THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 2, 1994 TAG: 9409300071
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G2 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: GARDENING
SOURCE: ROBERT STIFFLER
LENGTH: Long : 105 lines
What is one supposed to do with a shoo fly plant, other than to enjoy its beautiful blue flowers. It produces a large round seed pod after it drops its blooms. I wonder if anything can be done with the seed pod.
My second question pertains to squash. I have acorn, yellow and zucchini squash. The plants produced blossoms that grew into fruit 6 inches long, but then the fruit rotted from the blossom end. What happened?
Valerie Norton, Chesapeake
I'd never heard of a shoo fly plant, but Virginia Tech experts and my manuals say it's a tropical plant from Peru. Botanically, it is Nicandra, a member of the nightshade family. In some areas of the South it has naturalized and is considered a weed. It is also called Apple of Peru, because it is a husk tomato, with berries inside the husk. Because it is a member of the nightshade family, I'd not eat the berries.
Its solitary round flowers are blue, about an inch across, and the plant grows to 4 feet tall. It is sometimes considered an old-fashioned plant.
As to your squash, the problem is usually caused by poor pollination. I had the same problem. As the summer progresses, the squash seem to mature properly without proper pollination. Early in the season, do all you can to help pollination through more bees or other pollinating insects.
Something new appeared in our vegetable garden this season. I am enclosing a leaf and a flower. Would you please let us know what you think it is?
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Bentz, Chincoteague
The leaf you sent is shaped like a maple leaf, but this was a hard plant to identify. The Virginia Tech identification expert says it is probably Virginia mallow, which grows to 20 feet tall and is a native plant. The bloom is funnel shaped. Another possibility is that it is seashore mallow, which is native to the seashore areas. It grows to only 3 feet tall, so its size will determine what it is.
I have a 15-year-old Concord grape vine. For the past two years, it has produced many leaves and grapes. But the green grapes fall off before they get ripe. We have enjoyed these grapes for many years and would like to save the vine if possible.
- W.O. Bright, Virginia Beach
Concord grapes do not do well here and that is your first problem, except you say yours have been producing. Our local grape authority, Rob Mays of Rob's Market at the Virginia Beach Farmer's Market, says it sounds like a pollination problem. Plant a Catawba or Fredonia variety grape. Each is a good pollinator for Concord. That should help solve the pollination problem. Is your grape getting enough sunshine? Have trees grown over it, shading it much more than 15 years ago? That could be more of the problem. Also use less fertilizer, if at all.
I need help fast. Enclosed you will find two samples of what is happening to my Leyland cypress trees. I have 19 of these beauties in my yard, and so far have lost two, with two more well on their way toward death. I have spent five years getting these trees to their present growth. I don't want to lose more of them.
Gail Hayes, Chesapeake
When a reader considers a problem urgent, include a telephone number. If fast action helps, I'll try to telephone.
The sample plastic bag you sent contained two bagworms. They are the No. 1 enemy of Leyland cypress. You did not say how tall the trees are. If you can, pick them off by hand and destroy them. Then spray the trees with Orthene. Spray again in late spring using Sevin, malathion, diazinon or Orthene. Woodpecker and sapsucker birds often help reduce bagworm infestations.
Bagworms are caterpillars that carry their baglike houses around with them. Cynthia Westcott in her book, ``The Gardener's Bug Book,'' says: ``Their spindle-shaped bag, 1 to 2 inches long, is unbelievably tough silk, covered with bits of leaves and twigs. Their eggs winter over and hatch in May, which is when you need to spray again.''
Bagworms are especially attracted to Leyland cypress and can defoliate and kill them rapidly, spreading from one tree to the next. They work over many ornamental evergreens, including arborvitae and red cedar but also attack maples, locust and other trees. In other words, they are a menace and difficult to control. For that reason, many areas have quit planting Leyland cypress. This is unfortunate, because it is an excellent tree, especially for privacy hedges.
Someone wrote you previously wanting to know how to keep grass out of their patio. There was a recipe you gave that I wanted to save, but now I can't find it. When grass grows in the cracks of my patio, it is hard to get my fingers around it and pull it up by the roots. I am 84 years old and so is my husband, so we need to make our yard and garden chores easier. Some of my plants are 65 to 70 years old. The plants are getting stronger, but we are getting weaker.
N.M. Fleear, Virginia Beach
No more repeats of this soil sterilant formula except for 84-year-old gardeners. This home recipe from ``Green Thumb Extra'' was printed last Sunday but contained an error in one ingredient. Here it is again: One gallon 5 percent acetic acid (the same as used for making pickles) plus one pound table salt. Add one tablespoon liquid hand soap to get it to stick to leaves. Mix, dissolve and spray. Keep away from tree roots. It sterilizes the soil for several years.
For more natural or organic home recipes, subscribe to the Green Thumb Extra, cost $15 per year, mailed to P.O. Box 17614, Denver, Colo. 80217.
Chemical products that kill grass and weeds but do not sterilize the soil are Roundup, Kleenup and Spectracide Weed and Grass Killer. MEMO: No gardening questions will be taken over the phone. Write to Robert
Stiffler, The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star, 150 W. Brambleton
Ave., Norfolk, Va. 23510. Answers will be published on a space-available
basis. For an earlier reply, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope. by CNB