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Question: Hi Anne, We moved here 2 yrs ago and some plants need pruning. Could you tell me when and how much to prune on 2 Nandina bushes? Also there is a big Hosta that have yellow leaves. Do I cut those leaves off or trim the whole thing?
Thank you, Kay
Anne Clapp: Nandina is easy to prune. In late February or early March you remove the oldest and largest cane all the way to the ground. If the plant has more than 5 canes remove the two oldest canes. The plant puts out new stems from the ground so by removing canes each year you maintain a bush that has canes of at least 3 different heights. As the summer goes on Hostas lose old leaves. If they are unsightly you can pull off the yellow or brown foliage. All foliage will die to the ground after the first frost. Clean all the old foliage up and mulch the ground for the winter. New foliage will appear in the spring.
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Question: There is a greyish coating on my shrubbery, especially the azaleas. What is this and what can I do to get rid of it?
Anne Clapp: Most of the grey coatings on shrubs are from powdery mildew. It usually affects plants in this area in the spring and fall when night temperatures are below 75 degrees and the humidity is high. Some people spray with the fungicide Immunox but if the plant is healthy otherwise I don't see a real need to spray.
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Question: I was surfing the net and saw u r emails assisting people on plants. I have about 10 leyland cyprus and all are healthy except 2. The 2 are more brown then green. Is this some infection - what shoud i do? Is there something i can do to save them? Thanks, Anil
Anne Clapp: There are lots of reasons for Leyland cypress turning brown. In most cases it is drought related. For some reason two plants may not be getting enough water. In some case it is because the two plants did not get planted properly to begin with so the roots are not able to get out into the soil. The problem is not disease related.
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Question: Hi Anne. I was wondering if you could help me. I have these ugly brown mushrooms that show up in my backyard. They sometimes can be quite huge in size, if you don't find them right away. I have found some that are about 6 inches in diameter! What's a girl to do abut these ugly things except for picking them out by hand. Yuk!!! Hope you have an answer for me. Thank you for your time.
Anne Clapp: I have a small garden hoe I use to pull out the mushrooms in my lawn. When I am on the golf course I use a tee. The "shrooms" are formed from organic matter in the lawn and in hot humid weather they are a way of life. They do no harm but they are unsightly. They are hard to ignore but you can try.
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Question: Anne, I bought a Leland cypress from a nursery that was about 18 tall - i got a discount on it because it was laying on its side andthe the greenery on the side ithat was laying down was brown. i planted it about a year ago and the side that was laying down, will not put out new growth. do you have any suggestions. - Gene
Anne Clapp: You have a plant that was dead on one side when you bought it. Evergreen plants seldom put out new green growth on limbs that have already turned brown so either get rid of the plant or learn to live with your own version of Charlie Brown's Christmas tree.
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Question: I have a 10 year old hydranga that has always done well but this week I noticed some of the leaves have blackish-purple spots on them and some that hae the spots have died and are brittle. Is there anything I can do to stop the spread. It is on about 30-40 leaves in three different places on the bush. Thanks for your help. I enjoy your Saturday morning program when I get to hearit.
Anne Clapp: I do not know of a leaf spot disease that infects hydrangeas. Many hydrangeas have suffered from our heat and humidity this summer and plants under stress often are attacked by insects or disease. Keep the plant watered and when the leaves fall rake them up and dispose of them. You may want to pull off the worst of the infected leaves now. This late in the year it should not hurt the plant.
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Question: Anne, I have a willow tree the tag reads snow fountain, when we planted it the leaves where fine then a few months later the little berries arrived the squirrels ate them a week or two later half the tree started to dye "I guess" The leaves turned brown the twigs looked like all the juice was sucked out of them now the whole top of the tree looks that way. Weeks went by watering feeding with miracle grow and a few leaves started growing close to the bottom of the trunk so I cut back all the dead twigs on top not to close to the knuckles on the top and hoped for the best. I went out of town for two days came home and my husband took what little life was growing on this tree off!!! Is there hope for this trunk sticking out of my yard? Or am I wasting my time? Thanks for any information you might have I really need some. ~Lynn
Anne Clapp: I don't think I have ever heard of berries on a willow tree. It sounds like your plant may not have been watered enough to keep the new growth alive. I have also found that fertilizing a plant that is suffering often makes it worse. The more fertilizer you give the plant the more water it needs to keep from wilting. When you cut back stems on a tree you do need to cut back to an adjoining limb or twig; don't cut in the middle of a branch. That causes even more problems of plant dieback.
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Question: Hello Anne, I really do hope you can help me. A few weeks ago I was given a pink hibiscus bush as a memorial for my Grandfather when he passed. I really love it and it is doing wonderfully on my deck. However, since it is late August I am torn as to what to do with it. Should I try to overwinter it inside or plant it? I am worried our winters are to harsh for the humidity loving bush. Thanks for any advice you can offer. Beth from Raleigh.
Anne Clapp: If the plant you have is a shiny leafed Chinese hibiscus it will have to be a winter houseplant. They are not winter hardy in our area.
