Rosie Lerner

rosie@purdue.edu

716 articles by this author

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Spring Forward in the Garden

Although recent weather may have delayed some of your planting plans, it’s time to spring into action in the garden. Most gardeners will find there are still some chores to finish up from fall and winter. If you applied winter protective mulch to plants such as strawberries and newly planted perennials, be sure to pull that mulch back away from the plants as they emerge. But keep that mulch close by, just in case spring […]
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Pruning The Home Orchard

For many gardeners, pruning seems to be the most daunting chore in the home orchard. In an effort to avoid cutting off too much, many of us end up not cutting at all and end up with overgrown trees. Too little pruning can result in overcrowded, unhealthy branches that produce small fruit and/or few of them. On the other hand, severe pruning also can remove much of the crop potential. Not all fruit species grow […]
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Q. I live in an older home with established bushes and trees. Last year, they started getting a bit wild and unruly. I don’t want to use hedge shears to trim plants into tight shapes. I’d rather have a natural look but don’t want to trim all summer. Do you have any suggestions? — Larry Osborne, Fort Wayne, Ind. A. The dormant season is a great time to prune many shrubs. Landscape plants should be […]
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New Garden Vegetables for 2004

The fresh crop of garden catalogs brings me hope for the coming spring gardening season. Once again, plant breeders are tempting us with new, better and unique looks to our old, familiar crops. Carrot ‘Romeo’ blends a petite ball shape with smooth skin that needs no peeling. Harvest for peak flavor when they reach about an inch or so in diameter, about 60 days from seed. (Renee’s Garden Seeds) Cucumber ‘Yellow Submarine’ bears large, 8-inch-long […]
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You Say Hedge-Apple, I Say Osage Orange!

No matter what you call it, there’s no question that the tree known botanically as Maclura pomifera is a unique curiosity. Depending on where you’re from, this tree has such names as hedge-apple, osage orange, bodark, bowwood and bois d’arc! Originally, this plant hailed from the southwestern United States, but was so widely planted throughout the Midwest as a hedgerow, that it is now considered to be “naturalized” throughout much of the eastern United States […]
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February 2004

Q. I used to have many kinds of peonies with excellent large blooms. But they no longer have many blooms, and the foliage seems to have some kind of disease. I am almost ready to kill them off. What can I do, or should I destroy them? — Diane H. Jungels, Rensselaer, Ind. A. Cladosporium leaf blotch of peony, also known as red spot or measles, is a common disease in Indiana. Look for distinct, […]
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January 2004

Q. We are building a new home and in the side yard are two, huge 16-year-old blue spruce. We are trying to save them so we designed a retaining wall to include these trees, but huge concrete trucks have had to go rather close to them. I’m worried they have damaged the roots. The trees have dead tips hanging from some of the branches. What can I do to help save these beautiful old trees? […]
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In Appreciation of Bark

The winter landscape may seem a bit bland at first glance. But if you look closely, you’ll find that quite a few plants have interesting bark that is actually easier to appreciate without the distraction of leaves and flowers. Bark often changes over time, so that a species that starts out with thin, smooth bark on twigs and young branches may become thick and flaky or change in color as the plant matures. Beautiful bark […]
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Wrap It Up

A sad thought occurred to me the other day while I was doing some holiday errands. I watched in horror as shoppers steered their carts full of holiday gift plants through gusty winds and miserably cold temperatures only to put these frigid plant victims into icy-cold automobiles. I wondered how many of these plants would even make it to their intended recipients? And how long would they last if they did make it that far? […]
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Japanese Painted Fern Named Perennial of the Year for 2004

The Perennial Plant Association (PPA) has selected Japanese painted fern, cultivar ‘Pictum,’ as the 2004 Perennial Plant of the Year. Though the plant is petite in size, Japanese painted fern provides outstanding texture and color in the shade garden. Japanese painted fern also can be grown in patio containers and hanging baskets. Known botanically as Athyrium niponicum ‘Pictum,’ Japanese painted fern is native to Asia, but is hardy throughout Indiana and most of the Midwest. […]
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