Q. I have noticed lately that our three big, lovely larches are losing needles on their bottom half. The needles have a banded pattern of color, and I fear larch needle blight. How can I confirm or reject this hypothesis? Is there anything we can do to treat them? – JC A. Specific diagnosis will require more than just these photos. I recommend sending samples of your trees to the Purdue Plant and Pest Diagnostic […]
07-05-12 Question and Answer Q. Two years ago, we lost a lilac bush that was over 90 years old. At the time, there were shoots of small lilacs coming up from the ground around the old bush. We took out the dead bush but left the shoots. Will these shoots ever bloom? They haven’t in all the years they have been there. If they aren’t going to bloom, I’d like to remove them. A. The […]
Q. Saw your article the other day about bulbs blooming in winter. I’ve never seen January budding snowdrops. When do they normally bloom? My daffodil’s are up about 3 inches! Also, I would like info on flowers to plant in clay-like soil. I would like perennials that bloom quite a bit of the summer and in partial shade or full sun. I have planted many flowers and half don’t live or don’t come up the next […]
Q. I had to harvest quite a few tomatoes that weren’t quite ripe yet to avoid the frost. What can I do with these now? A. Tomatoes will continue to ripen off the vine if they have reached the critical stage of development called mature green. If the tomatoes have not hit that stage yet, they will remain green once removed from the plant. Mature green tomatoes are about normal size and have a whitish-green […]
Q. I lost every one of my rhubarb plants late last summer and fall. The plants started dying at one end of the row and just worked on down the row to the opposite end. Someone told me it was due to grubs; another told me that it was moles eating the grubs. Since this is a plant I intend to eat, whatever I use needs to be food safe. A. It is unlikely that […]