March    ------------    Spring Gardening Tips, Hints, help, info.

Question


Hello,
My wife wanted to keep the pansies we bought, recently, inside so we could enjoy their colorful blooms.
But lately, even though they get good light (the kitchen has North and West facing windows), they've stopped or slowed in their blooming and they're getting a little yellow and leggy. What should we do? Will a weak fertilizer help?
Roger & Katie

Answer
Pansies are a sun loving plant and light levels inside a house are far too low for the plant to succeed.

Question
Our friend is having to fell his gigantic monkey puzzle tree down as the roots are affecting his drains. is there any way we can grow any part of it if is cut from it's main roots?
Glen

Answer
The short answer is no.

There are companies that can take a small part of the young growth of the tree and grow it on in lab conditions. This is called tissue culture, but you are talking about a 15 year project before you have a decent specimen to plant out.

Monkey puzzle trees can have a lifespan of 200 years so they are rather slow growing.

You can buy trees now that are as big as you want them, as big as the house if you so desire, these are specially grown with a compact root-ball and are planted with giant spading machines.

Question
Hello Friend
Is there a simple chart/guide that is available to demonstrate how and when to rotate vegetables that are repeatedly grown in a small home garden?
Thank You. George

Answer
Year 1; Potatoes; potatoes clear the ground of weeds

Year 2; Beans peas; beans put nitrogen into the soil

Year 3: Cabbage cauliflowers; these feed on the nitrogen

Year 4; Carrots parsnips onions; soil borne pests which bore into carrots will now be at a minimum

Question
I have just purchased a Standard Daphne bush, it seems healthy & is showing new growth, isn't too leafy or alternatively not at all spindly, is a lovely shape, but it does have somewhat yellowish leaves instead of the trademark lush green colour.

Is it lacking something- soil ? water? or over watered?

Our climate is temperate and our place is sheltered but as I have just acquired the plant I'd like to know what to do to correct the leaf colour.

Thanks !---------------- Shirley

Answer
This would seem that the bush has been packed too closely to other bushes on the nursery display area. This causes lack of light to the leaves and the leaves are unable to make chlorophyll without sufficient light, hence the yellowing.

Feed the plant with about half a pound of Epsom Salts (magnesium sulphate). this will encourage the production of chlorophyll which gives green leaves. I don't know where you are, but if it is coming up to spring feed with a high nitrogen fertiliser, this will encourage leaf growth.

If it is coming up to autumn feed with a low nitrogen fertiliser this will help root growth without encouraging any soft new growth.
Valecroft


Thank you SOOOOOOO much !
Sounds like your ans. is right on the button, and so logical . I am situated just Nth-West of Wellington City, Capital of N.Z. We are supposedly coming into autumn, but still very hot here every day.

Daphnes usually flower around the middle of July. Lovely climate, temp. seldom drops too much even in the middle of winter. Outdoor tomatoes still growing & ripening.

God Bless, you are doing a great job there, Shirley.

Question
Hello,
I live in South Florida on a barrier island. We have beautiful bunnies that roam free. We love them. Unfortunately even though we feed them they still feel the need to nibble on all my plants. They especially like the tender new growth, which then eventually kills the plant.

Are there any plants which they may not find so tasty or something that I can put on the plants that would keep them away but not hurt them? We live directly on the water facing North so I also need salt and wind tolerant plants. Cactus type plants wouldn't work because we also have small children.

I would love some small shrubs and flowering plants that I don't have to put attractive chicken wire around. Thank you!!! H. Joyce

Answer
You are best to contact your local Garden centre plant expert over what deterrent plants to grow in your area. They will know what grows best in your area, better than I can tell you at this distance..

As for your wildlife there are many companies on the net advertising pest deterrents from tiger dung to motion detector electronic water sprayers. Just feed in 'nuisance animals in the garden' on Google and you will get loads of sites.

Question
We moved into a home with some mature hedges that had grown so tall they were taller than the bottom sill of the windows, and about five feet wide. They were just too much for the front of the house. The hedges had been neglected, so they grew sideways toward the sunlight (we have only dappled sun in yard). I cut them back, too severely, exposing the mature wood(think tree trunks!)

