Charlotte.com: Nancy Brachey

Russian sage can soar, but not if soggy

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 19:00 EDT

Q. I was in Santa Fe and fell in love with Russian sage. Will it grow well here, and who would carry it?

It's a fine perennial for the Piedmont, provided you do not plant it where the soil stays wet. It also requires lighter soil than our typical clay. Soggy soil around the base, especially in winter, will kill a Russian sage. Its assets include drought tolerance, resistance to deer, an upright shape and long-lasting lavender flowers.

Russian sage normally rises 3 to 5 feet. However, smaller varieties such as Little Spire, growing 2 to 3 feet tall, are well suited to smaller flower gardens. The arching stems and silver-gray foliage makes a nice contrast to Shasta daises, coneflowers, black-eyed susans and other flowers with dark green leaves. They're sold in garden centers.

Stressed-out aucuba bushes

Q. I have four aucuba bushes that were doing great until this year. Now, it looks like they are dying. They develop black leaves, and then the whole stem or branch dies. What should I do?

It sounds like a root problem or environmental stress. The blackened leaf spots you describe could be because of excessive sunlight on these shade-loving plants, even in the winter. However, that is likely to have shown up earlier in the life of the plants. I suggest you continue to cut back dead or disfigured branches several inches below all signs of infection.

The sudden occurrence may be due to root rot or crown rot from soil that is too wet, either because soil drainage is poor or because the unimproved clay soil holds moisture. Are you overwatering these plants? Are they at the bottom of a slope? Do you have more than two inches of mulch over the roots?

As you deal with these problems, consider using healthy ends of aucuba branches to propagate new plants as insurance against losses. Because the stem tissue is rather soft, these plants root very rapidly in water. Make cuttings about 4 inches long and put in a jar of water. I think you will be surprised how easily they make new plants.

Abelias never bloomed

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 18:34 EDT

Q. I planted three fragrant abelias this spring. They look very healthy, are growing well and get lots of sun. But they haven't flow-ered. I have planted the Edward Goucher abelias in the past, and they have always flowered profusely. Any suggestions?

Unlike the abelias such as Edward Goucher, which bloom in summer, the fragrant abelia blooms in late spring-early summer. This is an entirely different species of abelia. You have missed the flowering season this year, probably because the shrubs were spending their energy growing roots and getting established. However, the flowers and scent will be worth waiting for because the little white flowers possess a sweet scent that is very enjoyable. Another asset is the fall color, which is orange to red, and that should show up on time.

Azaleas need slow watering

Q. I fear I have overwatered a couple of my newly planted Gibraltar orange azaleas. They are still hanging on, but looking pretty bad. Is there anything I can do?

It sounds like you are putting enough water on the soil, but that the plant is not getting enough of it. Azaleas are famous for being root-bound when taken out of the containers. Growers push the plants to make them fluffy and attractive.

Often when you take an azalea out of the pot, you see roots wound densely around the outside of the root ball. Teasing these roots away from the root ball or making a shallow cut down the sides and across the bottom of the root ball are two ways to encourage outer growth.

The watering you are doing is not getting into the root zone. This summer, try to water the plants very slowly, so that the water seeps into the root zone. A very slow trickle of the hose should do this for you.

Q. Along Park Road in Charlotte, there is a line of trees, dark green leaves with a contrasting lighter flower which resembles a Chinese lantern. What are they?I'd like to get some to plant.

They're golden chain trees. I often get asked to identify them because they are so different. They grow 20 to 40 feet tall, create a wide canopy and require sun. They tolerate heat, air pollution and drought. As you have seen, they produce good-looking trees along a busy street. If you are shopping, the botanical name is Koelreuteria paniculata. There are some named varieties, including September and Fastigata.

Spindly gardenia needs pruning now

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:09 EDT

Q. I have a gardenia bush that has become tall and spindly. It has just finished blooming. Can I trim it back now so that it eventually will get fuller at the bottom? My neighbor says her bush blooms again in the fall. Should I wait until then?

Since the main flowering season for most gardenias is about over, you can trim your gardenia. This is an opportunity to shape up the plant and do the pruning that will encourage side growth on the branches and the fuller plant you want. It would be better to do this now, so that new growth has plenty of time to develop and acclimate before cold weather.

