One advantage to growing your own fruit trees is that you can get tree-ripened fruit, a real rarity in the grocery store. But, unlike other fruits, pears will reach their best quality when ripened off the tree. When left to ripen on the tree, most cultivars of pears leave something to be desired in terms of texture and flavor. Tree-ripened pears often turn soft and brown at the core and have an excessively grainy texture. […]
Q. An insect is killing my schefflera. It gets white, fuzzy-looking places on it that feel soft, and you cannot see the insect that is working on it. Finally, it will kill the leaf if not removed. I wash the leaves from time to time with soap and water, and last time a little bleach. It works for a while. I even tried a fungus product and worked it in the soil after giving the plant […]
Q. I have a ficus plant that was a gift in the fall of 2001. Recently, it started to drop leaves. It started out with a few leaves, then last week it dropped two-thirds of all its leaves. I have checked the plant for mealy and scale bugs but do not find evidence of them. I thought maybe it was getting too much sun in our solar area, and I moved it. When I checked the […]
Q. I read your article on fire blight. We have a bad case of fire blight on one of our pear trees. You spoke of doing a pruning of the diseased parts, and we were wondering when would be the best time to do the pruning–spring or fall? — Linda Am Rhein, Scipio, Ind. A. Fire blight-infected limbs and branches should be pruned during late winter when there is much less chance of spreading fire-blight bacteria on […]
Q. I have a corn plant that my sister game me. She lives in North Carolina, and I live in Indiana. I brought it home and it was beautiful. I looked it up in a garden book and the only information on it was to keep it watered–1 inch–when it feels dry. It is not doing well at all. Two bunches of the leaves fell off at the trunk. Each time I water, more leaves turn […]
Q. I gathered some bittersweet branches last fall. These are the decorative red berries gathered in the fall for winter arrangements in the home. I have saved some well-developed seed but can’t get them to grow. I stored some in the freezer for a time, yet neither did they sprout. I’m wondering if they must pass through a bird’s digestive process to sprout. The seed appears to be encased in a thick shell. If so, […]
Q. This year, I had problems with my tomatoes. They grew well and had lots of green and ripe tomatoes on them, when all at once the leaves turned yellow and fell off. Some plants had no leaves left. The tomatoes that were ripe didn’t taste good. This happened in just a week’s time. Other neighbors had the same problem. – Kathryn Gilbert Cory, Ind. A. Tomatoes are susceptible to a number of problems. One […]
Q. What do I focus on now in my flower gardens? Should I be pruning things before winter? Do I need to clean up the perennials and maybe put down some mulch? What do I do to get a couple of rose bushes ready for winter? – Mike Wadsworth West Lafayette, Ind. A. Autumn frosts will soon take their toll on the garden. Head outside with a pair of pruners and begin cutting perennials off […]
The strawberry harvest may be over, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to forget the plants. Post-harvest care is an important part of keeping your patch healthy and productive. With yearly renovation, strawberry plants can remain productive for 10 years or longer. Ideally, you should renovate the strawberry bed immediately following the last harvest. The work can still be done now, though it would be best to finish up before the end of July. […]
Q. I have one ‘domestic’ walnut tree. Every year, just before I think they are ready to be harvested, I come to the tree to find it has been stripped bare. I assume the culprits are squirrels. How can I tell when they are ready so I can get to them first next year? – Irvin Goldstein A. Collecting the nuts before they are truly ripe would lower the quality of the crop. You’re better […]