Q. An insect is killing my schefflera. It gets white, fuzzy-looking places on it that feel soft, and you cannot see the insect that is working on it. Finally, it will kill the leaf if not removed. I wash the leaves from time to time with soap and water, and last time a little bleach. It works for a while. I even tried a fungus product and worked it in the soil after giving the plant…Read more about Question and Answer[Read More]
It may seem a bit late to be planting Halloween jack-o’ lanterns, but there’s still time to plant if you get growing quickly. The key will be to choose a cultivar with a relatively low number of days to maturity when planted from seed. There are early-, mid- and late-season cultivars of pumpkin, ranging from about 85-120 days to maturity. You’ll want to look for those in the “early-season” (around 90 days) category. While it…Read more about Not too Late to Plant Your Halloween Pumpkin[Read More]
Asparagus and rhubarb may be the earliest garden crops to be harvested, but may also be the first crops to stop harvesting as well. Because of their perennial nature, asparagus and rhubarb must be given a chance to rebuild food reserves so that a bumper crop can be produced again next year. A good rule of thumb is to stop harvesting asparagus about the middle of June, allowing the spears to produce large, fern-like…Read more about Give Asparagus and Rhubarb a Break[Read More]
Q. Our family likes growing pumpkins every year. The problem is all the weeds! The weeds take over the pumpkin patch, so much so that the pumpkins can’t grow and rot before time to harvest them. What could we use to spray or use on the ground to kill out the weeds? — Gayla Merry, Mitchell, Ind. A. Preventing weed establishment is the most effective means of control. Black plastic mulch or a 2-4-inch layer of organic…Read more about Question and Answer[Read More]
Recent torrential rains have brought about flooded conditions in many gardens and landscapes. As flood waters 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. For those who have actually had a chance to put in early cool-season crops, the issue of food safety from the garden is best handled with…Read more about After the Flood: Garden and Landscape Plants[Read More]
Q. I have a ficus plant that was a gift in the fall of 2001. Recently, it started to drop leaves. It started out with a few leaves, then last week it dropped two-thirds of all its leaves. I have checked the plant for mealy and scale bugs but do not find evidence of them. I thought maybe it was getting too much sun in our solar area, and I moved it. When I checked the…Read more about Question and Answer[Read More]
Sunflowers have long been included in the typical Midwestern garden, but modern hybrids have greatly expanded the palette of choices for today’s garden. Whether you want short, medium or tall; yellow, burgundy, bronze or brown; seed for the birds; or just pretty look at, there’s a sunflower for you. Gardeners will find two different types of sunflowers available from garden centers and mail-order catalogs: Those that are grown for their edible seeds, and those that…Read more about Sunflowers for Summer Fun[Read More]
Gardening in raised beds can be just the answer for would-be gardeners who would love to grow their own vegetables and flowers but lack the space or physical ability for a traditional garden. However, recent controversy regarding chemical wood preservation treatments has left many gardeners wondering about the safety of treated lumber. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced that lumber treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA) will be phased out for use in consumer/residential…Read more about Treated Lumber in the Garden[Read More]
Q. Help! Something is boring holes in my silver maple tree. There are four holes at a time in a horizontal line. These holes are a little bigger than a pencil eraser and deep enough that the tree is oozing lots of sap. What could be doing this? Will my tree die? Do I need to plug the holes and with what? What can I do to prevent this from continuing? It has happened three times…Read more about Question and Answer[Read More]
Comparing annual and perennial flowers is a little like comparing apples and oranges. Each type of flower has its own characteristics and advantages. Annual flowers are those that complete their lifecycle in just one growing season. In other words, you plant a seed (or a seedling plant), it grows foliage, then flowers, seeds and then the plant dies, all in the same year. Annual flowers tend to bloom from spring until autumn frost. Although they…Read more about Annual Versus Perennial Flowers[Read More]