Rosie Lerner
Warm, wet conditions prime for algae
Q. For the last few years we have noticed some green blobs on our gravel drive. It only grows in size when it rains and dries up and turns black when the weather is sunny. It looks like turkey droppings and feels like jelly when wet. It is very unsightly and gets tracked into the house. We never saw this stuff until the last few years and only on limestone gravel. It seems to grow […]
Gardening for Pollinators
Pollinators are all the “buzz” these days with a federal proclamation designating June 15-21 as National Pollinator Week. Now in its eighth year, the focus of this event is to promote the health of pollinators, so critical to food and ecosystems. It may surprise you to learn that the honeybee is native to Europe and was introduced to the US. But there are also numerous other pollinator species including native bees, butterflies and moths, beetles, […]
Leaf galls common to oak trees
Q. We have a pin oak tree that is approximately 30 feet tall. On the north-facing side of the tree there are many wilted leaves, and there are many balls of strange growth. Pictures of the leaves and the balls are attached. Can you help to identify the problem and any solutions that we need to pursue? – M&L W, Indianapolis A. My best guess is one of the many leaf galls common to oak […]
Some Shrubs Best Pruned After Flowering
Although late winter is generally the ideal time for pruning chores, many of our spring-blooming shrubs are best pruned immediately after flowers have faded. Trees and shrubs that bloom in early spring, such as forsythia, lilac, honeysuckle, quince and spirea, set their flower buds the previous fall, referred to as “flowering on old wood.” If you prune in late winter, some or all of the bloom potential for spring is sacrificed. By waiting until after […]
Some Shrubs Best Pruned After Flowering
Although late winter is generally the ideal time for pruning chores, many of our spring-blooming shrubs are best pruned immediately after flowers have faded. Trees and shrubs that bloom in early spring, such as forsythia, lilac, honeysuckle, quince and spirea, set their flower buds the previous fall, referred to as “flowering on old wood.” If you prune in late winter, some or all of the bloom potential for spring is sacrificed. By waiting until after […]
Ugly scale on hollyhocks could be fungal rust
Q. The last three years I have had scale on my hollyhocks. They just start to bloom, and the scale appears and they die. Is there something I can use to get rid of the scale? After they start to die, I clean up everything and burn. – I.T., Paoli, Indiana. A. I wonder if you might be referring to hollyhock rust, a fungal disease that commonly affects hollyhocks. The rust-colored blotches can resemble scale […]
2015 Is the Year of the Sweet Pepper
The National Garden Bureau has declared 2015 to be the Year of the Sweet Pepper! Sweet bell peppers are cultivars of Capsicum annuum. Sweet peppers are called sweet because they lack the gene that produces capsaicin—the chemical that gives hot peppers their heat. Pepper plants are easy to grow, and are quite compact making them a good fit for limited-space gardens and containers. Peppers are warm-season crops and should be planted out in the garden […]
Hops need good management through growing season
Q. I need information on how to manage hops from the ground up and when and how to do what. Any information you can provide will be greatly appreciated, such as when to dig rhizomes, prune, storage, etc. A. Hops for production require good management through pruning, training and fertilizing and through a fairly long growing season of 120 frost-free days. Note that there are some varieties of hops that are ornamental rather than for hop […]
New Kalettes Are Cool!
It’s not often that a new vegetable comes along, so I’m really looking forward to trying the new Kalettes this year. Developed in Great Britain, where they are called Flower Sprouts, this new vegetable is a hybrid cross between Brussel sprouts and kale. The result is beautiful. They resemble miniature, ornamental kale rosettes with purple highlights on dark green, leafy buds growing in the leaf axils along the stem – just like Brussel sprouts. Kalettes […]
Tree Onions Keep on Giving
Q. My landlord gave me a start of this plant. They didn’t explain what it is. I have looked in the seed catalogs and don’t see anything like it. Would like to know if the little bulbs are edible. – P.B., Summitville, Indiana A. Excellent photos! This distinctive perennial onion is known as Egyptian, tree or top-set onion, so-named for the cluster of aerial bulblets, called bulbils, produced at the tip of the leaves. The […]