QUESTION
When removing my tomato plants I was covered with white flies. I had no idea I just knew my plant were duds this year. I have thrown out plants mulch and much of soil. I bought mothballs to dig into soil hoping that will help. The soil is filled with white specs deep into the ground.

I was going to put manure down but I am also having a huge fungus problem in this one garden. Even the fence is covered with fungi. I would like to use something not chemical... someone suggested dishwasher liquid and hot sauce idea.

If worse comes to worse then chemical it is. I do all the work by myself so easiest method and $ is problem also. Aaargh. (So is typing obviously)

I also have one more question, I have a beautiful potted agapanthus I tried bringing it in to the house. Not happy... it is back outside but I have to decide what to do. Help I live in CT. near the sound.

Thank you so much! Marisol

ANSWER
White fly on your tomatoes; these flies accumulate under the leaf where they are out of sight; gently shaking the plant will disturb them in a cloud. You can spray them but the best method is to use yellow sticky traps, the white fly like the color and land on the traps.

Place one among the leaves of each plant. Yellow sticky traps are widely available at garden outlets. Don't place too near to the flowers or you may catch bees. You should always discard the soil after a tomato crop if you intend to plant tomatoes again next year.

Washing soda (sodium carbonate) is good for removing mosses and fungi from fences and brickwork. Washing soda is widely available at your supermarket or shopping mall; find it among the domestic cleaner section.

Agapanthus. Place the plant still in the pot in a cool dark part of the house, garage if frost-free. Bring into the light on the 1st of April; a conservatory is exceltant, water. Place outside from 15th May, or when the danger of frost is past if you are in a frost prone area.

QUESTION
I purchased several landscaping plants (junipers, arborvitae, barberry, dwarf Alberta spruce, mugo pine) in 1 gal. Containers for a landscaping project, unfortunately I have been unable to complete this project.

I was wondering how I could winter these plants in the containers. I also have some rhododendrons and a weeping lace leaf Japanese maple in larger containers. I really don't want to lose them. I probably have roughly 50-60 plants. Any advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you, Sherry

ANSWER
The biggest danger to your shrubs is frost damage to the roots, through the sides of the containers. The best course of action is to sink the plants into the soil still in the containers, until the pot is just buried. Do not plant too close, allow room for ventilation.

QUESTION
I live in Mid-Michigan, zone 5 on the edge of zone 4. Last fall (October 2002) I made a raised bed. I filled it with compost material. In the spring I planted a few perennials and they did very well. Now the bed has compacted down a bit. I would like to fluff it up and add more compost material but can't get to it until spring.

In the spring I will temporarily transplant the perennials, fill the bed and re-plant my plants. My problem is I ordered some oriental lily bulbs this past summer intending to plant them this fall. Should I plant them now and transplant them out and back in in the spring or hold them over the winter and plant them in the spring?

If I wait until spring what is the best way to keep them over the winter? Thank you. Suz

ANSWER
If you don't plant your Lilly bulbs they will dry up and produce a very poor result or possibly no result at all.

The best thing too do is to obtain a large deep wooden box fill with soil and plant the bulbs fairly deep in the box. Then replant when you are ready, keep slightly damp and watch for mice damage. The roots wil intertwine in the box, so be careful when planting out, that you don't damage the plant.

QUESTION
Greetings.
Last spring I planted store-bought jalapeno seeds in a pot in our country garden and they flourished. We had a great crop of hot peppers with a smoky flavor.

When the plant stopped giving peppers, we took the seeds from the last few peppers and brought them back to the city with us, hoping to get them to germinate during the winter, so we can replant them come spring.

We took those seeds, wrapped them in damp paper towel, placed them in a Glad Bag and put them in the closet, hoping the dark, wet environment would get them started.

After a few weeks, we've noticed that nothing has happened except that the seeds are now brown.

Did we screw up? If so, what would have been the best way to preserve our seeds and get them to grow next year?

Thanks for your help. You've got a great site!

ANSWER
This sounds like a classic case of the seeds rotting.

Saved seed must be kept very dry, store in paper mail envelopes, never plastic, in a dry part of the house. A sachet of silica granules as used to keep cameras, electrical goods, etc.; dry, will also help.

Sow January onwards at 23-28°C cover seed lightly grow on at 20°C, keep the soil just moist, too much damp and the seeds will rot. Plant out April onwards; protection will be needed in colder areas. Harvest June onwards.

Sow March onwards without heat.

You can also grow them in conservatories and greenhouses, smaller varieties are also ideal in pots on the patio or decking. Can be sown well into May in hotter areas but the harvest will be much later in the season.

In very favoured areas it is possible to grow two crops in the year. Note: seeds saved from F. 1 Hybrids will not give the same plants as the parent.

QUESTION
I have moved recently, my "new" gardens contain huge blue hydrangeas, am I supposed to chop these down each fall? What is the best care for these bushes?

I hear something different from each friend!!

Thanks for your help!! Frustrated in Paxton Ma

ANSWER
Cut down to about one third of the existing height. Feed with an acid fertiliser, as sold for heathers, spread some peat around the base of each bush.

This will give acid soil conditions which are needed for the blue flower, too alkaline and the flower will go pink. There is also an iron additive available which helps keep the flowers blue.

Save any seed heads and dig them into the soil around the plants, these contain the chemical which gives the bright blue color.



QUESTION
Hi,
I think your website is really informative - well done.

I want to plant a Beech hedge at our home in Scotland. What spacing do you recommend and is it necessary to lay two staggered rows? .

Also what depth should the trench be and is it ok to plant in winter on an exposed site? .