Some gardenia hybrids produce a second season of bloom.

This summer, it is more important to develop a shapely, better looking plant.

Moving hydrangea

Q. A redesign of our deck causes me to have to move a hydrangea. This is not just any old hydrangea, it's special. My mother gave this to us years ago and it is 5 feet by 5 feet and full of blue all summer. Can I safely move this now, and should I cut it back?

Wait until the plant is dormant and most of the leaves have fallen off in November. Cut back some of the oldest, least floriferous stems to the base of the plant. Then dig it with care and move it to the new spot. Root-stimulating fertilizer will help the roots develop through the winter and get the plant off to a better start.

It will take at least one growing season to recover and produce the masses of beautiful flowers you enjoy.

Signs of early dormancy

Q. My bleeding heart, a youngster planted this spring, is looking rather bad in its top branches. They are yellowing to brown around the leaf edges, and some of the branches are appearing to fall off. The lower foliage looks fine, and it's seeing a lot of new growth overall. Is there any pruning needed at this point, or is it over- or under-watered?

In our climate, the old-fashioned bleeding heart tends to disappear early in the summer because of lack of water. In wetter, cooler climates, the foliage would hang on until late summer or autumn. But our dry soil tends to encourage an early retreat into dormancy. That does not mean it is gone. It should send up new stems and bloom again next spring. Because of this normal disappearing act, gardeners often plant bleeding hearts in combination with hardy ferns.

Landscape fabric helps control weeds

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 18:04 EDT

Q. I had two large ivy beds in my front yard and decided I wanted all ivy removed because weeds were taking over. Workers dug up everything, sprayed with weed killer and spread pine straw. Now that hot weather is here, weeds are back. I've tried three different sprays, and nothing is working. It kills for a while, and then weeds are back. I hate using chemicals. Is laying a black tarp over the ground my only solution?

I cannot tell you that you will conquer weeds. It just takes persistence. The weed population is huge, and they spread by various means, including roots that weed-killers failed to eradicate.

You'll always have to face some weeds; the goals are to keep the numbers as low as possible and to use a minimum amount of herbicide.

There are two basic kinds of weeds: annual, which spread by seeds from flowers that are allowed to develop, and perennial weeds, which spread by seeds and roots.

With annual weeds, such as chickweed, you must get the plant out, by digging or herbicide, before it sets seeds and produces a new generation that will sprout sooner or later.

With perennial weeds, you must dig them up or use a herbicide that kills roots as well as the stems and leaves. And it sometimes takes more than one application.

What you are seeing is probably a combination of warm-weather perennial weeds and fresh crops of annual weeds.

I once had a large bed of ivy, since removed, and it's now planted in shrubs and perennials. A pine tree produces a nice layer of fresh needles every year and weed control has been minimal. But I keep a close watch for young weeds that are easy to pull up, especially after a rainfall.

Landscape fabric, which allows rainfall to move through, could help you keep the weeds under control. You can cut holes to set out shrubs and trees. However, weed seeds can still blow in and erupt in the mulch. The battle goes on.

Oops, forgot fertilizer

Q. The spring has gotten away from me, and I just realized that I never fertilized my camellias and rhododendrons. Is it too late now?

A. Yes. Plus, it's not necessary. If those plants look good, they should be fine. The more important thing is to keep the plants watered through the summer. Good, organic soil, excellent drainage and two inches of pine needle mulch are the essentials for these plants. Too much fertilizer is far worse than too little.

Growing vegetables in pots – www.charlotte.com. Click on “Today's Bloggers.”

Pollination needed to grow squash

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 18:38 EDT

Q. All of my plants in the garden are doing well, except for yellow squash and zucchini. Instead of being prolific producers, as they have been in the past, they are slow growing and the initial fruits are growing only about an inch or so before they are just withering on the vine. I had some trouble last year with the zucchini that I chalked up to lack of pollination, but my squash have never had problems. Any advice?

The flowers on these plants are not being pollinated, and you can blame that on the continuing lack of honeybees in the U.S. You will have to do the work of the bees, but it is not difficult.

