DATE: Sunday, August 24, 1997               TAG: 9708230070

SECTION: HOME                    PAGE: G4   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: GARDEN REMINDERS
SOURCE: Robert Stiffler

                                            LENGTH:  102 lines

TIME TO DIVIDE AND PLANT RHIZOMES

AUGUST IS the month to divide and replant iris, peonies and daylilies if you haven't done so for several years. It's also a good month to plant new varieties of them.

It's hard to believe, but iris experts say that once an iris rhizome blooms, it never blooms again, so the center rhizome should be removed and the outside ones replanted, barely covered with soil, to bloom next season. PRUNE BERRY CANES

Prune and destroy raspberry and blackberry canes that bore fruit this season. They won't bear again and could harbor insects and disease. CAUSE OF BITTERNESS

If your cucumbers are bitter, blame the heat and lack of rainfall. Extension horticulturist Larry Bass at North Carolina State University says cucurbitacin is the name of the substance that gives the fruit its bitter taste. The cucurbitacin is found in and just under the skin of the cucumber; never in the interior of the fruit.

The bitterness penetrates more deeply at the stem end. When peeling cucumber, make the peel a little thicker at the stem end to remove the bitterness. Bitterness in squash, however, extends throughout the entire fruit. SOW WILD SEED

Many annual wildflowers, such as California poppies and larkspur, are best planted in the fall. A bonus is that they often reseed and come back year after year.

One of the best wildflower catalogs is Moon Mountain Wildflowers. Each species is described in detail including climate, soil and moisture needs as well as listing the geographical area that is the native habitat for the species.

The catalog is free by writing to Moon Mountain Wildflowers, P.O. Box 725, Carpinteria, Calif. 93014-0725. Call (805) 684-2565 or fax (805) 684-2798. SOURCE FOR SNAKE-AWAY

Several readers have written to ask where they could find Snake-Away. Mrs. Curtis Norman of Norfolk writes, ``Mr. Meyers of Suffolk and others can find Snake-Away from Walter Drake, a mail-order firm. I purchased some from them recently. A 4-pound container costs $15.99. Call (719) 596-3853.'' MORE ON MOLES

Claire Grant of Virginia Beach sent a clipping from the New Yorker magazine that reads: ``Get rid of moles, gophers and other burrowing pests, with Mole-Ex VI - only $59.95. Or buy two for $119.90 and get a third one free.''

Mole-Ex VI is a vibrator device that requires four ``D'' batteries. It's sold by Haverhills, San Francisco. Call (800) 797-7367.

University specialists say these vibrator-type products will keep moles out of an area approximately 10 feet in all directions from the device. But they add that eventually the moles learn to live with the vibration and move back into the area. SERIES OF BOOKS

Still another new series of gardening books has hit the bookstores, this time from Lyons & Burford.

Most important of the three is probably ``The Well-Tempered Garden'' by Christopher Lloyd ($18.95 soft-cover). Lloyd is a legendary English gardener, often considered the country's best.

Second is ``The Plant Hunters'' by Tyler Whittle ($16.95 soft-cover). Plant hunting has a lengthy and heroic past, documented in this book. Collectors were motivated to collect plants for financial rewards and out of their own horticultural curiosity.

The third is ``Men And Gardens'' by Nan Fairbrother ($16.95 soft-cover). Its forward, by Charles Elliot, reads, ``This is less a history of gardening than an irresistible invitation to contemplate its whole amazing range of joys, achievements, eccentricities and obsessions.''

Your favorite bookstore can order any of them for you. FLOWER ARRANGING

There's also a new book on flower arranging from a Virginia gardener and arranger. ``The Celebration of Flowers'' is written by Hardie Newton, owner of Hardie Blossoms in Madison, Va.

It can be orderd for $27.95 (hard-cover) from Storey Communications by calling (800) 441-5700, Dept. YP. Or any bookstore can order for you. TESTING ORGANIC SPRAY

I finally got around to using ``Garlic Barrier'' earlier this month. It is a new, all-organic product made to repel insects, including whiteflies and aphids.

The directions on the bottle aren't clear, so I applied it with a hose-end sprayer, which I despise. I prefer a pump-up pressure type. The hose type hurts more plants than they've ever helped by knocking over and breaking flowers and vegetables.

There is a caveat on the bottle that was not explained in the introductory press release. It says, ``Do not use on vegetables in bloom since that will deter bees, which are needed for pollination.'' So I did not spray any vegetables in bloom. I did spray the lower part of my tomato plants, where they're not blooming.

As I sprayed, the dragonflies, and there were hundreds, really scattered. I wondered how butterflies would react. But as soon as I finished spraying, those little white cabbage butterflies were as thick as ever, so I guess ``Garlic Barrier'' doesn't bother them.

As to odor, it's not unpleasant. Many chemicals smell worse. Time will tell how it works against insects.

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