THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 2, 1995 TAG: 9506300082
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G2 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: GARDENING
SOURCE: ROBERT STIFFLER
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
Last year I sent for some angel wing seeds through your column. Now I have thousands of seeds. If readers will send me a stamped addressed envelope, I will share the seeds. How do you split the moonflower seed? How should they be planted? I also have red hot pepper plants. Do these need the foliage cut back? They do not bloom very well.
Barbara B. Jones, 1356 Windsor Point Road, Norfolk, 23509, phone 853-1659
I was a little puzzled by the term ``angel wings,'' so I called Barbara Jones. There are so many plants with white flowers that people call moon or angel flowers, including Datura. What Barbara has are moonflower vine seeds. This resembles an aggressive morning glory vine with large white blooms.
Most moonflowers come back year after year, just by dropping seed on the ground. If you want to split the seed, use a sharp knife or nail file, but that is not necessary. Cover the seed slightly with some good soil or potting mix.
Virginia Tech Research Center scientists say that any red pepper that lives through the winter is not an edible pepper. It may be a plant that resembles but is not a pepper. If the foliage is turning brown, cut it back and fertilize with Miracle Gro.
Thanks to Mr. Stiffler's persistent help and the kindness of you readers, I have been able to get the clivia I wanted. I received a lot of phone calls and tried to return each of them. For all of you who heard and answered my request, I want to thank you very much from the bottom of my heart. Understanding, sharing and love may not be something that runs around this world, but it is definitely something you can find in the gardening world.
Nicole Zimmer, Virginia Beach
Nicole was having difficulty finding clivia bulbs to start her own plants, but readers came through for her. Her response proves again how gardeners like to help one another.
I have a lot of amaryllis and iris in my yard. The bulbs need to be dug up, separated and replanted. When is the best time to do this?
M.B. Dickens, Virginia Beach
Iris should be dug in August and replanted at once. Throw away the old rhizomes in the center and replant the smaller, healthy rhizomes.
As to amaryllis, most books fail to mention how to handle the small bulblets that form around the large bulb. One book advises to remove them when you repot in the fall. What I have done is soak them loose under water in late summer and replant the bulblets in smaller pots.
Outdoors, the time frame should be similar. Be careful not to break roots from the bulblet. You may have to dig an entire clump and soak it under a faucet or hose to get them separated. Replant at once.
Is an orange tree required to have the services of honey bees to pollinate the tree for bearing fruit?
Lincoln O. Mott, Hertford, N.C.
Citrus authority Dr. Robert Motyca of Virginia Beach says most oranges grown indoors are self-pollinating. He, however, recommends taking a small paint brush and touching each bloom with it to achieve better fruit set. He says some bear better if they are cross-pollinated with a different variety.
Please repeat the ingredients for a spray mixture that will sterilize the soil for several years. Also can you recommend a spray for a diseased red-tip hedge?
Betty C. Miller, Virginia Beach
The homemade organic soil sterilant is as follows: In a 3-gallon bucket, combine 1 gallon of 5 percent acidic vinegar (the kind used for making pickles); 1 pound table salt and 1 tablespoon liquid hand soap. Mix and dissolve and apply to areas weeds are growing in driveways, pathways and wherever weed or grass growth is not desired for up to one year.
As to photinia (red tip), the recommended spray is Daconil. Some nurseries recommend cutting it off with a chain saw at ground level and when it grows out again, spraying the new foliage every week. Once photinia becomes infected with leaf spot, it's difficult to get the plants looking good again. MEMO: No gardening questions will be taken over the phone. Write to Robert
Stiffler, The Virginian-Pilot/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