
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, August 1, 1993                   TAG: 9308020408
SECTION: HOMES                    PAGE: E-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: John Arbogast
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

USE OF SALTPETER TO REMOVE TREE STUMPS IS QUESTIONED

Q: I am writing to you regarding your recent column about stump removal. We lost a tree in our back yard because of the recent storms that we had in the Roanoke area. My husband has been advised by two people to drill holes in the stump and put saltpeter in the holes to rot or dissolve the stump (or something like that). They said that it would be gone by the end of the summer. I have never heard of this and was already concerned about the effects this could have on the surrounding grass if saltpeter is so potent that it can get rid of our stump in one summer. Also, we have a 20-month-old daughter; I'm not sure if she should be playing around such stuff. We do not have a stump grinder, ax or pick, but we own a drill, and if this is a safe and effective method of stump removal, it will certainly be a lot easier for us than the methods you have mentioned. N.S., Christiansburg

A: I have not heard of using saltpeter on stumps, and I can't comment on the safety of that method. I checked with Roanoke City's Urban Forester, who also has not heard of using saltpeter. I would not recommend it.

Q: I have two questions. How do you start a clipping of a snowball bush? My wife loves the blue bush my neighbor has, but I don't know how to propagate it. Also, from time to time a yellow-brown fungus appears in our yard or mulch piles. It is not heavy and appears only in spots. You can take a hose and it washes away fairly easily. It doesn't appear JOHN ARBOGAST to harm plants or shrubs, but it is unsightly and a bother. R.M., Roanoke

A: Hydrangeas that producethose blue flowers can be propagated by rooting 6-inch cuttings of new spring growth in June or early July. Actually, cuttings taken from the tips of branches even this late into summer probably would root if flowers were removed from cuttings, even though the spring growth is getting somewhat firm by now.

Because the leaves of hydrangea varieties that can produce blue flowers are fairly large, remove all but two leaves on each cutting and then cut those leaves in half. Lightly treat the base of each cutting with a root stimulating hormone such as Rootone and then stick the cuttings about 2 inches deep into a pot of dampened rooting media, such as half sand/half peat mixture. Place the cuttings in a bright location out of direct sunlight and check for moisture in the rooting mix regularly.

That yellow-brown growth you mentioned is a type of mold that was very common in the spring and early summer when our area was receiving adequate rains. You summed up the damage caused by those molds when you called the stuff unsightly and a bother. Physical removal of the molds and enhancing drying of organic materials and mulches where the molds grow are the solutions to the problem. Of course, the summer's hot, dry weather has taken care of solution No. 2.

Q: My house is in a wooded area, and the main grass used in my lawn is creeping red fescue. The lawn looks great in early spring, but as hot weather arrives the few areas that get more sunlight turn brown and seem almost to die off. Can you recommend a grass similar in blade size that might work better in these areas to prevent this ugly appearance? G.E.H., Bedford

A: Pick one of the new "turf-type," fine-bladed tall fescue varieties to overseed or completely reseed your lawn in late August or early September. Tall fescue is a type of grass that is suitable for sun or part shade but is not the same as creeping red fescue, which is the turfgrass used for the special purpose of shade tolerance. There are many varieties of turf-type tall fescue you may want to try either singly or in a mixture. This type of grass is much more adaptable to our summer heat than the shade-loving creeping red fescue. However, if your lawn doesn't receive much direct sunlight, it will be necessary to overseed with tall fescue every year or two to keep a dense turf.

Send short questions about your lawn, garden, plants, or insects to Dear John, c/o the Roanoke Times & World-News, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, Va. 24010-2491. We need your mail, but this column can't reply to all letters. Those of wide appeal will be answered each week. Personal replies cannot be given. Please don't send stamped envelopes, samples, or pictures.

John Arbogast is the agriculture extension agent for Roanoke

by CNB