Q. I wrote you last year about my apricot tree having no fruit for two years. You wrote that it’s not unusual. Now, a third year had lots of blossoms but no fruit again. What can I do to get fruit? A. Lack of fruiting is to be expected for apricots in our area of the Midwest most years, and this year is no exception. Apricots are about the earliest to bloom of the fruit […]
Recent torrential rains have brought about flooded conditions in many gardens and landscapes. As floodwaters recede and folks get about the business of putting homes and lives back together, questions arise as to the safety of produce from flooded gardens, as well as potential damage to landscape plants. The issue of food safety from the garden should not be taken lightly. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), if the floodwater contained waste […]
Q. Three years ago I planted several white pine trees about 6-feet tall. They were doing very well. Then, a short time after a disagreement with one of my neighbors, my pine trees started to die. I planted six trees and every OTHER ONE died. Now I have another maple tree that is dead. I strongly suspect that someone has sprayed some of these trees with Roundup or some other kind of poison. Is there […]
Recent high winds will no doubt have left their calling card on our yards and gardens. Considering sustained winds of 20-30 mph and gusts up to 40 mph, it’s really quite astonishing that there wasn’t more widespread severe damage. In most windstorms, the trees hardest hit are weak-wooded species, such as silver maples, Siberian elms, river birch and willows. Some trees may have had previously unknown internal decay that resulted in large sections of the […]
Q. I’ve been interested in purchasing a reel push mower, the kind with no power engine, especially every time I see the price of a barrel of oil rise and every time I try to start my older, smoky power mower. I also like the idea of not polluting the air with noise or exhaust. We have a typical suburban front lawn and a very small backyard (under a lot of trees). Our lawn isn’t […]
Given a proper start, your home strawberry patch can bring many years of rewards. The most important considerations for getting off on the right foot include site selection, soil preparation and vigorous, disease-free plants. Choosing which strawberries to grow requires a bit of homework. Most strawberries flower when days are short in spring, producing their bounty of ripe, juicy strawberries in June; such plants are known as June-bearers.Among the June-bearing strawberries, plants can be selected […]
Q. My question is about fruit trees. About 8 years ago, I planted 13 semi-dwarf fruit trees: seven apple trees, two apricot, two cherry and two plum. They are now about 15 or so feet tall. There have only been about six apples total. For some reason, that’s about all of the flowers on them. Please tell me, if you can, why the trees do not produce better than they do. A. Achieving a successful […]
New landscape plants are best planted as soon as possible after they arrive, but gardeners often need to delay planting due to early shipping, weather delays or simply lack of time in busy schedules. So gardeners may need temporary shelter for holding the plants until proper planting can be arranged. When plants first arrive, open the packing material to check on plant condition. Dormant plants are typically shipped bare-root (without soil) this time of year. […]
Q) My aunt of 99 years passed away and left me 12 African violets. I’ve tried taking care of them like she did, but I can’t get them to bloom. Could you please give me some tips. A) African violets are generally quite easy to care for, adapting quite well to typical home conditions. The most critical factors are proper light, growing media, nutrition, and moisture. They will bloom best with long days (14-16 hours) […]
Perhaps the only thing vegetable gardeners enjoy more than harvesting their crops is making plans for the coming growing season. Garden catalogs fill the mailbox and online seed houses come alive with tempting photos of luscious ripe harvests, which makes this a perfect time to plan the spring garden! Here’s a look at what’s new for vegetable gardeners in 2008. Bean ‘Gold Dust’ bears butter-yellow wax pods set high on upright bush plants. Good disease […]