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Question: Anne, I planted a Little Gem Magnolia about a month ago. It is now dying. Can I save it? I also have some Ioxora shrubs in the same flower bed surrounding the tree, however, they are thriving. I don't understand why this tree is dying. I also planted two trees before this one and they died. All of my other trees and shrubs are living. This particular Magnolia is in the middle of my front yard and the others are in flower beds around my house. I applied root stimulator and planted it in the same manner that I did all of my other trees and shrubbery. Every tree that I plant in that one spot dies. Can it be saved? Help. An amateur gardener.

Anne Clapp: If everything I planted in one area died I would have a soil test made to see if there is a problem with the soil. Contact your local cooperative extension office to see if they have a recommendation for getting a test done – or see if they can suggest other solutions.

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Question: I have a question about our burning bush. The leaves are turning brown and dying. I have not seen any signs of pests. I have been pruning out the dead parts. More shoots are coming up but I hate to lose the bush. Any ideas or suggestions?

Also the leaves on our pears trees are turning black. I read in one of your articles that it could me fire blight. Should I be concerned about our apple, peach and other pear trees?

Thank you, Louetta from Iowa

Anne Clapp: I would be concerned about fire blight on the apple and pear trees – but not the peach. You can tell fire blight damage by looking at the tips of the dead branches – they have a small curl in the tip of the stem – like the end of a shepherd's crook. The best treatment is to cut out the diseased limbs and next spring spray the plants with a streptomycin spray for plants. The peach tree should not have a problem with fireblight. Older limbs on burning bushes do lose leaves. It is good practice to cut out older stems at ground level and let new stems come from the base of the plant.

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Question: Anne, I heard you mention on the radio that small squash could be due to a lack of pollination. You recommended that the caller pollinate using a q-tip, but I didn't hear exactly how this should be done. Please guide me. Thank you! Kim M.

Anne Clapp: It is fairly easy to tell the male and female squash blossoms on a plant. If you look at the base of the bloom next to the stem you will notice that the female blooms have a very small squash at the base of the bloom. The male blooms do not. Use the Qtip to transfer the pollen from the inside of the male bloom to the inside of the female bloom.

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Question: Within the last month, on the WPTF Saturday morning radio show, you recommended a book about gardening in North Carolina. Your review stated that it was very complete for all areas and soil types of North Carolina. What were the title and author of the book? Would you think common booksellers such as Borders or Barnes and Noble would carry this book? Thanks! Deb

Anne Clapp: I think the book I was talking about was one written by Bob Polomski. I think it is still called Gardening in the Carolinas. The book is available at both Borders and Barnes and Noble. You might also look at the book by Toby Bost that is also available at both stores.

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Question: Hi. I asked Home Depot what to do with my plumbagos and lantanas they told me to trim them down and then fertilize them. I did that and now they look like they all died. What do I do with them? I e-mailed Home Depot to complain because I did exactly what they told me to do.

Anne Clapp: The information you get from a store such as Home Depot is only as good as the clerk that provided the information. Many of them have no training as horticulturists but some of their stores have people working in their gardening department that are good gardeners and do know a bit about the plants they are carrying. Your plumbago and lantana may put on new growth and provide some late season blooms if you keep them watered. Plumbago and Lantana can be cut back in the spring when the new growth first appears. Spent blooms can be removed and “gentle trimming” to remove unsightly growth can be done until August. After that time you don't want to remove plant material – even to clean it up in the fall. If the plant puts on new growth in late summer it may not have a chance to harden off before the first fall frost so the plant will be killed back. I have had the best luck with Lantana when I did not touch them with a pair of pruning shears from August until I see the first new green growth appearing in late spring.

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Question: Dear Anne, I have a couple of what were supposed to be Methley plum trees that I planted as saplings. For the past 3 years the larger of the two has had plenty of blossoms in the spring which turned into small green plums, but within a few weeks after emerging the immature plums begin to develop brown spots and fall from the tree. By early summer the plums are all gone and none has come near to ripening. I live in Eastern Tennessee on the east edge of the Cumberland Plateau. Is there something I can do early in to save the plums, or is the climate just too damp for them? The tree is on the edge of a rocky bank and has been competing with an elder shrub for space etc. The tree is now much taller, of course, but I have yet to remove the elder. Could the elder be part of the problem? If it is a climate issue, can you suggest a more suitable plum? I know there are native plums than can be found in the area. Thanks, Rick F.

Anne Clapp: Methley plums are a Japanese plum that is rated to grow in Zone 5-9. It should have no problem producing fruit in East Tennessee. It does need another plum for cross-pollination. Either Shiro or Redheart plums will cross-pollinate a Methley. I think the problems you describe are because there was not complete pollination of the blossom. It is one of the most heat and disease tolerant plums.

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Question: I bought a half dead looking Australian Tree Fern at Lowe's in Raleigh for $10 hoping I could revive it. I love all kinds of ferns. How should I trim it? Should I cut all the dead fronds off? Can I even grow it here or should I give it to my daughter in Florida? Thank you.

Anne Clapp: An Australian tree fern is probably not hardy outdoors in the Raleigh area. Cutting the dead fronds off will improve the appearance of the plant. It also helps prevent disease and insect problems. Repotting the plant and providing a little fertilizer usually helps the plant put on new growth. You may want to provide it with winter protection in an area that does not get below freezing if you decide to keep the plant.

