Rosie Lerner

July 1995
Q. What has happened to my peonies? This year my maroons are pink; my pinks are white. Then I have white, too. My red one has never changed colors. – Mary Harden, Clay City, Ind. A. Flower thrips occasionally feed on peonies, distorting the buds and flecking the petals with red or white. Thrips are most abundant between late spring and midsummer. They’re difficult to control because they’re usually protected by plant tissue, and they often reproduce […]
June 1995
Q. I’ve planted tulips for many years. Last fall, I put about a dozen in a raised bed on the west side of my house. Only two bloomed. The rest had only leaves. What did I do wrong? At the same time, I planted another dozen in front of my house (northwest corner) on regular ground. Every one of them bloomed. The two that bloomed in the bed were the closest to the outside of the […]