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Ask Anne Clapp has moved to a new home on blogspot.com. Ask Anne Clapp - Archives Page 27Return to Ask Anne Clapp Archives - Main Page Question: Hi Anne, I have a question about a Mimosa Tree that a family member is going to give me and I need to know when is the best time of year to dig it up and transplant it to my yard, I live in Charlotte area? And I was watching News 14 for your garden and wanted to know about the Lantana flowers. Are these flowers that bloom all winter or just live through the winter in our area and where can they be purchased? THanks so much for your help. Kathy M. Anne Clapp: It is easier to transplant Mimosas in January when they are dormant. They do not transplant well when they are taller than 5 feet unless you are able to get most of their long taproot. Lantana blooms in early summer through late fall. Many of the plants are winter hardy in this area if they are mulched to keep the soil from freezing. The newer cold hardy cultivars are available at independent garden centers and there is a better selection in the spring. It is difficult to get the plants established if you plant them in the fall. Some of the new varieties with variegated leaves are pretty even when they are not in flower. One trick for getting them to come back in the spring is not to cut the plants back in the fall. Wait until you see new growth start in the spring before you cut the growth from last year back. --------------------------- Anne Clapp: Hydrangeas have had a hard time in the heat and drought this year so I would not transplant them until we have had rain. It is easier to transplant in late winter – January or February – and the plants must be watered in well when they are transplanted. They will have to be watered during the summer after they are moved so they can develop a root system. --------------------------- Anne Clapp: A holly is going to be much happier with cool temperatures in the winter but even in the ground they are not recommended for more than -20F. The winterberry which is hardy to Zone 4 would not grow in your area. Hollies prefer a rich moist soil so find a compost-based potting soil that contains peat and composted bark. Composted manure in the mix also helps. Use an organic fertilizer for acid-loving plants for the best results. The soil should be moist but the plants should not be in standing water. Allow the plant to remain outside until temperatures get to the freezing point so the plant will go into a natural dormancy. Keep the plant in an area where temperatures are near the freezing point for a month or so. The plant will not perform well if it is kept for the winter at temperatures that are comfortable for humans. --------------------------- Anne Clapp: The fungus is not part of the problem. The holes in the stems may have come from termites or other insects that bored into the wood after it had died. In hot dry weather it is not unusual for older azaleas to lose branches. A good rule of thumb is to remove all dead wood on the plants as it develops and to do a good rejuvenation pruning on the plant in the spring to force the development of new growth from the base of the plant. --------------------------- Anne Clapp: I have absolutely no idea what a poodle tree might be. I do know that many trees are suffering from drought problems – perhaps a visit from a poodle might help it. --------------------------- Anne Clapp: My advice is either to use a ladder to do the trimming or go to a garden supply company and find a long handled pruner that you can lift comfortably.I use a Felco but it might be too heavy for you. --------------------------- Anne Clapp: Hibiscus is a tropical plant that may go completely dormant and lose its leaves when brought inside for the winter. I think they are healthier if you trim them back and repot them in the spring when you get ready to put it back outside for the summer. --------------------------- Anne Clapp: This year crepe myrtles were hurt by the April freeze and many of them are not blooming. Two things may affect blooms – fertilizing and watering in late summer. Crepe myrtles don't like nitrogen fertilizer after they reach mature size and they would prefer dry weather rather than wet soil in late summer and early fall. Severe pruning will not help the problem. The change in color of your hydrangeas is from the acidity of the soil. Pink blooms are formed in soil that is closer to neutral pH so applying lime does help pink blooms stay that color in our naturally acid soils. Miracle grow is a very acidic fertilizer so I would expect that using it without also liming the soil may have been the start of the problem. Once the color of the blooms has changed it is very hard to get them to return to the original color but you can try by applying some lime this fall. --------------------------- Anne Clapp: Hydrangeas are long-lived garden plants. They can be rejuvenated with hard pruning to produce new basil growth. After the plants have bloomed cut off the oldest shoots at the base of the plant to force new growth. When plants don't bloom it may also be from freezing weather. In the Raleigh area the “Easter Freeze” this year killed most of our hydrangea blooms. --------------------------- Anne Clapp: I grow lots of my camellias in pots. Just like their friends living in the ground they drop two year old leaves. I have found they need to be repotted every third year to keep a strong root system. If you want to keep the plant small you treat them like a bonsai and trim the roots back so the root system doesn't get too large for the pot. One reason for fewer blooms is not enough water during the early summer when they are setting buds. They are also sensitive to fertilizer – too much nitrogen and they get too many leaves and not enough blooms. Being a “Southern” camellia grower I swear by cottonseed meal for my camellias. --------------------------- Anne Clapp: One possibility is there is a liriope plant in the neighborhood that is cross pollinating the dwarf mondo. The seeds sprout and the resulting offspring are taller plants. The birds could also drop liriope seeds in the dwarf mondo with similar results. When the tall sprouts come up in my dwarf mondo I hand pull them. You have to use a dandelion digger or small, sharp trowel to get the roots of the plants out of the bed. --------------------------- Anne Clapp: After three years the Leyland Cypress should have an established root system. In most cases late season droughts cause plants to go into early dormancy so the plants do recover. Your local agricultural extension agent may have some advice about watering. --------------------------- Anne Clapp: Deer and rabbits come to mind. Both are eating plants all over my area of Wake County. --------------------------- Anne Clapp: Not unless you are a very good gardener. --------------------------- Anne Clapp: Start a new avocado seed! The spots on the leaves and the bugs in the soil are probably not related. The potting soil may have been