Q.    
I have a round cement pump station about 3' around that sticks up about 18". I have planted some perennials around it but I want to plant other plants that will hide this ugly thing. Any suggestions? I thought of a small fence with morning glory's etc. to last throughout the summer and fall seasons. I live in Vermont.

A.    
Morning glories, black eyed Susan, Nasturtium would be suitable. You can also buy Fiberglas imitation rockeries of various sizes. Theses have planting holes incorporated in them and the whole unit can be lifted off to give access to the pump station when necessary.
Valecroft Nurseries.

Q.    
Hello.
I have an old PIERIS that I cut back severely season before last, and new growth came last year - but now this growth appears limp and the leaves are spotted with dark red. This season's growth is not appearing yet, and I'm not expecting any flowers to appear this season. Is this darkening of the leaves caused by a soil condition or by a disease or insect? Thanks for your help! Jeanne.

P.S. I have a CAMELLIA in my porch that is quite young and beautiful. After flowering, is any pruning or pinching back required, or should I just leave it alone?

A.    
The soil around your Pieris is probably too alkaline, Pieris need an acid soil, feed with a high nitrogen acid fertiliser. Some peat around the base of the plant will also help. Your camellia, you should only trim off any branches that are growing clear of the shape of the bush. Acid fertiliser, as for heathers, is recommended.

Q.    
I wonder if you could give me some information on maintaining my silver mound I planted last spring? Thank You
Loretta

A.    
SILVER MOUNDS (Artemisia) like poor soil, so do not feed them too much. You sometimes have to protect the plants from rabbits if the growth is too rampant. A little lime occasionally, helps. Not a demanding plant, but keep it clear of weeds.

Q.    
I bought some ROSE MOSS. Is this plant compatible with roses?

A.    
Your rose moss (Portulaca) should be compatible with roses, growing wise, but rose moss needs the full sun and roses would shade it. Also roses are best kept clear of competing vegetation. Another point is that rose moss is notorious for attracting aphids, which would soon spread to your roses.

Q.    
Dear sir/madam, I have a large ARBUTUS approx 15feet high by 20feet wide which when I moved in four years ago was glorious, it was getting very large and two years ago I pruned it and since then it has gone from bad to worse. It now has lots of dead wood inside with no leaves.

Leaves are only on upper ends of the bush approx 2 feet and when any new growth comes through it turns black and withers. It has not substantially fruited for a couple of years now and I really do not know when or if I should cut it right back to nearer the base of the trunk to promote new growth. It would mean that there are no leaves on the bush, or whether to trim lightly which does not seem to work, I would appreciate your advice please. Thank you.
Colin.

A.    
Your Arbutus is an acid loving plant and it is probable that the soil has become too alkaline. Feed with an acid fertiliser as used for heather's and spread some peat around the base of the tree. If you can obtain it, soot from a domestic chimney will work wonders.

Q.    
What time of year does one cut down blackberry bushes and how much? Thank you.
Elizabeth.

A.    
If your blackberry bushes are the wild ones, you can chop them down to ground level at any time. If they are the cultivated variety, just give a light trim of any branches growing in an undesirable direction. Remember, if you have large growths of the wild varieties, the little birds will be nesting in them at the moment.

Thank you so very much for your reply. They are wild ones, I have spent two weekends cutting them back, but not all of them to the ground. We literally have walls of them of around 3 meters high. The house was not lived in for 10 years. This is a new experience for me, having always being a city girl.....

Q.    
I have some old PEONIES, which I'd like to move. Can I do that now in early spring? If not, when is best? Thanks. Phyll

A.    
Autumn is the best time to move your peonies, being fairly early flowering the roots of a plant transplanted now would be unable to supply the amount of water needed when flowering, so the plant would suffer.

Q.    
Hi, I live in British Columbia, Canada. I covered my beds with leaves for the winter, now I am not sure if I should mulch them in or remove them? I have also discovered one of my hostas is coming up pure white, while the others are normal.

One more question, I have 4-year-old clematis in a container on my patio and it has never flowered. My mother gave it to me so I would love to see some blooms this year. It seems to be healthy and grows vigorously all season. Can you help??

A.    
Dig your leaves in. Eelworm (a disease of potatoes and endemic in some soils) could be the cause of your white HOSTA, isolate it.
CLEMATIS, this sounds like too much nitrogen in the feed. Try giving your plant tomato fertiliser; this is low in nitrogen, high in potash and phosphates, which encourage flower production.

Q.    
Hi, I am hoping that you can help me with a problem. I have planted tuberous DAHLIAS from the bare root into pots in my basement for the jump on the growing season. They are lit daily with grow lights fror approximately 8 hrs a day. This has worked wonderfully. The plants have sprouted and are growing feverishly.

My problem is now that the plants are a bit larger, the older leaves are starting to curl under almost like they are not getting enough water, or the light is to bright. Any idea as to what is causing this or how I can save my plants?

Second question, when do you pinch the growth so they become "bushier"? Mine all look pretty spindly. They are approximately 8-10 inches high right now and I am scared to pinch them down. Thanks for all of your help.
John.

A.    
Aphids or thrips on the underside of the leaves are probably attacking your dahlias, these pests over-winter in the dead stems of your dahlias. If they are there under the leaf, spray with a suitable spray, but use a very dilute mixture; due to your plants being fragile. You can also spray with a very dilute mixture of washing up liquid, spraying under the leaf.

To pinch out, just take out the very centre of the shoot, but leave this job until after spraying.