We are also have a problem with rabbits - do we need to protect the plants from them? .

Hope you can advise.

Regards, Chris .

ANSWER
Space about 18 inches apart, with beech one row will be sufficient. The depth of trench depends on the size of the plant, the plants must be planted at the same depth that they were at the nursery, and the above ground part of the stem will be a darker colour. .

Some well rotted cow manure, or similar, will be beneficial in the bottom of the trench, this not only feeds the growing plants but also helps keep the roots damp. Fresh-planted saplings are very vulnerable to rabbit and deer damage so must be fenced. .

Planting in an exposed area you need a netting windbreak to protect the buds and new leaves from windburn damage. Keep well watered though the first spring and summer until the hedge is established. .

QUESTION
I have some vinca from potted outdoor plants that I would like to keep growing over the winter. Can you advise me how to keep them over the winter? We live in the Northeast and the outdoor winters are very harsh.

Should I bring them indoors? Thank you in advance. .

ANSWER
Vinca will live quite happily indoors but needs a large pot and plenty of light, and not too warm. .

QUESTION
I have a lawn that was laid in March of this year, which now has patches forming where the grass turns a pink colour and each patch is covered with a pink cotton wool like substance. I have been told that this is a virus called Red Shank. .

Is there a cure for this? .

Thanking you in anticipation. Brian.

ANSWER
I have not heard of a virus called red shank, there are a plant and a bird of this name. There is a black shank, which is a tobacco mosaic virus but not in grasses. .

Do you mean red thread? .

Red thread is a foliar blight and doesn't generally kill grass. The presence of the blight usually shows the existence of other problems such as lack of nitrogen or low ph levels in the soil. .

Maintain lawn vigour by fertilising regularly with a high nitrogen fertiliser. This is particularly important in spring and autumn when red thread is most active. .

Use a mulching, rotary mower, to return clippings, thus returning the nutrients to your lawn. .

Rake your lawn heavily each spring. This allows new grass roots to come into contact with the soil and promotes vigorous grass. .

Water your lawn well during the summer months. Avoid the use of fungicides, as using fungicides will only mask the problem. .

QUESTION
I have grown passion flowers - honey suckle and clematis in pots this year but now that they are dying off do I leave them or cut them right back?
Terry .

ANSWER
Cut your climbers to about 4ft. If your clematis is the early flowering Montana variety, do not cut back until after flowering. .

QUESTION
I have just purchased 3 dwarf burning bushes they aren't very old. Maybe 8" tall I got on e-bay. Is it to late in the year to plant them outside or should I plant them inside until spring. I live in Wisconsin and it gets down to about 30-20 degrees at night? What should I do? .

And how often should they be watered. Any information you can provide me with would be helpful. .

Thank you Laurie.

ANSWER
You would be best to plant your burning bush in large pots until the spring, keep in a light but cool location, do not allow them to become too tender or the buds will open too early. .

Place outside occasionally when the conditions are more temperate. If you were to plant out now, the biggest danger to such small plants is mice and other small rodents, even under snow cover. .

QUESTION
I have a beautiful Hibiscus in a large planter in my home. I know it should be trimmed in the spring, however mine needs it now. Will it hurt it in any way to trim it now, Dec? It is still blooming but is getting to tall. .

Thanks for your help. .

ANSWER
If you do trim your hibiscus you need to treat the wounds with a suitable fungicide. This prevents rot in the stem caused by various fungus infections that are prevalent in short daylight conditions. .

QUESTION
Gardening questions: .

I'm just learning to become a gardener, and it's a challenge! I moved into the house I grew up in, which is wonderful, but there are responsibilities way beyond what I've been doing for the last 30 years of living in condos and apartments. .

To make this long story shorter, I've got two crepe myrtle trees, and the blossoms have all fallen off, and there are these brittle-type small limbs left. Do I trim those back to the knuckle-like thing that's left there? Will they grow back?? .

Don't know what I should do. I could call my local nursery, but was surfing on the net and found you first. These are BIG and beautiful crepe myrtle trees when they're in bloom in the spring/summer and some of fall months. .

Please advise Thanks. Gabe.

ANSWER
Best to leave your trees alone for the moment, if you start trimming out dead wood you will risk various fungi, prevalent in short day conditions, entering the wound and possibly rotting away the branches. You may get some new bud growth lower down the branches at a later date. .

QUESTION
I was wondering if grape vines ever blossom. Can you help me? .

ANSWER
Grapes do blossom, but the flowers are very insignificant. Without flowers, to be pollinated by insects, there would be no grapes. .


Thanks a lot this really clears up an issue I had with a co-worker. .

QUESTION
We have large conifers at the bottom of our garden, (20feet+) a complete ring of bark has been removed around the base, would this kill them, or make them dangerous? .

ANSWER
You have been attacked by rabbit's squirrels or mice this can kill the trees. You can paint the areas affected with bitumen paint, this will protect the damaged areas while the trees attempt to re-grow the bark. .

QUESTION
We have a Cherry Laurel Tree and want to get rid of it. We had it cut down to a stump and branches are sprouting again. .

We tried root rot and pouring buttermilk on it and drilling holes in it. Nothing has helped. What is your advice?
Barbara.

ANSWER
You can buy products to destroy tree stumps, ask at your local garden outlet. .

The practice is to drill a few vertical holes in the top of the stump, pour the concentrate in and seal the holes against rain. .

You can spray any shoots with Roundup, which will be absorbed by the shoots and in turn will kill roots underground. .



November     Autumn, fall, turns to winter ------------