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. I have been told that applying lime around pecan trees will increase nut size. Is this true? If so, how much and how often should it be applied, or what should the pH be? Are the pH requirements the same for other nut trees? Do English walnut trees leave toxins in the soil as black walnuts do? Can an old English walnut be replaced with a young one at the same site? I have some […]
Q: I have been trying to raise tomatoes on trellises for several years with not too much success. I tried shorter trellises, several different fertilizers and ground-up eggshells for copper and calcium. My plants grew tall vines, went above the trellis by about 3 feet and fell over, ruining my pepper plants next to them. Also, I had brown spots on the tomatoes. I tried different varieties, so variety isn’t a factor. Could you enlighten me, […]
Q. How do I get rid of these small, round, red-orange bugs that look like ladybugs? They are swarming on our screens, doors and porches trying to get in the house, and many of them succeed. Nothing seems to discourage them. If you happen to smash them, there is a terrible odor. I don’t know if they damage anything, but they sure are annoying. Thanks for all your useful answers. – Ellen Roe, Crawfordsville, Ind. A. I […]
Q: I have a couple of very large tulip beds (700 to 1,000 bulbs), and I usually keep them weeded by hand after the tulips have died down in the spring. Would it be all right to spray the grass and weeds that come up in the beds with Roundup in July or August? It would be a lot easier than hand-weeding the beds all summer. But would this harm the tulip bulbs in the ground? […]
Q. We have six flowering dogwood trees in our yard that are approximately 3 years old. (They have not flowered, yet.) Our yard is adjacent to a cornfield. Our problem is Japanese beetles. They especially like our dogwoods. According to publication E-75 from the Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service on Japanese beetles, flowering dogwoods are “relatively free of feeding by adult Japanese beetles.” Our dogwoods are not “relatively free.” Why are the Japanese beetles feeding on […]
Q. For three consecutive years I’ve grown tomato plants and lost at least half of my harvest because the tomatoes rot on the vine. I’ve purchased several gardening books, and none seem to explain the problem. The rotting area starts from the bottom and spreads through until the whole fruit is rotten. I’ve even changed varieties, but with no luck. Is this a disease, or could I be doing something wrong? – Greg Faucett, Tell City, […]
Q. What has happened to my peonies? This year my maroons are pink; my pinks are white. Then I have white, too. My red one has never changed colors. – Mary Harden, Clay City, Ind. A. Flower thrips occasionally feed on peonies, distorting the buds and flecking the petals with red or white. Thrips are most abundant between late spring and midsummer. They’re difficult to control because they’re usually protected by plant tissue, and they often reproduce […]
Q. I’ve planted tulips for many years. Last fall, I put about a dozen in a raised bed on the west side of my house. Only two bloomed. The rest had only leaves. What did I do wrong? At the same time, I planted another dozen in front of my house (northwest corner) on regular ground. Every one of them bloomed. The two that bloomed in the bed were the closest to the outside of the […]