Q.    
I have a lot of small potatoes left in a 25Kilo bag that I bought in a supermarket a little while ago. They have some shoots on them. Can I plant these potatoes in the garden?

A.    
It is almost certain that these potatoes have been sprayed with a shoot retardent while in storage on the farm, the tubers are slow to recover from the effects of the spray, so it is doubtful if you would get much return for your effort.

Q.    
We live in Grand Rapids, MI and are having a terrible MOLE PROBLEM. Our fertilizing company will spray for grubs in June. Is there anything I can do now to get rid of the moles? We have about 1/2 acre and our neighbors are experiencing the same problem. I am concerned about a lot of poison because I have a small dog.
Thank you, Becki

A.    
At the present time there is a worldwide shortage of the poison used for mole control. Farmers are unable to control moles on their land and the moles are expanding into private gardens and parks and causing serious problems. There are various types of traps available at garden and agricultural outlets, some more humane than others, so it's up to you to choose what action to take.

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Q.    
I have rhododendrons planted in front of my house and for years they were beautiful, I planted them about 6 years ago. Now I have noticed that the leaves are turning brown and falling off and also some of the branches are starting to die off also now it is starting to do the same to one of my other ones also can you please tell me what I can do to save them. I really don't want to loose them they were always so beautiful when they bloomed every year, Please Help.
Linda.

A.    
Your RHODODENDRONS need an acid soil; it would appear that your soil is too alkaline. Spread generous amounts of garden peat around the bushes and feed with an acid fertiliser, as recommended for heathers.

Q.    
Hello.
Should you deadhead HYDRANGEAS or should you leave the heads on until the new growth comes through? I've heard different opinions and would be grateful for your advice. Many thanks Trish

A.    
Deadhead hydrangeas You can deadhead now, if you have blue hydrangeas dig the heads into the soil around the plants; this will return the chemical needed for the colour to the soil.

Q.    
We have just built a series of raised beds that are near and some partially under the drip line of an oak tree (black oak, I think). Some friends have told us of their problem with the tree roots invading the raised beds, leaching nutrients and clogging the beds. What can we do to prevent this happening?

A.    
Short of chopping down the tree there is little that you can do, tree roots stretch out as far as the leaf canopy. The only course of action is too feed extra.

Q.    
Having moved into a new house last summer - this is our first spring. Hundreds of DAFFODILS have produced leaves but no flower - probably due to the previous owners cutting back the leaves rather than letting them die back naturally. Will these bulbs flower next year if I allow the growth this year to die back or can I do anything to encourage a flower to form for next year? Sue.

A.    
Feed your daffodils with a generous amount of general-purpose fertiliser, straight after flowering. Allow the leaves to die back naturally. Some garden lime around the plants will also help. Peat is also helpful.

Q.    
I have recently moved to a new property, with a garden only consisting of a border and muddy soil (which I am currently covering in compost), the rest is paving. 6ft walls surround it. The wall with the border is in the shade all day. I really want to plant something with trellis climbing up this shaded wall, any suggestions?
Christina.

A.    
Some plants for your trellis. Climbing Hydrangea Petiolaris; Parthenocissus henryana; Schizophragma integrifolium; Rosa blue noisette; Rosa New Dawn; White Jasmine; Variegated Ivy; English Ivy:

Q.    
Hi, Hope you can help me.
We have a major problem with GOAT HEADS. I've tried raking them up. Pulling them up even tried to burn them out. My hard work only netted me more Goat heads.

They have taken over the backyard, side yard and are presently starting to crowd the front yard. Its not safe to walk anywhere in our yard shoeless. The darn things get tracked into the house all the time and as a result it's not safe to even walk shoeless in the house! Please, any advice would be greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Yvette

A.    
Glyphosate, marketed mostly under the brand name 'Roundup' will kill your goatheads. Read the label on the pack, you must cover any chosen plants when spraying with Glyphosate, it will kill many other plants.

Goats heads like very poor conditions, this would suggest that your yard needs a heavy dosage of garden lime (gypsum) and a generous amount of farmyard manure or horse manure or similar. Goat heads seed can last for up to 10 years in the soil so the problem will not go away immediately.

There is also a weevil, specific to goat heads, this eats the seed and can be introduced artificially.

Goatheads are also known as puncture vines or ground bur or Texas sand bur.

The sandbur or puncture vine is well named because of the large number of bicycle tyres which fall victim to the vicious spines..
Valecroft Nurseries.

Q.    
Could you please give me some advice on caring for heathers, I have recently been given one that is in a container, I have had them in the past (that I have planted in the ground) but have never had any luck with them and they have ended up dying on me.

I would like to buy more HEATHERS in different colours and plant together as I think that they look lovely in large clumps and different colours, however I don't want to spend money just to have them die on me or not do very well.

Could you also please let me know the best time to plant, and also how fast they grow.

I look forward to hearing from you. Regards Caroline

A.    
Summer heathers are acid loving plants. Too this end a large amount of garden peat (which is totally acid) must be incorporated into the soil too make the soil acid. A raised bed comprised of peat and a small amount of grit sand mixed together would be even better.

There are special fertilisers available for heathers which contain acid do not use ordinary, general purpose, fertiliser. Try watering the heathers with rainwater, rather than tap water, which is alkaline, and is not liked by the average heather plant.

Heathers purchased in pots can be planted at any time during the spring or summer as long as you water well until established. Various heathers grow at varying rates; so it is difficult too predict size over any given time.

The above relates too summer flowering heathers, on the other hand winter flowering heathers are quite happy with an alkaline soil.

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