Look at your plants, including the zucchini, and you should see two similar, but different kinds of flowers. These are the male and female flowers. The female flower will have a tiny squash at the base of the flower.

With a cotton swab, lift the pollen from stamens on a male flower and touch this to the tip of the pistil in the female flower. This is pollination, also known as sex in the garden. Other crops, including melons and cucumbers, which have separate male and female flowers, may also require this treatment.

It is possible that your first crop of flowers were all male flowers, and there were no female flowers yet. By this time, however, that is unlikely and the problem is probably due to the lack of bees to pollinate the flowers. The recent heat wave could also have made the pollen ineffective, as it did on some tomato plants.

Look to mid-July for plums

Q. We have a plum tree that is full of plums. They are a little larger than a cherry. How long will it be before the fruit is ready to eat?

You should probably have plums about mid-July, perhaps a bit earlier or later depending on the type of plum you are growing. It is important to observe the developing color and remember that the fruits continue to mature and develop their best taste after they begin to show the distinctive red or purple color.

Give one a taste test to make sure they are ripe and ready to pick and eat. All these plums will not ripen at once. Good rainfall over the next month will help develop high-quality fruits. Here's hoping.

Tomatoes slow to grow? Not to worry, there's still time

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 21:35 EDT

Q. I've got tomato vines 3 feet tall with lots of blooms but no tomatoes setting yet. What is going wrong?

Tomatoes do not require insects to pollinate flowers because normal swaying in the wind shakes the pollen within the flowers. This sets fruit.

However, weather can interfere with this. As a general rule, fruit set is inhibited when night temperatures rise above the mid-70s and day temperatures are above 90. When tomato flowers don't pollinate, they drop off the plant.

Try shaking your plants in bloom, but only gently, for a few seconds a couple of times a week as blossoms develop. Whether night temperatures will drop in coming weeks to the best level remains to be seen.

Another reason is excessive nitrogen fertilizer that produced very rapid growth of stems and leaves and reduced carbohydrates required to set fruit.

Did you go overboard on fertilizer this spring?

Do your best to keep the plants evenly watered, use fertilizer strictly according to the amount and timing on the label and shake the plants a bit. Tomato plants have many months ahead of them to be productive, so you should not be discouraged in mid-June.

Q. My dwarf Alberta spruce, about 8 years old, is having some problems. It gets brown on the inside and at the bottom. It got worse through the drought but I don't think that is the problem. It has come back but still does not look good. What should I do?

The dwarf Alberta spruce is a darling plant, with an interesting cone shape. It is highly susceptible to spider mites. Yours is probably suffering the effects of high summer temperatures, our long stretches of drought and spider mites.

Spider mites are evident by webbings on the plant and a stippled or flecked appearance on the foliage that results from this pest feeding on the needles. The foliage turns yellow or brown, then falls off. This is a very common problem.

Strong streams of water once a week or so when it doesn't rain will dislodge some spider mites, and help with the moisture problem.

Pesticides effective for spider mites will likely be required for moderate or heavy infestations. Horticultural oil will help, but must be applied thoroughly over the plant. You also will have to cut off the dead wood. Keep the plant watered and see how it develops over the coming year or so, keeping in mind that this plant grows very slowly.

If it doesn't regain a good appearance, you will not be the first gardener to lose a dwarf Alberta spruce.

Help cannas by spraying insecticide

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:22 EDT

Q. I have two beds of beautiful dark purple cannas. The leaves are lovely, but they are starting to get the worms that plague them each year. Some of the new leaves are not unrolling. I've followed your advice and cleared away the dead plant each fall, and I try to remove the leaves that are most infected. What else can I do to prevent the damage?

This problem, pervasive in the Piedmont on cannas, is caused by the lesser canna leaf roller. You helped your plants a lot by removing all the old canna stems and foliage last fall, because that is where the dormant insect overwinters.

However, it is still present in the environment. The moths mate and deposit eggs on the fresh foliage of the slowly unfurling canna leaves. After hatching, the tiny larvae feed on the tender new growth, creating holes that are soon evident.

As the caterpillars mature, they become capable of rolling the leaves, creating the effect of stitches visible in mid-to-late summer. The combination of holes chewed in the leaves and the rolled effect combine to reduce the beauty of cannas.