Having been told they would take years to recover, I cut them down, hoping to replace them. Now I have stumps, and lots of roots, and little topsoil. Someone has advised me to plant around them but I do not think I have enough top soil. Someone has suggested to add topsoil, and plant over the stumps. Please advise me. I had thought the only think to do was to remove the stump, prepare the soil with nutrients, peat moss, etc, and start over with a fresh garden.

Please help! If we must remove the stumps, and roots, how do we do it economically?
Thank you!
On the Potter's Wheel, Maureen

Answer
Most plants used for hedging are in reality full size trees. You need to dig out all of the left over stumps and roots or they will just grow again.

If you cover them with fresh topsoil it will encourage them to grow even more vigorously. You can hire a small digger from most tool hire firms, some so small that you can drive them through your house if you have no other access. Theses will make short work of the problem.

Question
Hello
My back yard is somewhat wet. We will eventually fix it with tiling, however I would like to plant a hedge there soon. It gets afternoon/evening sun. I would most like to plant, a purple leaf plum hedge, or Rugosa. I'd settle for the standard privet. Which would be best suited for only part sun, mostly shade & damp soil?

Thanks so much for your help. I live in Kansas City Missouri, zone 5 Sherri

Answer
Standard privet is the best answer to your problem. Rugosa needs plenty of sunshine, purple plum would suffer from mould in a dark area.

As a bonus privet, being evergreen and a thirsty plant, could considerably dry up your yard

Question
Hello,
I wonder if you could help me with this one!

I/my parents have grown peas successfully in our kitchen garden for circa 40 years on a three year rotation with basics and potatoes.

Unfortunately, over the last 3 or 4 years I have had a problem in that most of the rows (planted successionally) have spectacularly failed to germinate. (One row may germinate with almost 100% success, whilst the other 5 or 6 will have less than 1% germination from the same seed packet).

Investigation shows that the seed seems to be rotting in the ground - there is just a white mush with no signs of germination.

Do you have any ideas what could be causing this, I fear it may be some type of fungal infection in the soil but would be grateful for your comments?
Richard

Answer
Your soil would seem to be infected with Pythium ultimum. Pythium ultimum is very difficult to control and is virtually impossible to eliminate from your soil once introduced.

You will have to treat all your seeds with a suitable fungicide before planting. Also you need to introduce a five year rotation where peas or beans are involved.
After this period infestation is lower.

Pythium ultimum likes an acid soil so keep the alkalinity high by adding lime.

Note potatoes do not like fresh lime.
Valecroft

Question
Thank you very much for this, one more question though: I don't have any problem with germination of Broad Beans, and Runner Beans volunteer so effectively that I seldom need to rely on new seed (although I do have to grow Dwarf French beans in compost and transplant), are they not affected so badly by Pythium ultimum?
Richard

Answer
Broad beans are usually disease free runner beans a little less so, but if the disease is in the soil, beans can harbour the infection for future pea crops.

Question
I have some bamboo trees that are approx. 20 feet tall and I want to move them to another area, how deep should I dip and when is a good time.
Thanks in advance,
Barbara

Answer
End of September is a good time to move your bamboo.

However your best mode of operation is to dig up clumps of new growth from around the perimeter of the plants.

This new growth will transplant easily and readily root. Moving the full size plants will probably lead to disappointment so it is better to uproot and destroy them after selecting suitable young growth.

Question
Over the last three years I have tried planting various kinds of flowering plants around two Pine trees in our front yard. I have tried pansies, petunias, Impatiens, etc. I all cases they start to die within a few weeks. I have also had flowers professionally planted, with the same result.

So this spring, after having skipped all of last year, I planted Impatiens around both trees. I did not fertilize, but I did dig the ground thoroughly and firmly packed the soil around each plant, watered and packed the soil again. Two weeks have passed, some of the leaves of some plants are either drooping or getting brown edges.

The ground is still moist – not too dry, not too wet. Also, a very large crop of small brown mushrooms has sprouted in one of the beds. I am guessing that the soil is somehow the wrong pH.

There has been no fertilizer applied to the beds for over a year. When we first moved into the house three years ago I had mushrooms spring up in huge numbers all over the yard and I used Lime to kill them. None of the Lime went into these beds.

