Q. I have a lot of vines that grew up my two trees. I noticed that one of my large trees is now dying. Would those vines kill them by taking all of the water from the bark? Also, I have a patio tomato plant that is big and doing great. Would it hurt the plant if I cut off a lot of the lower branches? Thank you. — Jerry Maquet A. In the southern […]
Q. I transplanted and divided some peonies last year. This year, the foliage looks good but some of the buds are small and black and have never fully developed. What’s wrong with them? — Cindy Polley, West Lafayette, Ind. A. Peonies have few pests or problems. The most frequently occurring pests are botrytis blight and leaf blotch, both fungal diseases. Especially prevalent during wet springs, botrytis affects leaves, stems and flowers. Spots appear on leaves, […]
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 […]
For many gardeners, pruning seems to be the most daunting chore in the home orchard. In an effort to avoid cutting off too much, many of us end up not cutting at all and end up with overgrown trees. Too little pruning can result in overcrowded, unhealthy branches that produce small fruit and/or few of them. On the other hand, severe pruning also can remove much of the crop potential. Not all fruit species grow […]
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. 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? […]
The winter landscape may seem a bit bland at first glance. But if you look closely, you’ll find that quite a few plants have interesting bark that is actually easier to appreciate without the distraction of leaves and flowers. Bark often changes over time, so that a species that starts out with thin, smooth bark on twigs and young branches may become thick and flaky or change in color as the plant matures. Beautiful bark […]
Q. I’m planning ahead for next spring and would like to attract more butterflies to my garden. What can I plant? I have a fairly sunny yard. — Vikki Stiles, Muncie, Ind. A. You need to provide food for both the adult and larval stage, water and cover. A butterfly garden should be protected from the wind and receive at least six hours of direct sun each day. Include a puddle or create a small […]
Evergreens provide green color all year long but that doesn’t mean that the individual needles live forever. Evergreens shed their older needles to make room for new growth, but what makes them evergreen is that they retain some foliage all year long instead of shedding all of the leaves at once. Evergreen needles have varying life spans, depending on the species. Arborvitae and pine needles live for 2 years while spruce needles live 3-10 years. […]