infested with a soil fungus gnat but it would not cause spots on the leaves. --------------------------- Anne Clapp: The best way to get rid of plants in an area you want to replant is to dig them out. Large trees and shrubs can be cut off at ground level and the stumps pained with Round-up. Black plastic works with annuals and perennials but you have to get the "big stuff" down to ground level for black plastic to work. --------------------------- Anne Clapp: If you have noticed, my own lawn is Zoysia so I am prejudiced. St. Augustine is marginally hardy in Raleigh this year but with global warming that may change. Centipede is the least shade tolerant. Bermuda is usually the best if you don't have to worry about the grass spreading into flower beds. --------------------------- Anne Clapp: I have used freshly ground oak trees for mulch in my own garden. Keep the mulch away from the trunks of trees or shrubs and make sure you add nitrogen fertilizer around the plant because the decaying mulch will remove nitrogen from the soil. --------------------------- Anne Clapp: Water could be a problem as could excessive chemical use. Weed killers sprayed in the area in hot weather will defoliate a boxwood. The plant needs to have a layer of at least 2 inches of mulch around the base of the plant to keep the soil moist. Excessive fertilization could also be problem. --------------------------- Anne Clapp: Mouse traps baited with apple and peanut butter seem to work. Rozol, the mouse poison, poured into the entry way of their tunnels also works. You keep the poison in place until it does not get eaten for 10 days. --------------------------- Anne Clapp: If you absolutely have to prune your crepe myrtles we can do it in Zone 7 in February although I prefer to wait until late March to trim mine in Raleigh. We have so many late spring freezes in our area that if we prune and new growth gets started its gets killed back as it did with our Easter freeze this year. --------------------------- Anne Clapp: Large nandina bushes are often eaten by deer. Small nandina get eaten by rabbits. --------------------------- Anne Clapp: I think your longer leaves are coming from seed pods of liriope that have sprouted in you dwarf mondo. If a neighbor has liriope the birds will bring seeds to your garden. I pull the tall seedlings out as I see them form. --------------------------- Anne Clapp: As Cleome ages the lower leaves do turn yellow. It is the natural growth pattern of the plant as is the tall section of seed pods that form after the blooms. --------------------------- Anne Clapp: Rubber Trees are not recommended where young children or animals can chew on them. It is not difficult to put the plant up where it cannot be reached or you can put netting around the plant to keep it from getting chewed on. --------------------------- Anne Clapp: Since your hydrangeas are the late blooming varieties that we usually prune in late winter or early spring I would wait until then to do any pruning. Any cuts you make now will promote new growth that will not have a chance to harden off before the October freeze. --------------------------- Anne Clapp: Willow oak may be used safely as a mulch. Any green wood will remove nitrogen from the soil as it decays so when plants are actively growing it helps to add some nitrogen fertilizer. If the chips are used as mulch in the fall and winter there is usually not a problem. As plants put on new growth in the early spring you may want to increase the fertilizer to replace any soil nitrogen the woods chips might have used in their decaying process. --------------------------- Anne Clapp: In my garden the rabbits are very hungry and thirsty this year. It doesn't seem to matter if plants are sprayed with one of the animal repellents when the animals are this desperate for food and water. Low wire fences around plants seem to help keep rabbits from eating some of my prize plants - especially the roses. --------------------------- Anne Clapp: I don't know what a light green worm on an Azalea might be at this time of year. It is the usual time for the “Labor Day” caterpillar to defoliate Azaleas but those larvae are black with bright red hairs. Any time a “worm-like” insect is eating an azalea you can spray the plant with liquid Sevin to kill the insect. In moat cases new foliage will come out on the stems in the spring. --------------------------- Anne Clapp: Hibiscus can be transplanted to a new pot in the spring when they start to put on new spring growth. If the plant is extremely crowded in the current pot you could remove the plant from the pot and put it in a larger pot with additional soil, but don't try to disturb the roots or do any pruning as you would when you repot a plant. --------------------------- Anne Clapp: Your “Umbrella Tree” (Schefflera actinophylla) does not root in water. The remaining rooted stems in the pot may put out new growth. Cut the 2 stems off just above a joint in the stem where leaves had grown. Keep the soil moist and do not fertilize the plant until new leaves start to form. --------------------------- Anne Clapp: Dogs usually sniff before they raise their leg so you may want to try some of the spray products that have an odor that repels animals. Some of the products with red pepper do seem to help train dogs to find another restroom. The nitrogen in the urine can be counteracted with gypsum. Gypsum is used to break up some types of clay in gardens and it does chemically react with excess nitrogen to neutralize it. Farmers often use it to clean up fertilizer spills. --------------------------- Anne Clapp: It has been a few years since I spent a few weeks in Shiprock but I don't remember the soil or climate as being very conducive to growing dogwoods. They prefer acid soil that contains lots of organic material and cool moist spring climates. Canadian hemlocks would prefer living in a cooler summer environment as well. You may want to check with the New Mexico Extension Service for a list of plants that is more adapted to your soil and climate. --------------------------- Anne Clapp: There are a number of spiders or mites that attack plants in hot dry weather and they have been very prevalent in several areas of the country this year. Blasting insects off with a spray of water does work. Commercial lawn care companies do have some chemical sprays that will kill mites and they have the sprayers to reach taller plants. It may be time to replace the Yucca with a lower growing cultivar. --------------------------- Anne Clapp: There are herbicides designed to kill only crabgrass and similar grassy weeds. Ornamec is a product that will kill all grasses growing in woody ornamentals. The Ortho Crabgrass killer is labeled for spraying in ornamental bedding plants. Read the label of any product very carefully before using it. Roundup is an all-purpose plant herbicide so it will kill grass, weeds and shrubs. It is not persistent in the soil and the residual on plants is not in a form that would be harmful to your toad population. |