Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 26, 1993 TAG: 9309270286
SECTION: HOMES PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: John Arbogast
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
What should I do with these plants this winter? Can the plants be planted in the ground again? How long should I wait before planting them and what time of year would be best? M.Z., Roanoke
A: The gardenia is a Southern plant, and that is your basic problem. You can thank our mild winter for allowing your plants to regenerate after they were injured. For this winter, move your gardenias indoors where they will receive bright sunlight if the pots (tubs) are not too large to move. Move indoor plants that have been summering outdoors back inside before the night temperatures drop to the low 40s.
Moving your gardenias inside will allow them to keep the leaves, which will be producing food for the plant all winter. Also, the plants will not have to spend energy next spring producing new leaves. It's hoped that those gardenias not weakened by the winter will be ready to start producing those fragrant flowers earlier in the spring or summer. Also, moving your gardenias in will prevent their death in the event of a hard winter.
If moving your gardenias indoors will not be possible, you can provide them with winter protection later this fall, but you should expect some possible injury and weakened plants next spring if we have a mild winter, or even the total loss of the plants if we have a hard winter.
I can't say if there would be any advantage to transplanting the gardenias into the ground vs. leaving them in tubs. Winter protection can be a substantial layer of straw placed securely around the tubs and lightly over the gardenias' branches when the nights get chilly. If you do want to put these plants in the ground, select a partly shaded location where the soil is well-drained and transplant them soon.
Winter protection for gardenias planted in the ground should be applied when the nights get chilly. Place several inches of straw mulch on the ground around each gardenia, as well as a light covering of straw over the branches.
A drawback to covering the leaves for winter protection is that this will block off sunlight from the leaves, which are naturally evergreen and must continue to manufacture food.
Q: I failed to trim my hemlock and holly trees as well as my English boxwood last spring. Would it be OK if I trimmed them this fall? D.W., Rocky Mount
A: No, fall is not a good time to trim living parts of needled or leafy evergreens. This work could make those plants susceptible to winter injury and would rob the plants of their ability to manufacture foods at a time when new growth would not be possible. In some cases, fall pruning could possibly stimulate some short-lived, tender new growth if the weather is mild.
Q: I have lots of raspberries and blackberries coming up around my porches and up against my house. We had the house built four years ago. I would like to make a separate bed for each berry and I wanted to know how to transplant them.
Should I prune close to the ground? When should I transplant? Should I do anything special to the ground? My raspberries put out twice as many new shoots this year.
Also, do they need a lot of sun to make big berries? My blackberries were full but small and did not ripen too well because they were shaded by the house. C.C.W., Radford
A: Transplant your bramble fruits, both blackberries and raspberries, in the early spring about four weeks before the average last frost date in your area. Use a digging fork to loosen the soil around the native plants, and then use a pointed shovel to separate clumps and dig the plants. Prepare the soil where you will plant the brambles as you would for any garden vegetables.
If you can, start preparing those new beds this fall by working in a 2-inch layer of chopped up leaves or other organic matter. Cut down most of the growth of the brambles before digging, although you can leave a portion of old cane attached to serve as a temporary handle in setting plants.
You will lose a fruiting season when you remove those shoots, but you'll want those newly set-out plants to put their energies into growing roots and becoming established in their new locations rather than trying to produce a crop right after their move. Yes, bramble fruit need a lot of sun.
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 do not send stamped envelopes, samples or pictures.
John Arbogast is the agricultural extension agent for Roanoke.
by CNB