The best thing you can do now is to use Bacillus thuringiensis, diluted in water according to label directions, and spray it into the center of the rolled canna leaves.

There are typically two generations of this insect yearly, so continue to use BT into midsummer. That should kill most caterpillars that can wreck the appearance of your cannas. Starting early is key, but you should continue your practice of clearing away all the stems and foliage in November.

Black spots on roses

Q. I sprayed my roses earlier this spring, but still see black spots and yellowing leaves on the plants. Why is this happening?

Bush roses, notably the hybrid tea types, are prone to infection by the black spot fungus, and fungicides sprayed on the leaves do not last very long. Many are out there, including combinations that deal with several kinds of rose diseases.

Most products require reapplication every seven to 10 days to keep black spot under control. This is vital in wet weather and even when the humidity is high.

The damaged leaves are a source of infection for new ones. Take all of them off, look over the ground for ones that fell off and pick them up. Once the plants are clean, spray the new foliage.

The best step toward recovery is a vigorously growing plant. Make sure they have sufficient fertilizer and water. Water the rose from ground level with a hose or can. Wet foliage invites reinfection.

Annuals to perk up a porch

Fri, 30 May 2008 22:28 EDT

Q. Could you recommend flowers for my screened porch? I'm looking for pretty colors like pinks, purples and fuchsia for containers in low light.

Screened porches offer enough light and humidity for several kinds of annuals to prosper. These include three annuals – impatiens, begonias and torenias – that will grow in pots in low light.

Planted in containers and tended well, they should perform as well on the porch as they would in a bed or pot outdoors in similar low light. The begonias offer a range of pink flowers, from light to dark, as do impatiens. Torenias come in gorgeous shades of blue and violet, and make a nice choice for trailing over container edges .

The torenias and begonias could make a nice combination because their size makes them good companions in containers. All of these plants tolerate summer heat in the shade. One disadvantage of impatiens is they tend to drop spent blooms a lot. The torneias and begonias will simply require snipping off their spent blooms.

Add some green to these containers. The best choice is one of the frothy tropical ferns to vary the texture and enhance the colors of the pink and purple flowers.

Another choice is one or two orchid plants.

Orchid plants bearing well-budded stems will produce a very long show. The popular moth orchid should do well in the shade you describe, but you would have to bring it indoors for the winter. Thanks to improved propagation methods, these orchids have found their way into the marketplace at reasonable prices.

Save tulip bulbs now

Q. I have a terrible problem with squirrels and chipmunks and would like to save my bulbs. Can you dig up tulip bulbs and save them for fall replanting? When would I do this?

Now. You can dig up these bulbs, clean off soil, clip back roots and stray foliage and store them in a cardboard box. Put in dry peat moss to absorb moisture and store in a cool, dry place.

Since you have a problem with wildlife, try this technique next fall at tulip-planting time. Plant the bulbs 8 inches deep, cover with about 6 inches of soil, then lay a square or rectangle of chicken wire over the bulb bed. Then cover that with soil and mulch. The animals will still try to dig, but the wire should halt the digging while allowing the stems to rise normally.

Plants along drive should glow all year

Fri, 23 May 2008 19:03 EDT

Q. We want to line the edge of our sunny driveway. We are not interested in using monkey grass. What else can we consider?

A driveway in the front yard calls for plants along the edge that look good all year. That means an evergreen. Ivy won't do because it will soon run all over the place. And I don't imagine that you want to make it a flower garden with daylilies, Shasta daisies and black-eyed susans looking great in summer, but not so interesting the rest of the year.

Two types of creeping junipers could suit this strip of your landscape. These include Blue Rug, which typically grows 4 to 6 inches tall, and Procumbens, which matures at about 6 inches. These could eventually form a low mat along the drive. Junipers also tolerate drought pretty well, but a wayward tire would be hard on them.

Another possibility is evergreen candytuft. This is a flower garden edger that looks good almost all year and bears pretty white flowers in early to mid spring. It will not take abuse by feet or tires.

The length of your driveway and the cost of these more expensive plantings could lead you to reconsider monkey grass, or liriope as it is named. A little liriope goes a long way in time, and you could have a fluffy border to take the hard edge off your concrete drive in a year or two – and spend your money on other parts of the landscape.

