Q. Help! Something is boring holes in my silver maple tree. There are four holes at a time in a horizontal line. These holes are a little bigger than a pencil eraser and deep enough that the tree is oozing lots of sap. What could be doing this? Will my tree die? Do I need to plug the holes and with what? What can I do to prevent this from continuing? It has happened three times […]
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. Each year, including this past one, some of the new growth on my pear trees turns black and wilts. This year is the worst ever. What causes this and what can I do about it? – Ann Hunt, West Lafayette, Ind. A. Fireblight causes young twigs and flower blossoms to wilt, blacken and die. Often the tips of blighted twigs become crooked, resembling a shepherd’s staff. Fireblight affects apples, pears and certain ornamentals, including crab apples, […]
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 […]