The following question and answer columns are currently written by B. Rosie Lerner, Purdue Consumer Horticulture Extension Specialist and are distributed to news media around the state by the Purdue University Agricultural Communications. Columns from June 1995 - January 2006 were authored by Bev Shaw, Advanced Master Gardener.
Q. Could you tell me what kind of weed is creeping through my lawn and flowerbeds? It has scalloped edges on the leaves and pretty blue flowers. The leaves have a strong smell. I have tried all kinds of weed killer on it; I think it makes it grow! A. You and most every gardener in Indiana are doing battle with the common perennial weed called ground ivy, aka creeping Charlie, a member of the […]
Q. I love to walk our farm woods looking to find some of our native wildflowers. I was excited two years ago when I came across a violet that had yellow flowers. Went back last year to look in the area, but never found them again. I found in several nature books that violets will bloom white, yellow and the blue we usually see in early spring (woolly blue violet). I’m curious to know if […]
Q. Can you please help my friend to find out what the name of this plant on the picture is? She told me it smelled bad when flowered. I told her this is a kind of insect-eater plant but not sure what the name of it is. A. This is not necessarily a carnivorous (insect-eating) plant, but the photo is of a flower belonging to a large family of plants known as the Aroids. This […]
Q. I have been collecting red and orange Canna seeds this year from plants produced by bulbs at least 3 years old. Can these seeds be propagated? If so, what steps should I take? A. Canna is more typically propagated by dividing the rhizomes (thick, underground stems) so that each new section has at least one healthy bud that will become the new shoot. They can be propagated by seed, but keep in mind that […]
Q. I am hoping that you can help me understand why our poppy flowers never fully bloom. We moved to this house at Lake Bruce 6 years ago, and the poppies were already here. Each year there are numerous buds that never open fully. They just seem to mold and wither. What can the problem be? Thanks so much for your advice as I am envious when I see others in this area have beautiful […]
Q. I live in northern Indiana. Please tell me how to grow mint. What is the difference between peppermint and spearmint? A. Mint is an important commercial crop in Northwest Indiana, with over 9,000 acres raised in 2007 at a value of over $6 million (USDA National Agriculture Statistics Service http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Indiana/index.asp). The bulk of the Indiana mint crop is peppermint, followed by spearmint. Mint belongs to a botanical genus of plants called Mentha. Peppermint is Mentha […]
We continue to receive numerous inquiries about bagworms on landscape plants, especially evergreens. Since we’ve addressed this issue several times over the last few years, I won’t take the time to repeat the information here, but you can find the answers to most of your questions from the Purdue Extension entomology specialists online at http://www.ppdl.purdue.edu/PPDL/weeklypics/7-29-02-1.html and http://extension.entm.purdue.edu/publications/E-27.pdf. Q. I have learned about this dreadful stuff called artillery or shotgun fungus the hard way — namely by having it […]
Q. Hello, I have 4 hydrangea plants in my yard that are over 5 years old and have never bloomed. Two are in total shade, one is in part shade and the last is in full sun. The plants themselves continually get bigger every year and thrive. I have tried not removing the ‘sticks’ or ‘spines’ left at the end of the season, as the plant goes dormant, to see if it would maybe cause […]
Q. We discovered fire blight on one of our apple trees this summer. We cut all the branches with symptoms (withered leaves and the crook at the end) and burned them. We have seen no sign of any further damage. Do we still need to spray next spring as directed by the product we bought from our local nursery? A. Fireblight is a bacterial disease that affects over 70 members of the Rose Family (Rosaceae), […]
Q. I have a 2-acre yard that is filled with Ash trees. For years, I have had the problem of small trees or limbs growing from the base of the tree. I call them “suckers.” I have cut them off right to the tree base, but they keep coming back. Some of my trees have what looks like a bush surrounding it. This happens with old trees and young trees. What causes this and how […]