Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 9, 1993 TAG: 9305100417
SECTION: HOMES PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: John Arbogast
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Gardeners at higher elevations should wait a week or two, since peppers need warm air during the day, at least mild air at night, and warm soil.
The ease with which peppers grow and produce prompted The National Garden Bureau to declare 1993 as "The Year of the Pepper."
For many folks, the word "pepper" brings to mind the bell pepper. The bell pepper is just one type of the kind or class of pepper known as "sweet" pepper.
For years, gardeners could choose only one color of bell pepper, a green that matured to red. Now, thanks to the work of plant breeders, we can grow bell peppers that mature to many colors, including red, yellow, orange, lavender, purple and chocolate. The bell pepper called "Bell Boy"' won an All-America Selections (AAS) award 25 years ago.
Other sweet peppers include Paprika; Pimento; Sweet Cherry; and Sweet Banana, Sweet Hungarian, or Cubanelle, all referred to as sweet frying or pickling peppers. This last type included the 1981 AAS winner, "Gypsy."
The other kind of pepper is the "hot pepper." This group includes: Cayennes (the 1990 AAS winner "Super Cayenne" was one); Red Chili Peppers (the 1988 AAS Winner "Super Chili"); Green Chili Peppers; Jalapenos; Red Cherry Pepper; and Red Hot Peppers.
Peppers need to grow in full sun, but they don't take up much room. Pepper plants should be spaced about 18-24 inches apart within the row and about 3 feet between rows. Provide wind protection, if necessary, since pepper plants have shallow, easily disturbed roots and brittle branches that break easily.
For gardeners who haven't bought or planted their peppers yet, here are some pepper varieties from Virginia Tech's new list of "Vegetables Recommended for Virginia": sweets - "Lady Bell" and "Marengo"; and hot peppers - "Hungarian Wax" and "Red Cayenne."
Q: I need advice regarding my boxwoods. First, is it too late in the year to trim or prune boxwoods? I have some boxwoods that have just gotten too large for their location, but I'm a little afraid to touch those plants. Also, can boxwoods be moved in the spring? The plants that I would like to move are those slow-growing English boxwoods. These plants are about 2 feet tall. Please advise. Roanoke
A: The best time to trim boxwoods lightly as well as cut them back significantly is just prior to the new growth coming out. In the Roanoke Valley, the pruning time would be in mid- to late March. This year, though, we had the "Blizzard of '93" just prior to that time, and many folks couldn't get to the boxwoods when they should have been pruned. Early spring pruning could have been done after the snow and ice melted.
I do think it is a little too late now to do much pruning on boxwoods. If by the word "trim" you mean shear with hedge clippers, please keep in mind that boxwoods that are clipped after the weather turns hot may show ugly brown leaf edges as a result. So, overall boxwood trimming or pruning should not be done later than early spring.
Your English boxwoods should be actively growing by now. Plants 2 feet or larger generally are more successfully moved when they are dormant. So, I would say that it is too late in the season now to move those plants unless you have to do something with them to make room for construction or for some other "hurry-up" reason.
If those boxwoods need to be moved soon, try to do the work this month, before the weather gets consistently hot. The soil should be fairly warm for root recovery after any plant is transplanted, so the next good time to move your 2-foot-tall boxwoods as well as any other established plant would be in midfall, after the plants to be transplanted have gone dormant but the soil has not chilled drastically yet.
Here are some recommendations for transplanting those boxwoods:
Boxwoods generally have a deep root system, so dig a deep root ball.
The hole to receive each boxwood should be much wider than the root ball to be transplanted, but just the same depth as that root ball.
Water the newly moved boxwoods occasionally during the fall if the weather is dry. Also give them one good soaking per dry week during the hotter times of the whole first year in the new location.
Try to select a new location that receives a similar amount of sunlight as the old spot; you can expect some leaf discoloration if boxwoods are moved from a shady spot into full sun.
Gardeners checklist
Pinch back annuals when 4 to 6 inches high to promote bushy growth. Some that require pinching are zinnias, petunias and salvia.
Don't be surprised if variegated hosta has green leaves when grown in the sun. The best variegated color pattern is developed on plants in a semi-shady location.
Mulch around newly planted trees and shrubs. This practice reduces weeds, reduces fluctuations in soil temperature, retains moisture, prevents damage from lawn mowers and looks attractive.
Slugs love cool, moist weather and succulent, leafy crops, especially lettuce and cabbage. Debris in the garden provides them with a place to hide and should be removed promptly. To see if your garden is under attack, put out a board or invert a flower pot in the garden. The next morning, see if there are any slugs clinging underneath. If so, begin removing them by hand every few days to decrease their population.
Thin peaches to 4 to 6 inches apart for large, high-quality fruit.
Got a question about your garden, lawn, plants or insects? Write to Dear John c/o the Roanoke Times & World-News, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, Va. 24010-2491.
John Arbogast is the agriculture extension agent for Roanoke.
by CNB