Q. I’m looking for a tree about 20 foot tall for the corner in the backyard that will be decorative all four seasons: flowers in the spring, pretty green foliage in the summer, colorful foliage in the fall and berries in the winter. I live in Fort Wayne, and the soil is a lot of clay. Can I still plant this tree in December? Will it need watered? Also, one more question please. I’m not […]
Q. I have two wisteria bushes that I planted alongside each other about 10 years ago, and either has yet to bloom. One is white and the other is supposed to be red. Do I need to have a female and male plant, as you do bittersweet, in order to produce blooms, and, if so, how do I know which is which? A. First, wisteria do not have separate male and female plants, but even […]
Q. Can you please help my friend to find out what the name of this plant on the picture is? She told me it smelled bad when flowered. I told her this is a kind of insect-eater plant but not sure what the name of it is. A. This is not necessarily a carnivorous (insect-eating) plant, but the photo is of a flower belonging to a large family of plants known as the Aroids. This […]
Q. I’ve been interested in purchasing a reel push mower, the kind with no power engine, especially every time I see the price of a barrel of oil rise and every time I try to start my older, smoky power mower. I also like the idea of not polluting the air with noise or exhaust. We have a typical suburban front lawn and a very small backyard (under a lot of trees). Our lawn isn’t […]
Given a proper start, your home strawberry patch can bring many years of rewards. The most important considerations for getting off on the right foot include site selection, soil preparation and vigorous, disease-free plants. Choosing which strawberries to grow requires a bit of homework. Most strawberries flower when days are short in spring, producing their bounty of ripe, juicy strawberries in June; such plants are known as June-bearers.Among the June-bearing strawberries, plants can be selected […]
Q) My aunt of 99 years passed away and left me 12 African violets. I’ve tried taking care of them like she did, but I can’t get them to bloom. Could you please give me some tips. A) African violets are generally quite easy to care for, adapting quite well to typical home conditions. The most critical factors are proper light, growing media, nutrition, and moisture. They will bloom best with long days (14-16 hours) […]
Q. In the last few months, we purchased property that included a portion of an old blueberry farm. We did have some of the bushes removed to have more backyard; however, we still have over 1,000 bushes that haven’t been touched for about three years! Most of the bushes are between six to seven feet high. Just a couple of rows are about four feet. Should we prune or cut down these bushes so they […]
Q. I am wondering what causes a layer of stiff, hard white tissue under the skin of some of my tomatoes. It only affects a few. The inside of the tomato is fine after this is peeled off. Is there something in the soil? We have a lot of clay soil here in Clay County, Ind. I use Fast Start when setting them but no fertilizer after that. A. Sounds like you’re describing a common disorder […]
Q. I have a question about persimmon trees. I bought three pairs over the past several years from a well-known mail-order company. They were supposed to be one male and one female. All of the trees have little bell-shaped blooms, but don’t develop fruit. Have I received all females? How can you tell the difference? The oldest trees are over 10 years old. How old do they have to be to bear fruit? A. While it can […]
Q. I have a lilac bush that I started from a “slip” from my sister several years ago that has never bloomed. It is growing leaves and is beautiful, but no blooms. What do I need to do? A. There are a number of reasons why a plant might fail to bloom. The most common factors are plant age, sunlight, plant nutrition, winter temperatures and improper pruning. You didn’t indicate how many years ago you […]