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Have questions for the Garden Hotline®?
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Perhaps the reason the Q&A section is so popular is that
much like THE GARDEN HOTLINE® radio program, many gardeners benefit from a
single gardener's question.
Here's this month's Q
& A: [October/Novtember 2008]
• Read the label?
Question: I salute you on your thoroughness in explaining the use of pesticides. In almost every up-date of the Web-site, Garden Hotline.com and on every Garden Hotline radio broadcast, you advise people to "read the label and follow the manufacturer's recommended rates and directions." However, is it necessary to repeat it so often? And spelling the chemical names all the time -- is it that necessary? - Barry, South Carolina
Answer: Thanks for the compliment. And, yes Barry, it is necessary. Over forty years of experience in helping gardeners with horticultural problems has taught me that reading the label is the most abused rule of gardening. Lots of gardeners "read the label" but many of them only read it AFTER all else fails. If a constant reminder will prompt gardeners to read labels BEFORE they use a product, then I'll be saying it to my grave.
When using a pesticide, whether it is an insecticide, fungicide, herbicide, miticide, rodenticide, etc., the label is the law. You must use the pesticide according to the information prescribed on, and by, the label. (This is a Federal Environmental Protection Agency regulation.)
As for spelling the names of products to listeners, I feel I must. One pesticide name could easily be confused with another if you are not listening carefully. Many names sound very much alike, for example, Balan, Betasan, and Baygon. (Don't you agree?)
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• Making chrysanthemums last?
Question: I plan to decorate my home with 100 hardy chrysanthemums for a party during the Thanksgiving holiday. Earlier this fall, every garden center in my area had thousands of colorful, potted hardy mums on display. However, since the garden centers have very few left, I am planning to purchase the plants this weekend and hold them for my party. I know chrysanthemums last for a considerable time when in bloom. What advice can you give to guarantee I will have multiple colors of flowers for my party, if I purchase mums this weekend? - Walter, Northern California
Answer: Great idea! Using hardy chrysanthemums for Thanksgiving decorations is excellent. Selecting plants this weekend is even smarter. Hardy mums are the traditional flowering plant of the fall season and so are in great demand at this time of year.
There should be many varieties of late-blooming, hardy mums still in the market at this time. You will find blossoms in shades of yellow, bronze, red, orange, pink, purple, cream, in bi-color varieties, and in pure white.
To ensure that your hardy chrysanthemums hold and develop for your party, select plants with one-third of the flowers fully opened, one-third of the flowers showing half color (buds half open), and one-third of the buds showing just a little color. Chrysanthemums in this condition should display full color for six weeks or more.
To hold hardy mums, keep them in a cool, sunny environment with six or more inches between each plant. The space between the plants allows light to reach the lower foliage, keeping the leaves crisp and green. Proper spacing also allows air circulation, reducing disease potential. Water each plant by moistening only the soil. Do not wet the foliage or the flowers. It should not be necessary to feed the mums at this time because the grower has fed them to their maximum, right up to bloom.
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• Green bugs on herbs?
Question: I potted up curly and plain-leaf varieties of parsley plants from my herb garden and am now growing them in a sunny window over my sink. Yesterday, I went to harvest a few sprigs of parsley and found little green bugs all over the leaves. Each bug had three pairs of legs, two antennas, and two little protrusions sticking out the back end. Should I discard the plants? - Martha, Missouri
Answer: Don't throw out the plants. The little green bugs are probably aphids, sometimes referred to as plant lice, which came in with the plants when you took them from the garden. Aphids are easy to keep in check by rinsing the foliage under running water to wash them off the leaves. If the pest problem persists, an application of insecticidal soap, labeled for fruits and vegetables, can be applied according to the directions. Read the label.
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• Hydrangeas turning color?
Question: Several hortensia hydrangeas planted in a border next my lawn were a beautiful dark blue color years ago but are gradually losing their blue color and turning pink. Is there anything I can do at this time of year to help restore the color in next year's blooms?
- Jeff, Ohio
Answer: The gradual change of color of the hydrangea flower from blue to pink is likely due to a change of pH or acidity of the soil. The soil is becoming more alkaline. A pH 4.5 to 5.0 is ideal for the development of a rich, blue color in hortensia hydrangea. The closer the pH is to neutral, 7.0, the more pink the hydrangea flower.
If you are applying lime to your lawn, it may be leaching into the root zone of the hydrangea, raising the soil pH. To acidify the soil and restore the blue color, this fall and again next spring, apply aluminum sulfate at the rate of 1/4 ounce to a gallon of water.
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• Caladium calamity?
Question: I dug and potted fancy-leaved caladiums from my flower garden before the first frost and placed them in a sunny window to grow them indoors during winter. The large, colorful leaves are collapsing and the new growth is less than half their original size. What am I doing wrong? - Betty
Answer: Caladiums, in general, don't make good houseplants. They require high humidity and good light (but protection from strong sun). As soon as the heating season begins, the humidity in the home drops and the leaf size is diminished. Let the plants go dormant and plant them in the garden in the spring. The tubers can be taken out of the soil, cleaned, and allowed to dry. Store the tubers in dry sand, peat moss, or vermiculite, in a temperature of 60 to 65 degrees F.
Perennials, Great blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) produces spikes of light-blue flowers from midsummer into fall and, common toad lily (Tricyrtis hirta) with white or yellow, purple-spotted flowers atop 2- to 3-ft., stems in late summer and fall.
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