Eleven new garden plants have been awarded the prestigious honor of being an All America Selection (AAS) for 1999. These new cultivars have been judged as superior in their class based on their performance in test gardens all over the country. For the flower garden, the first award winner is Begonia ‘Pin-Up Flame,’ selected for its distinctive colored petals. Although it is a single-flowered type, the yellow petals are quite large and striking with orange-red […]
Q. My Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ flops open in the center each fall and looks disastrous. What can I do?It’s too heavy to tie to a stake. Gary Kukulies, Lafayette, IN A. The upright sedums (now renamed Hylotelephium), need to be divided every few years to keep them from crashing to the ground in the fall. This task is best undertaken in the spring when the shoots are up a few inches. Lift the entire clump […]
Q. Although I am aware of the need to cut back or pinch mums until about the Fourth of July, I need your advice about other flowers, namely daisies, black-eyed Susans, impatiens and petunias. Should all of these be pinched, too, and if so, when? For some time now, I have noticed so many daisies and black-eyed Susans in beautiful clumps standing so stately. As soon as mine are blooming nicely, they begin to droop […]
If you’re looking for a plant that is winter hardy throughout the Midwest, excels under shady conditions and has fabulous foliage as well as attractive flowers, then Hosta is the plant for you. Also known as plantain lily, Hosta performs best in partial to full shade, although some have been able to survive full sun conditions if given a cool environment with plenty of moisture. The leaves will tend to burn or turn sickly yellow […]
Summer is not the preferred time to prune landscape trees and shrubs, but it is a great time to prune many annual flowers. Plants such as petunias, impatiens, zinnias and marigolds tend to get leggy and produce fewer blooms by mid summer. Pinching these plants back about halfway will encourage more branching and, in turn, more flowers. The plants may look a bit raggedy initially after being cut back, but with a little water and […]
Please tell me what I can do with squirrels? I plant flowers and tulip bulbs and other bulbs. Every day when I come home from work, my bulbs are out of the ground, and my flowers are eaten down to the roots. I just don’t know what to do. Can you help me solve the problem? – Mrs. John Bielefeldt, Chicago Heights, Ill. A. Exclusion is tricky but effective. Fencing or hardware cloth around the […]
Q: Enclosed are two pictures&emdash;one of my seemingly healthy primrose, the second one taken a few weeks later&emdash;not so healthy. Could you please diagnose this problem and suggest a cure or possible preventive treatment for later use? I enjoy your column very much. Thank you for helping. – Pat Ritter, Bloomfield, Ind. A: This is a direct result of our extremely wet weather this year. Oenothera species have many different names, including Ozark Sundrop or […]
Q: Three years ago, we planted two Bradford pear trees at our lake cottage. One bloomed for the first time this spring. It is on the northwest side and gets plenty of sun. The other tree has never bloomed. It gets full sun, has very healthy looking leaves and is planted on the south side of our cottage. What can we do to make this tree bloom? We also have a dogwood tree planted at […]
Q: We have a problem with bean beetles. You printed a recipe for a spray that’s not harmful to the environment a long time ago. Could you please reprint it? – G. Rominger, Brazil, Ind. A: Some gardeners mix 1 tablespoon of liquid dishwashing detergent per 1 gallon of water and spray it on insects. Insecticidal soaps have been found to be effective against aphids, whiteflies and mealy bugs. The soap works by breaking down […]
Q: We have had three English walnut trees for at least 20 years. In those years, we have had about 4 bushels of nuts from them, except for the last four years. Now, we have not had even one nut. I don’t know why. We also have pecan trees. In the last four years, they have had lots of nuts, but the nuts are dried out and no good. What is wrong with them? – […]