disease seems to affect the plants which have been
     trimmed.
 
     I have been letting the vines crawl along the ground next
     to the house for the past 5 years. Last year the leaves
     turned brown and curly. What can be done to avoid this
     unsightly problem? 
 
     Thank you for your article. (Esmond, N.D.)
 
A.   The mildew you see on the lilacs during late summer is
     not lethal to the plant. The likely reason it goes after
     the trimmed bushes is because of the more current, tender
     growth. It is not worth the expense of fungicide
     applications for control.
 
     I am sorry, but I don't know what vine you are making
     reference to. I would need to see a sample to attempt a
     solution to the problem.
 
Q.   This winter the snow blew into our 4-year-old
     shelterbelt, leaving just the top 1 to 2 feet of green
     ash branches exposed. The deer have fed on the tips of
     these trees. Will this cause permanent damage? Is there
     anything we should do to the trees? Is there anything we
     could have done to prevent the deer from eating the
     branches? Thanks for any help you can provide. (Tolna,
     N.D.)
 
A.   Simply prune the damaged branches back to a lateral bud
     or branch.
 
     When the deer population goes through what it did this
     past winter, I don't think there is much you can do to
     prevent them from damaging plant material.
 
     The typical tricks of human hair, bars of scented soap,
     etc., work for occasional grazers. When deer are starving
     and moving in herds, their feeding frenzy is second only
     to grasshoppers'.
 
Do you have a gardening or houseplant question? Write to
Hortiscope, Box 5051, NDSU Extension Service, Fargo, ND 58105.
 
NDSU Agriculture Communication
Barry Brissman
Departmental Editor
(701) 231-7866
Smith: (701) 231-8161