Q. The last three years I have had scale on my hollyhocks. They just start to bloom, and the scale appears and they die. Is there something I can use to get rid of the scale? After they start to die, I clean up everything and burn. – I.T., Paoli, Indiana. A. I wonder if you might be referring to hollyhock rust, a fungal disease that commonly affects hollyhocks. The rust-colored blotches can resemble scale […]
Q. I need information on how to manage hops from the ground up and when and how to do what. Any information you can provide will be greatly appreciated, such as when to dig rhizomes, prune, storage, etc. A. Hops for production require good management through pruning, training and fertilizing and through a fairly long growing season of 120 frost-free days. Note that there are some varieties of hops that are ornamental rather than for hop […]
Q. Could you tell me about the weed in the attached photo? I see them everywhere. Last year at the Celery Bog park, I noticed big piles of them where someone had gone through and pulled them. Is it something new to our area in recent years? And is it considered invasive? – PB, Lafayette, Ind. A. This notorious pest is called garlic mustard; it’s an invasive, biennial species that quickly colonizes where it lands. […]