The people who mow the grass have put mulch into these beds when I had nothing planted in them. The last was Summer of 06. Maybe the solution is to take away the soil and bring in new soil.

Advice, please.Thanks,
Dale.
Houston Texas

Answer
Pine trees are notorious for making the soil acid with their discarded needles and also depositing various tars onto the soil surrounding the trunk. They also absorb a tremendous amount of water. Has your grass put on as a mulch been sprayed against weed or various pests, chemical residues in the grass clippings can also effect the growth of a tender plant?

Lime is needed to make the soil less acid.

I would suggest putting a few rocks around the trees and some additional compost and then planting some hardy alpine plants.

Question
Why do my lupins become completely covered with little green bugs during the summer. They are okay until they come into full bloom. Would appreciate an explanation.
Thank you, Iris

Answer
These are grey aphids, they love lupins because the lupin is high in moisture content. Aphids suck out the sap from the plant that they are deployed upon. They hatch out from eggs timed to hatch when the lupin is at its best.

They are eaten by lady bugs and some predatory wasps. They are best washed off with Insecticidal soap widely available at garden outlets or you can spray on a weak mixture of domestic washing up liquid. This will take several applications over a few days as new aphids hatch out.

You can spray with an insecticide specially for aphids, but this can also kill the lady bugs and predatory wasps, not a desirable outcome.

There are also so called systemic pesticides which are absorbed by the plant, here the aphids are killed after absorbing the poison from inside the plant. These chemicals need to be applied early before the aphid infection takes hold.

Always read the instructions on the box.

Question
When I first moved in to my house twelve years ago the oxalis was very healthy. Over the recent years the leaves develop a rusty looking appearance on the under side. They wither and die back although the plant continues to flower for a while longer.

This year however, all the plants have rust on their leaves immediately and the plants look very unhealthy and sickly. Should I dig them up or can the rust be treated ?
Looking forward to the answer.

Answer
This rust is most probably caused by the fungus Puccinia sorghi. This is a rust predominately of sweet corn and the oxalis is an intermediate host. There are sprays available to treat rust but response is at best patchy. It is probably best to dispose of your plants if they are badly infected.

Also if sweet corn is grown in your area new plants could be infected by air borne spores.

Question
Hello I have a question:
We want to use galvanized feeding troughs for a raised vegetable garden. Will the zinc leak into the soil and possibly harm our plants?
Thank You, Anisa

Answer
I am not a scientist so not qualified to comment on the properties of zinc, however I have never heard of plants suffering from being planted in galvanised containers.

Indeed there are many manufacturers out there selling galvanised planters and baskets so it would seem that any risk to plant health from galvanised metal containers is minimal.

Question
I had four cucumber plants growing on my fenced in back porch in a pot. Suddenly 3 of the 4 looked as if they were cut off 2 nights ago at the dirt level. Then last night the last one disappeared. The plants were about 5 inches tall. Will a rodent or bird do this?

The plants themselves are gone? I know no large animal can get at them….ie rabbit or goat or dog. I have multiple tomato plants which have not been touched during any of this.
-Jay

Answer
It is most likely that your cucumbers have been attacked by cut worms also known as army worms. These are actually a large moth caterpillar that live under the soil surface and emerge to eat at night. They are quite capable of cutting off young vegetable plants overnight.

They are called army worms because all the caterpillars in an area pupate at the same time and emerge as moths in swarms of thousands and fly to another area. There they mate, the females then lay large clusters of eggs which hatch out at a suitable time and create havoc when weather conditions are suitable.

Therefore you could have a few cutworms or you could have thousands in your garden. There are chemical products that are recommended for their treatment. Unfortunately cutworms have become resistant to many pesticides and the cost of treatment with a successful spray is not cheap.

You could try the following.
Firstly in the evening, soak the soil with warm lemon scented washing up liquid in a solution slightly stronger than used for washing up. This will often encourage the pests to come to the surface where you can kill them by hand and it will give you an indication of the severity of the problem.

Also see MARCH GARDENING QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS page.

March    ------------    Spring Gardening Tips and Hints.

Also see PAGE ONE MARCH GARDENING QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS


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