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Question: Anne, What is the best time of year to transplant yuccas? Mine have become overgrown/crowded and I'd like to thin them out. How can best go about this? Thanks! Leslie

Anne Clapp: The best time to divide and transplant yuccas in the Raleigh area is in the spring as new growth starts to emerge. That allows the plant to have the maximum time to develop new roots before the first freeze of the year. You can transplant until about June1. Remember to wear a heavy long sleeve top and sturdy gloves when you work with the plants. They can be a bit uncomfortable.

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Question: Anne, Hope you can help me. Our crepe myrtle trees have this sticky oily substance on leaves, even dropping on other of our plants. It smells awful, what can we to about this and what is it? Thank you, Peggy from Mississippi

Anne Clapp: Welcome to the wonderful world of “honeydew” and sooty mold. White flies and aphids get on the leaves of crepe myrtles; they pierce the leaves to get the food and then secrete a sweet syrup (called honeydew) that attracts ants and other insects. The liquid stays on the leaf and grows mold. Spraying the plant with a soap solution sometimes helps. Some people use a summer weigh horticultural oil to spray the trees to soften the mold so it can be washed away by rain.

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Question: Anne: My daughter recently bought a home that had a climbing rose bush that appeared unkept. Actually, the whole yard was a mess. However, I took it upon myself to clean it up and in doing so pruned this climbing rose bush way back. It had grown long and thick into the neighbors driveway preventing them from getting into their vehicle. It appears very dry at the base and had many of the vines already dying out. The 82yr old neighbor, who has lived there all her life said it was a seven sisters rose bush but that the previous two owners did not take very good care of it, although it was absolutely breathtaking this spring and summer. My question to you, as well as my fear, is this...by pruning it back too much did I kill its' chances for next year and what about dividing it or replanting some of the older shoots? I have watered and fertilized it thoroughly since my pruning. I just hope that I didn't ruin this beautiful rambler. Do you know how it got its name? We live in southern Wisconsin. Please save me so my daughter doesn't dissown me.
Thank you for time. Sincerely, Marcia

Anne Clapp: The Seven Sisters Rambler is a rose that dates back prior to 1817 when it was registered with the American Rose Society. It is a cross between a multiflora and platyphylla and several other species roses. It is pale rose to crimson in color. Someone at the Antique Rose Emporium in Texas might know the source of the name.

Old roses respond well to severe pruning. It is fairly easy to make cuttings from them. Take about 8 inches of the tip of growth which bloomed during the current year. Use a rooting hormone to improve the chance of root formation. I make my rose cuttings in sand – some people use a mixture of peat and sand. Keep the cuttings covered with a glass or plastic bottle to retain moisture around the cutting. Keep it in an area out of full sun – but in an area that is light. (I stick mine under a tree.) They usually root in about 4 weeks.

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Question: Hi Anne, The builder of my home had a Wild Cherry tree transplanted from an old farm to my front yard in the Heritage at Wake Forest. The tree is about 20 feet high with a trunk diameter of around 7 or 8 inches. The tree was transplanted on a hill with half of the root ball surrounded by my yard and the other half surrounded by a rock wall built around the outside half facing the sidewalk and the road. The tree produces pink flowers in the spring and small dark berries in the early summer.

I realize it takes time for a transplanted tree to recover from the shock, but I have lived here for over two years and I have not seen a drastic improvement in it's appearance over the previous year's. Many leaves have turned yellow and fallen off as they did last year, leaving a very thin and unappealing foliage. I removed several dead limbs this past winter in hopes of getting some new growth, but nothing yet. The tree has character, but I'm to the point of wondering if I should have it pruned heavily or just cut down and replaced altogether. I'm not sure if it is suffering from disease, too much water, drought, or not enough food. On top of that, I've had to kill those nasty looking tent caterpillars for the last two springs. I was hoping that you would know what is going on with this tree.

Thanks for your time. Sincerely, Troy W. from Wake Forest

Anne Clapp: I cut down wild cherry trees in the woods behind my house because they get tent caterpillars every year and lose limbs during hot dry summers. The birds eat the cherries and scatter the seeds around so there are always lots of wild cherry trees coming up in the spring. It is not unusual for a healthy tree to lose foliage during a dry spell in late summer. It is not a tree I would select for the primary planting in front of my house.

The tree is probably in fairly good shape for a large tree transplanted two years ago. Pruning out dead growth is important each year to keep the tree healthy. If it blooms and leafs out next spring it is probably as healthy as it is going to get.

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Question: Hello, I own a rubber plant but my leafs keep turning black on the edges and then dropping off , am I over watering it or under watering? H.F.

Anne Clapp: The problem may be in the water you are using to water the plant. Many times the chlorine and fluorine content of city water systems are high enough to damage plants. The typical sign of damage is a darkening (brown or black) to the tips of the leaves. You can use rainwater or let the tap water sit in an open container for at least 24 hours before using it to water the plant.

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Question: I live in Arizona and I just planted a Habiscus plant in my back yard about a week ago. It is in constant sun. I don't know if you know but the ground out here is harder than crap. I didn't get any watering instructions and it doesn't look to good. What do I do? Do I water it or give it plant food? I have never had a plant before so I am lost. I don't want to be a plant killer. Help.

Anne Clapp: A tropical hibiscus should be able to take the heat of Arizona. They do like soil a bit on the acid side of the pH scale and so much of Arizona has more alkaline soil so that could be the problem. You might try fertilizer for acid loving plants to see if that would help. It does need to be watered to keep the soil moist – and if you fertilize the plant it needs even more water in the heat.