Wisteria needs time to bloom

Q. I planted a wisteria, two or three years ago, on an arbor, with a climbing rose on the opposite. The rose flowered very well, but no wisteria flowers at all. It has plenty of leaves, and I thought last year maybe the frost had affected it, as it did not flower then either. Any suggestions?

Wisteria is notorious for testing the patience of gardeners who wonder why it typically takes several years to grow from a rooted cutting to blooming size.

It seems clear that enough time has not yet passed. However, since you say the plant has plenty of leaves, I wonder if you have been overfertilizing it with nitrogen and encouraging too much leaf growth.

An application of superphosphate fertilizer (0-20-0, for example) could rev up the plants blooming spirit and give you the blooms you want next spring.

Wisteria does not require attention to bloom well.

Once it gets growing, I suspect it will go to battle with that rose for dominance on the arbor and you will be cutting it back pretty often.

Late winter is the best time to trim boxwoods

Fri, 16 May 2008 21:22 EDT

Q. We have American boxwoods planted about 12 years ago that have grown about 8 feet tall and do not look good. How do we go about trimming them? The limbs are not very dense but are far apart. And, what is the best way to make cuttings for new plants?

The best time to prune boxwoods is in late winter, just before new growth emerges. That allows you to shape the plant without losing the attractive new foliage. So, if you can wait, wait.

However, your plant is 12 years old, which means it's well-established and should continue to grow this summer. I wouldn't do anything drastic. Try pruning the tips of the stems by no more than 5 or 6 inches, which should produce some growth along the sides of the stems and lead to a fuller, denser plant. That may not bring it down to the height you desire. Wait and do that more drastic pruning next February.

Since you are trimming, this is an opportunity to use the cuttings to root into new plants. Examine the stems and look for semi-mature wood that is between the tender newest growth and the older, harder, darker stems. This is where to trim the cutting to about 3 to 4 inches long. Set the tip end in rooting hormone powder, and set in a pot or flat of sterile rooting mix. Cover with a plastic bag to keep the air humid and make sure the pot does not dry out.

Let slime mold air out

Q. I have been finding a large, yellowish mushroom or some other fungus on my pine needle mulch. It is mushy, so I have not been able to scrape it off. Will it harm my plants, and what kind of fungicide can I use on it?

This is a slime mold, and it is common on wood mulch. I suspect there is some additional organic matter such as shredded wood among your pine needles. It is a harmless – but unsightly – mess that alarms gardeners. It develops in a moist environment and is a fungus feeding on decaying organic matter.

Have you been watering too much? Try to let the mulch dry out. Or at least rake it to let in air and help dry out the mulch and let the fungus disappear into its unnoticed state as spores. With a garden fork, you could turn it over. But do this gently. You don't want to smash this mess and send spores flying everywhere.

You may also have a layer of mulch that is so thick it never dries out. Pine needle mulch should be about 3 inches deep.

Shrubs can make smaller yard a big hit

Fri, 09 May 2008 21:32 EDT

Q. To cut down on the amount of lawn that has to be mowed and make the front yard look better, I'm going to start preparing some new beds for shrubs and perennials now so I can plant in the fall. I'd like 1 or 2 kinds of shrubs, preferably evergreen, that will stay under 3 or 4 feet or that can be cut back to be that size without spoiling the plants' look. Any suggestions?

You are wise to cut the size of your lawn, and a mixed bed of shrubs and perennials has endless potential for pleasure. Think of these shrubs as a way to help define the shape of this bed. If they will be viewed from two directions, set them through the middle, either as a line swirling gently or in zigzag fashion. That way you can plant both sides of the bed with perennials.

There are many to choose from among shorter evergreens. Otto Luyken laurel rises about 3 feet, but spreads wide, to about 5 feet, and would be a good choice if those beds are quite large. Its shiny deep green leaves make a good background plant for flowers. Indian hawthorn, rising 3 to 4 feet and spreading 4 to 5 feet, makes a lovely flowering shrub, with many varieties on the market. It looks good in mass, especially when the white or pink flowers bloom in spring. In full sun, this is a good alternative to azaleas, though some of the shorter ones could suit your space.

