Gardening Tips and Tricks!
 

Tis the season to get started with your garden and landscape ideas. Brain and I put our collective heads together (now that in and of itself is quite a feat since we both have holes in our heads!) and came up with an idea to have a question and answer thread for you.

Brain is a fantastic gardener. She can grow the most gorgeous veggies and perennials of anyone I know! The pictures she has posted over the years have been spectacular! If we lived in the same town, she would be on my crew!

I have a Bachelor's Degree in Horticulture and own my own landscape design business. Over the course of time, I have learned what grows and what doesn't, how to make your yard work for you, and will answer questions about trees, plants, shrubs, bugs/pests, pruning, irrigation, etc. If I don't know the answer, I will tell you. But, I will also look it up and not keep you hanging!

So, as a team, Brain and I will do our best to see if we can help you with some of your questions. Feel free to post pictures of your gardens, plants, veggies, perennials, etc., as that's what this will be all about...

PS, I am also an arborist - someone knowledgeable about trees. I have been growing deciduous landscape trees for 12 years.

Welcome to our Q&A thread!!

Over to you Brain! ;)

When is the best time to plant hydrangias? I have one in a small pot and want to plant it outside but don't know when - and where? In the sun or in a shady spot?

Thanks!! :)

this is awesome!!! thank you both so much.

i'm going to have a balcony garden this year. i'll have lots of questions as to what is best to plant here in north texas. :D

Oh Wow, this is great!! My question---I have several peony plants and peony trees. Two years ago we had a very wet summer. My peony plant leaves and stalks started turning whitish grey, and then got black spots all over. I cut them back to the ground. Last year they came back up with the same problem. I cut them back again.Thank goodness my peony tress are still healthy.

Is this fungus, and how do I get rid of it? Or, do you think this is some other problem?They are just starting to come up again. They didn't bloom that well last year either.

It depends on what type of Hydrangea it is. Is this a Hydrangea that was given to you as a gift from a florist? If so, it may not survive outside. Some of these types of plants are "specialty" plants and don't usually survive outside.

Although you live in a generally warmer climate, you can try growing it outside if you wait til the weather warms up a bit more and the ground warms up. Plant it in an area that is well drained, but not dry, and will get some sun in the morning, but not the hot afternoon sun.

Or just repot it and keep it as a houseplant.

What a nice thing to do ladies.:) Ill be back with some ?s.

Sox

Peonies --- Tree Peonies should never be cut back. At least that's my opinion from my training. If you have some sort of fungus on them, then that should be treated and the infected leaves and stalks should be removed and destroyed.

Shrub peonies should be cut back every year. What you are describing sounds like a fungus. Make sure when you do your spring clean up, that all of the mulch and dead leaves and stalks from last season have been completely removed and replaced. The fungus is probably still growing in the mulch from the previous season.

During this season, if you see any leaves or stalks appearing with these same black spots, remove them immediately. Be sure that water is not splashing onto the plants.

Roses don't like water splashed on their leaves. Either from overhead watering or rain or splashing water. This does cause blackspot. As for the powdery mildew, this can also be caused by too much water and too much mulch around the base of the roses. I don't use too much mulch around my roses. I keep an area away from the roots. This allows air to circulate and keeps them from getting too much water and keeps the soil from staying wet. Roses don't like their feet wet.

I live in the high desert (3500' elevation) and my roses are in a bed with hot southwest exposure. They get about 20 minutes of drip line water each day and do just fine. We get about 10 inches of water a YEAR so as you can see, my roses are not water soaked at all. Last year, they were totally neglected b/c I was not well most of the summer. They didn't even get a good pruning and they just thrived! Neglect does them well!

My advice on roses - don't fuss over them. Fertilize them with a good systemic and prune them in the Spring, cut the flowers when you want something to look at, but otherwise, just leave them alone!

I've got a good au naturale recipe for aphids...

You're in Georgia? GA spans 4 heat zones! I don't know when you're supposed to plant anything, LOL!

One thing you could do is head to a nearby green house and ask when planting season starts for your area. Or find the nicest yard in town - The owner will tell you.

;)

I'm in NW OH - just shy of Michigan - and we plant on Mother's day.

You want to wait till after last chance of frost, and give it a week or two just to be safe.

Sounds so far off but trust me there is plenty I need to do out there before I'm ready to plant anything.

Not sure this is the right place for this...
 

Um...how do I get my husband to send me flowers? :p

Only kidding, great thread guys!

You two are the most awesomemost!:D

Keep it or Chop it down?
 

What a cool idea for a thread!

Okay, we're considering building a house on a lot with a bunch of trees. Some were in the way and so we had them removed; but an old, unhealtlhy-looking, smallish apple tree is still there. I know a diligent gardener would spray for those dern moths, but we tend not to be real diligent.

