Q. The home we moved into a few years ago backs up to a creek running through our subdivision. On both sides of the creek is a thicket of ferns, bushes, briars, poison ivy, spindly trees and wild woody vines. The vines grow into the tops of a number of the trees, including cedars. We’ve cleared out a portion of the thicket closest to our home, put up a picket fence and now have a […]
Q. We have a new home, which we built three years ago on Lake Shafer, and we have lady bug problems. The first summer, they seemed to be all over the houses out, and we are always finding them inside, sometimes on one side of the house more than the other. Do you know how to get rid of them? Thanks.– Jeanne Garofalo, Chicago, Ill. A. The Asian lady beetle is considered a beneficial insect […]
Q. I live in an older home with established bushes and trees. Last year, they started getting a bit wild and unruly. I don’t want to use hedge shears to trim plants into tight shapes. I’d rather have a natural look but don’t want to trim all summer. Do you have any suggestions? — Larry Osborne, Fort Wayne, Ind. A. The dormant season is a great time to prune many shrubs. Landscape plants should be […]
Q. I used to have many kinds of peonies with excellent large blooms. But they no longer have many blooms, and the foliage seems to have some kind of disease. I am almost ready to kill them off. What can I do, or should I destroy them? — Diane H. Jungels, Rensselaer, Ind. A. Cladosporium leaf blotch of peony, also known as red spot or measles, is a common disease in Indiana. Look for distinct, […]
Q. We are building a new home and in the side yard are two, huge 16-year-old blue spruce. We are trying to save them so we designed a retaining wall to include these trees, but huge concrete trucks have had to go rather close to them. I’m worried they have damaged the roots. The trees have dead tips hanging from some of the branches. What can I do to help save these beautiful old trees? […]
Q. Are there any other varieties of lilies that bloom for more than just one day, besides the Stella D’Oro? Also, why is it necessary to dig up the Canna variety but not others? Is it naturally tropical? I love lilies! Thank you. — Josie Kramer, Clear Lake, Ind. A. The range of color, shape and size of daylilies is wonderful, but breeders are working hard to create more reblooming daylilies. Most daylilies bloom for […]