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Question: I have read that you prune crape myrtle's in late February, early March. I have also read that you don't trim the top or sides. You trim only the bottom. Is this true? Thanks from North Carolina. Shirley
Anne Clapp: The information on pruning crepe myrtles is a bit mis-leading. You prune out diseased wood, limbs that cross or rub against another limb, lower limbs if you are trying to make the plant more tree like, and if the plant is getting too large for the space remove any stems that are less than the diameter of a pencil. The ideal time to prune is late February and early March.
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Question: Two questions. When is the ideal time to apply a weed preventer on your lawn and garden? Is is safe to use rosehips (for jelly) from roses that have been treated with systemic insecticides? Thank you. Tony D.
Anne Clapp: Never eat plants that have been treated with systemic insecticides! Most fall and winter weeds germinate when temperatures start to be in the 70's on a regular basis. Weed preventer chemicals usually work when they are applied during early to mid September.
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Question: Hi Anne, I just bought a Hibiscus plant and would like to know how to take care of it. I would like to plant it outside. We live in Eastern Pennsylvania. Thank you.
Anne Clapp: Hibiscus plants are warm weather plants that prefer to live in tropical climates. Unless your plant is an althea or Rose of Sharon I am afraid that planting it in the ground in Pennsylvania will kill the plant. Treat it as a large house plant.
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Question: Dear Anne: I have a white, milky, almost marshmallow-type substance all over my grape vines. Could you please tell me what this is and how to get rid of it. I live in the Texas Hill country near Austin, thanks.
Anne Clapp: I don't know what might be the problem with the grape vines. It could be a mildew fungus or it could be an insect similar to a spittle bug. You might check with the agricultural extension service office in your county. With all the experts at A&M someone ought to be able to diagnose the problem.
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Question: Hi, Anne. I have a little dwarf cone shaped conifer (I can't think of its proper name but it is very popular) that is sick. I actually have two; one is next to my deck and is doing fine but the other one (about 8 feet away) is near a Red Maple and is slowing dying. More and more of the branches are turning brown each day. I don't have a clue as the other one is fine. Perhaps you have the solution on the tip of your tongue -- it would be most appreciated. Barbara P.
Anne Clapp: If your plant is a dwarf Alberta spruce the plant near the red maple may not be getting enough water. It could also be in soil that is too acidic; that could be corrected by adding lime to the soil.
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Question: Dear Anne - Is it okay to propagate deciduous trees from seeds in a sunny window in fall/winter (in this case, Catalpas)? Will they be confused by a day length that is decreasing instead of increasing? Also, will it stress them to stay leafed out until the following fall? My little seedlings look great now, and I would like to start more, but I wonder if they will survive the coming months.
One more question: When starting Crape Myrtles from cuttings, should you combine several stems into a clump, or plant them singly with the expectation that they will generate new canes?
Thanks very much for your help! Linda
Anne Clapp: Starting deciduous trees from seeds inside in the fall is usually a losing proposition. Most of them need a cold period to encourage germination so I usually find a place outside that I can stick a pot in the ground or make a small seed bed directly in the soil. I plant the seeds as soon as they ripen and mark where they have been planted. They usually germinate and sprout in the spring and by fall they are usually large enough to transplant to a pot or in some case to the area where the plant is to grow. Your catalpas will lose their leaves as the days become shorter and go into a dormant period where they prefer cool temperatures so you need to find a protected area for them outside this winter. Crepe myrtles need to be planted as single cuttings so they can develop a healthy root system. The plant will develop multiple trunks with pruning and several years growth.
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Question: Anne, I enjoy watching your show very much. Here is my question . What can you put on rose bushing to keep the beetles bug off them. Please help me. Connie of Wake Forest
Anne Clapp: Japanese beetles on roses may controlled using the insecticide Sevin. The beetle season is now over so there is no need to treat the plants for the problem this year. They usually appear in late June and stay through July.
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Question: My Lantanas have white spots on them. Can you tell how to treat this?
Anne Clapp: I'm really not sure what could have caused the white spots. It could be from water or a chemical solution getting on leaves when they were hot from the sun in which case there is nothing that can be done. It could be insect damage from puncture marks made earlier in the season. If the insect is now gone spraying won't help; check the leaves carefully for small insects. You could put a piece of solid color paper uder the leaves and tap the leaves to see of very small insects are still present on the back of the leaves. Your best bet is usually to take a sample of the plant damage to a garden center and ask for their diagnosis.
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Question: Hi Anne, I live in California and I have grape vines in my backyard. When the leaves first come out they are beautiful. But by a few weeks they start to turn brown. Why is that? Nancy H.
Anne Clapp: In North Carolina it could be cold damage or Japanese beetles. I don't think you have the beetle problem in California yet. With all the commercial grape vines in California someone who grows grapes in California would be much more capable of answering your question than I.
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Question: I have a crepe myrtle,It looks healthy but the leave are brownish. Is this a different kind of crepr myrtle?