I think the trunk got beat up because no one ever properly pruned it, so (my guess) it has been the victim of years of neglect. There are still some other trees, including Potawatamie (sp) plums and poplars(?) And the ever-(un)popular Chinese elms. :mad:

Is it hopeless? Can you recommend therapy?

Save it or Saw it?

Oh drat! I took this literally as in Brain and Flygirl were coming to my house to garden. I would even offer my husband's culinary expertise to feed them and I would tend bar. Alas, that wasn't the offer, though.

I guess now I have to read through the thread and try to figure this gardening stuff out!

I was just out at Laurel's house and am doing a landscape plan for her! I did do one for her neighbor across the street! LOL! ;)

Fruit trees take a lot of attention, and yes, they must be sprayed with dormant oil unless you like bugs eating the fruit every year. They also take a lot of pruning in order to get fruit. 1/3 each year. Apples and Plums are pruned the same way.

There is no easy way to describe how to prune fruit trees. My suggestion is to go to your local nursery and/or bookstore and get a book, Sunset has some great ones on Fruit Trees, and read up on them. They come complete with diagrams.

Poplars are great windbreaks but are messy and have a lot of roots. If you start taking them out you are going to end up with a mess, and I do mean a mess. You cannot just cut them off at the ground. You will end up stimulating more sucker growth and have more populars than you would if you just left them undisturbed. Taking out populars requires stump grinding. But it is well worth it in the short run....

Send yourself flowers and see if he catches on! LOL!

I work part time at a Florist shops and it's amazing how many women do that...it works, sometimes. :D

Oh sure, skip right over western PA! I don't just need a plan, I need an overhaul.:eek::p:D

LOL! I love this thread!

Already got my gardening going and the
whole kit and caboodle - but of course
I live in the tropic zone so I start in
Dec & Jan ... months earlier than y'all.

If anyone's in the DEEP SOUTH - I can
HELP y'all down there - but I can't
answer any questions outside of that
zone though .... SORRY CHARLIE!
(oops - didn't mean to steal the line
from Starkist!)
:D

Collard Greens Anyone??

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/a...s/collards.jpg

<---- still waiting for a response!

Excellent question because I'm sure
10,000+ women are still waiting for
an answer!

I never could get my (ex) husband to
get me any flowers - I ended up buying
my OWN Rose Bushes! Geesh!

;)

Love this idea, I have tons of questions!

I have a Dwarf Magnolia and a Witchhazel (zone 7). When do I fertilize them, how often and how? Some people have told me to poke holes in the ground and put fertilizer there (with fertilizer made for that way) others have said the kind to sprinkle in the area is better.


THANKS!

And once you leave Holly's maybe you could scamper on to central PA. I need a plan too! Although we'll probably just end up on my porch drinking and shootin' the breeze! LOL:D

That's a good plan:D


My next question, Can I grow Wisteria in a huge container? I'm trying to hide a wall but there is a french drain at the base so nothing will grow in the ground. Any other type of plant you recomend?

Fertilize them now with a fertilizer that is a bit higher in Phosphorus. Fertilizers have what they call an NPK ratio, 3 numbers. A balanced ratio of 8-8-8 or 10-10-10 is fine this time of year, but in a couple of months you will want to give it a fertilizer with a 5-10-5 ratio.

A broadcast, granular type fertilizer that waters in easily is just fine. Miracle Gro makes a good one and so does Scott. Whatever is easiest for you to use and convenient. Just watch the ratio on the bag.


General Purpose Fertilizer - designed to provide basic nutrients for any plant, best for trees and shrubs.
· Lawn Fertilizer - Tends to have more nitrogen which turfgrass needs
· Flower Garden Fertilizer - Tends to have a bit more phosphorous which is needed to help encourage blossoms.
· Vegetable Garden Fertilizer - Higher percentage of all major nutrients since closely planted vegetables need more food.

If you can containerize a Wisteria...more power to you!!!

I would suggest a Clematis. They are much easier to grow in a large container and you can put up a nice trellis for them. Wisteria are very vigorous and invasive and I don't think you could contain it in any type of container except maybe a dump truck! LOL!

Sure Jess...send me pictures! ;)

Awww, I kill everything I touch, LOL!!! Can you two help me with my house plants? I'm murdering my spider plants, the aloa vera, my prayer plant...... oh, and the boston fern has lost most of it's leaves. There's a few others that I haven't killed yet, but I can tell you they are not very happy. Maybe it's my singing to them that's doing it????

Carolyn:hug:

Wow! What a fantastic thread!

I don't have a question at the moment, but I'm sure I'll have plenty when spring gets closer where I live, and we're ready to start putting the garden in order.

I'm wondering if there may be a way this could be made a sticky....if the Mods, Av8rgirl & Brain agree that is?