The little gardenias named Radicans are excellent plants for this climate, with lovely scented flower in early summer. The foliage is good looking and plants rise to about 2 feet, spreading to 3 feet. This plant requires patience while it settles down and starts growing, but it is a reliable bloomer and the foliage is lovely.

Hooray for reds, whites and blues

Q. I'd like to do a red, white and blue theme for my yard this summer. I have two extremes. I need flowers for total shade (north side) and full sun (south side).

Naturally there are more to choose from among the annuals for your home's sunny side: petunias in red, white and blue, white or blue angelonia, fluffy white Diamond Frost euphorbia, red salvia, verbena in all three colors and blue or white scaveola.

Since you are looking for summer bedding plants, the shady side of your house has fewer choices, though all are good. Modern New Guinea impatiens include some bright true reds and clear whites that are very fresh looking. Bedding begonias, too, offer good choices in red and white flowers. Together, they will get you going on red and white.

The best blue is one of the torenias, a cute little trailing plant that comes in a range of blues from light to dark as well as violet.

This Japanese maple just needs chance to recover

Fri, 02 May 2008 21:45 EDT

Q. My lovely, large lace-leaf Japanese maple appears not to have survived the winter. Last spring's late freeze killed most of its new leaves and it never regained its full lush. I was preparing to remove the remains when I noticed several shoots emerging from the main trunk. Is there hope? What should I do?

Give it a chance at recovery. You wouldn't replace it until next autumn anyhow. So, give it this growing season to see how these small shoots develop.

The dead wood will have to be pruned and that may result in a misshapen tree. Don't prune until you are sure it isn't going to put out more growth along those stems. Water it in dry weather.

Even with these sprouts it will take some years for the tree to recover. In the coming months, watch it and evaluate how promising the recovery appears. Think about how content you will be to watch over it and wait. This is especially important if the tree is in a visible spot where you will see it, and perhaps hurt for it, every day.

Garden centers often have very good sales on ornamentals, including Japanese maples, in late summer. If you buy a Japanese maple tree in a container in the heat of August, expect to water the pot regularly until the tree is planted.

Compost pile could use a boost

Q. The compost pile I made last fall seems to be working very slow. How can I speed it up?

Your leaves apparently did not generate enough heat to make decomposition work as fast it should. Thin layers of leaves tend to make cold compost, which can take several years.

I suspect you just have leaves in your pile or bin. They need some help to pep up the microorganisms that do the work of decomposition.

Add nitrogen, which comes from grass clippings or other green matter or even a dusting of garden fertilizer; air, which comes from stirring the bin every month or so, and enough water to keep the materials damp but not soggy.

Nellie holly a good choice for privacy

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 19:43 EDT

Q. We have leyland cypresses bordering our backyard for privacy, and before we had red tips. The leylands are now diseased just as the red tips 14 years ago. What would be a good fast-growing replacement?

Your best choice for a privacy hedge is the Nellie R. Stevens holly. I suspect a lot will be planted over the next year to replace leylands decimated by drought and disease. Nellie has been around a long time and proved its worth in the Southern landscape, even during the stressful years of the past decade.

Bred by a cross of Chinese and English hollies, Nellie has a number of important assets: moderate to rapid growth, tolerance of sun or part shade, and beautiful dark green foliage with bright red berries.

The mature height is 15 to 25 feet, but this holly is amenable to pruning. The width, 10 to 15 feet at maturity, means you can space these plants farther apart than your leylands. I would set them at least 10 feet apart.

Nellie bears only female flowers, so a male holly is required to pollinate the flowers to get the red berries. If there is a male Chinese holly in the vicinity, it will do the job because it blooms at the same time. If you have no Chinese holly, include Edward J. Stevens in your assembly.

Other choices to consider are the fall-flowering Camellia sasanquas, which grow at a moderate pace to about 10 feet and dwarf Burford Chinese holly, which reaches about 7 feet at a moderate pace.

While your desire to replace those leylands now is high, I urge you to wait until autumn to plant them. At planting time, use root-stimulating fertilizer to encourage good development through the fall and winter. Put a soaker hose under the mulch so the plants are adequately watered during their first two growing seasons.