Anne Clapp: Some crepe myrtles do have a reddish green foliage, if the foliage is “crispy” brown there is something wrong with the plant.
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Question: Dear Anne: I have several Leyland Cypress and from a distance saw what looked to be small cones hanging from several of the limbs. Upon closer inspection I found these not to be cones but leaves of the cypress that had turned brown and wrapped in a cone shape. After cutting several open, each contained some type of insect larvae. These insects are really beginning to do quite a bit of damage to my trees. What is the best method to dispose of these nuisance critters? Erly
Anne Clapp: I have answered over 50 questions about “cones” on Leyland Cypress in the past two weeks. The insect is hatched in the spring and starts the cocoon. At that stage the plant can be sprayed with Bacillus thurengensis (Bt) often sold as DiPel. As the mass gets larger spray with either the Orthene insecticide or the Bayer chemical product for garden insects. In the fall some people spray with horticultural oil (such as Volck) to smother the overwintering eggs on the plant. Pulling the bags off also help.
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Question: The leaves on 4 recently planted(April) crepe myrtles have begun to turn yellow and are falling off. They will soon be completely leafless. What is wrong? What do we do? Are they dying?
Anne Clapp: There may be a problem with the way the crepe myrtle was planted. Yellow leaves are often the sign of a lack of moisture to the plant. If the roots were allowed to dry out the plant suffers. Be sure to give the plant water at least once a week.
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Question: Your archived internet gardening column mentions 'dwarf curly willow'. I am having trouble locating a dwarf variety of curly willow. Do you have any ideas where to find one? - Diana in Portland, Oregon
Anne Clapp: Try some of your Oregon mail order houses for some suggestions. I do not have a commercial source in this area that ships plants.
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Question: Hello, We have a number of old camelias that need pruning. How and when are our questions. Thank you, Pat
Anne Clapp: Camellias may be pruned back as soon as they finish blooming in the spring. From March to May is a good time to finish pruning them. They are pruned by cutting limbs back to an adjoining branch. You usually don't want to remove more than 1/3 of the plant growth in any one year.
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Question: We have a number of leyland cyprus evergreens which are about 12 years old and very tall. They have recently gotten bagworms on them. What is best treatment?
Anne Clapp: Bagworms can be removed by hand – but that is time consuming on large plants. Using an all purpose insecticide like Orthene will work during the summer. Plants may be sprayed with DiPel or any other Bacillus thuringensis organic product in the spring when the bags are first formed – up to about ½ inch long.
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Question: Anne, We live in Raleigh and moved into a newly built home 4 years ago. Each year we have a large section of our fescue lawn die. When I say die there is nothing left but dirt. The area that dies is roughly the same areas each year with little variations to size. Each fall we replant and the grass stays beautiful until August. We are on our 3rd lawn service and they treat the lawn for brown patch , fertilize and most of the lawn stays beautiful. We have a sprinkler system and the entire lawn is on the same cycle. I have tilled the soil mixed in top soil - no help.
We have tried several lawn services - no help.
We have been told it is armyworms and have treated the lawn with several makes of granuals - no help.
The cycle start in August with some browing of the grass and then green slime laying on the soil which I assume is the dead grass. I am at a loss. Help! - Denny M.
Anne Clapp: The green slime sounds more like an algae growth on the surface of the soil. It often occurs when the soil is compacted, the area is shady and moisture stays on the surface of the soil. Since all areas of a lawn do not need the same amount of water a one-zone sprinkler system is not always the best solution. You may want to dig some deep holes in the area to see if there could be construction debris, rocks or large tree roots in the area that dies each August. Sometimes deep tilling and adding organic material will improve the soil root zone.
If you have not already done so, have a soil test done in the area to see if there is a problem with the soil fertility. Your local co-operative extension office can give you information on having one made.
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Question: I have some big crepe myrtles that my husband dug up awhile back..they had already been cut back.....we waiting like 2 weeks before we planted them..they have been planted for about 2 months now...there seems like there is no life to them...there brown and peeling like. I used miracle grow stimulater last week and this week I hope it was not to late for that....can you tell me what might happen...will I be lucky or no...and how do I take care of them....water them a lot? a little? I have no clue!
Anne Clapp: I think the roots dried out on the plants before you got them planted so they were dead before you got them in the ground. The addional fertilizer probably helped to dry out the roots as well. It is never a good idea to fertilize a plant when you transplant it. Let the plant get established and put on new growth before you feed it.
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Question: I have a crepe myrtle tree that is about 20-25 feet tall. It has done well, but this year, toward the end of the season, it has developed an awful smell and the leaves are turning yellow. My other myrtles are fine and blooming away. Also the purple flowers seem to be turning white. I have never seen this before. Any answers?
Anne Clapp: My advice is to take a sample of the plant to your local co-operative extension office or to a reputable nursery with whom you do business to get a diagnosis. The symptoms of the plant seem to indicate a disease but I have no idea what it might be. |