I guess I scared her off with the word overhaul!:eek:

Not me! Send me pictures. I can overhaul your yard Holly! ;)

Hi ladies,

What can I do about my rabbit problem? They eat practically everything that I try to grow. I know about chicken wire, (which seems to be the only way to accomplish anything) but I'd like something that looks good too. Should I just break down and get a live trap? Or is that futile? :confused:

Is this your garden or your yard? There are rabbit proof plants that you can plant around your garden to help keep them out so I need a little more information about what area you are trying to keep them out of...

If it's your garden, chicken wire over the area is a good idea. Yes, it is unsightly but what do you want, veggies or rabbits?

Rabbits can be trapped, but you will be trapping them and doing what with them? Releasing them? They will be baaack!!!!

I'm with Wiz...I'm having animal problems....only mine are deer. Now this is in my fron flower beds in front of my house so I can't go crazy with fencing LOL!

I know deer don't like smelly things...but neither do I!! Ack marigolds! I want some pretty, colorful flowers that aren't 4am deer treats!

Here is one of the websites that I use for Deer Resistant plants.

http://www.deer-resistant-plants.com/

and one for rabbits that I found from Colorado State Extension

http://www.coopext.colostate.edu/cha...0plants%20.pdf

One apple we had, we finally chopped - it just dropped all the fruit, which never ripened.

The other, we do very little with.

I'd tell you Cheryl is right - there is a lot to know about apples. But we get by with very little upkeep on the apple tree we kept.


Of course, we do get some wormy apples - but we prefer that to worrying about the effects of the spray. If you prefer to spray, you can look in the phone book for an arborist, or ask at a landscaping co near you for instructions to DIY.


Cut off 1/3 - no more! - of your tree's limbs any time now. Spring is generally a good prune time. But check with each plant type.

Cut off

Branches that are not horizontal, ones that cross (lose the weaker one) and diseased or dead ones. (If you have to keep ones that fall in any of these categories, go with the ones that hang down. At least they'll give fruit)



Don't leave any nubs - cut them all the way off t the base where they start or you only promote more bushiness.

When the tree blooms, take off the flowers as they fade, until you have one bloom per six inches of branch.

This allows each fruit to fully develope. Apples grow their nodes this year for next year's blooms. so if they have too many flowers, too many fruit, you get into a pattern of no blooms or fruit the next time - or every other year - because it does not have the energy to do it.

One time, maybe two, of bloom picking should get it back on course.

You might be surprised to find even a littl attention and light prune will pump some life into it. Ours must be older than me, neglected for decades. Came around with very little loving.

Give her a chance and if she doesn't respond, then consider the axe. I hate to lose a tree that could be good, you know?

Are you misting? If so, don't. With most plants like those water collects at the base of the leaves and causes rot. They like humidity, but only in the air around them.

Watering - they like the soil to feel dry to the touch before you water. But do water.

How long since they've been repotted? The soil may be out of nutrients, may have become contaminated. Fungus, bacteria, and pests happen even in indoor pots.

I have an easier time with outdoor plants than indoor ones because natuter takes care of all those things better than I do.

:rolleyes:

I'd probably start with a fresh bag of Hyponex, a clean pot - check to see if their current one is still large enough, and if so just wash with hot soapy water. If not, only go up one size.


Wash the roots off well too with luke warm water - just in case it is something in the soil. Heck, wash the leaves, genlty. If there are any sick looking ones, cut them off. I use a solution of 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water to kill bacteria if I really think the plant is sick. Pot them up, water well.

If it's a newer problems, I'd put them back where they were. If it's an on going thing, I'd rethink where they were. Maybe the lighting isn't right, maybe it's not warm enough, too warm.

Then try to water on a schedule when the soil feels dry.

Good idea! I'm growing clematis in a container and it blooms nicely. I'm trying trumpet vine too, so I'll let you know how that goes. They get a bit bigger which may help you - since you seem like you want a larger plant.

Another one might be mornig glory. I'm not a fan, but it's an idea.

I have rabbits inside my fence, lol. So I bought an articulated wooden cobra. It scares the tar outta everybody who sees it - it's not terribly realistic, but real enough. Cost me one dollar.

:eek:

Good enough to keep the rabbits out of my veggies.

Also, I do plant stuff especially for the rabbits.

(cuz I'm cool and that's how I roll) :D

I put a few johhny jump ups in, and they think that's their personal salad bar. Those must taste better then the other stuff, because the bunnies nibble the johnnies and that's about all.


I do still have to put the lettuce in pots. But I ain't lost a pepper or tomato plant yet.


Funny thing too, the rabbits never eat the johhnies completely gone. They just nibble them down so they'll keep growing - like they know it's their crop.