Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 9, 1994 TAG: 9401100256
SECTION: HOMES PAGE: D7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: John Arbogast
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"Lady" thrives in summer heat, requiring a partly sunny to full-sun location with well-drained soil. Gardeners who have known lavender as a perennial which might not bloom the first year from seed will be happy to know that this winner consistently flowers the first year. That makes it the first annual lavender. In the Roanoke area, though, "Lady" can be grown as a perennial. Following are some of the other desirable characteristics:
Lavender "Lady" should be an excellent choice to add the colors blue or gray to the summer landscape. The plants have gray-green foliage and branch at the base, with each plant reaching a spread of up to 18 inches. Plant height should be similar. The fragrant blue flower spikes reach 6-8 inches.
"Lady" can be grown from seed or purchased in the spring as bedding plants. Those of us on a budget who want to grow this winner from seed and have flowers the first year should start sowing seeds right away to allow at least four months of vigorous window-sill growth before planting outdoors. "Lady" seeds need light to germinate in 14-20 days.
Following are questions submitted last summer:
Q: I have a young "volunteer" dogwood in my yard. When I discovered it among my other plants, I transplanted it. It has grown for two years and seems healthy, but it hasn't bloomed yet. I've seen smaller dogwoods with blooms. Am I doing something wrong? Also, I drove through Lynchburg the other day, and on U.S. 460 east of the city, I noticed many trees were defoliated, almost like a blight. Was this the result of the gypsy moth? It looked like fall on some trees; half were affected, and the other half were green. Please give information. J.T., Roanoke
A: I've discussed the volunteer dogwood situation in previous columns. It seems that dogwoods that come up from seeds in nature will take many more years to start producing white flowers than dogwoods propagated and sold. Based on what you said about your volunteer dogwood, I would guess that you're not doing anything wrong. Just give your young volunteer protection from injuries, and water when needed. Be patient, since the tree should eventually bloom consistently.
I can't say what caused the tree damage you noticed in Lynchburg. The gypsy moth is moving toward Roanoke, so that could be a possibility. However, gypsy moth caterpillars seem to prefer eating leaves of certain trees in May over other kinds of trees. If you're still curious about what happened to those trees last year, make a phone call. If the trees were within the Lynchburg city limits, contact Earl Pickett, urban forester for that city, at (804) 847-1626. If the trees were outside Lynchburg, contact the Virginia Department of Forestry listed in the state phone numbers in the book. I do not have information on where State Forestry District lines fall on the map.
Q: I would like to know what can be done about a dog using flowers or shrubs for a bathroom. Also, will this kill the plants or shrubs? M.L., Christiansburg
A: Two methods to prevent dogs from doing the damage you mentioned are: Apply one of the ready-to-use dog and cat repellents sold at garden centers or hardware stores according to label directions, or build a suitable fence to physically keep the dog away from desirable plants or landscaped areas.
The ammonia in dog urine can burn leaves or roots of plant parts contacted. Also, as you may have noticed, scratching by dogs following their trip to the bathroom can tear up plant parts or uproot young bedding plants.
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 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 don't send stamps, stamped envelopes, samples or pictures.
Gardeners' checklist:
Jobs to be done in mid January:
Take a look in your yard now to discover any tree branches that have grown so much they will cast excessive shade over flower beds next summer. Prune these tree branches properly in the winter when there is nothing in the flower beds below. That way, when the branches fall, flower plants will not be damaged.
\ John Arbogast is the agricultural extension agent for Roanoke.
by CNB