Q: Could you please tell me why my hollyhock’s leaves turn pale green around the bottom of the stalks, then yellow, then brown and drop off? The same thing happens on my geranium leaves, and the flowers die and wilt in the middle of the clusters. My rhododendron leaves turn yellow and curl together with spots on the leaves, and they drop off also. — Kay Nickless, Clay City, Ind. A: Yellowing leaves can indicate […]
Q. I’m having trouble with my tall phlox plants. They are covered with white powder each summer and are smaller than they used to be. The flowers are fewer and smaller, too. Should I spray them with something? &emdash; Jane Small, Fort Wayne, Ind. A. Several factors contribute to vigorous blooming of old-fashioned phlox (Phlox paniculata). The white powder is powdery mildew, and phlox and lilacs are especially susceptible to this fungus. Appropriate fungicides will […]
Q. I enjoy your gardening Q&A and would like to get your opinion about growing okra. Our okra grew OK, but after it bloomed, most of the blooms rotted and fell off. The wife and I like okra, and we’ll appreciate any help you can give us. – Charlie Campbell, Griffin, Ind. A. Okra is a real southern belle, requiring hot temperatures to perform well. Last summer was cool and gray in the early months […]
Q: In digging sweet potatoes last week, I, too, found the sweet potatoes hulled out or eaten. There had been a mole run along the sweet potato ridge, and every so far, I would see a round hole made in the mole hill. I dug out shrews, and the potatoes had been freshly eaten on. So, I think the shrews use the mole hill to travel in, and they eat the sweet potatoes and Irish […]