Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 26, 1995 TAG: 9503010005
SECTION: HOMES PAGE: D-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN ARBOGAST
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Your plan may include only those things you need to do this spring, but the ideal landscape plan should consider what needs to be done over a longer span.
In planning any residential landscape you must carefully consider your needs, which could be a play area for children, shade in the summer, preserving a view or screening for privacy. Landscape design criteria also should include water-quality protection (think of ground water and streams) plus water-quantity considerations. Here are a few practical ways to accomplish that.
Group plants that have similar watering needs. For example, plan for spring and summer annual flowers to be together where they can be easily watered with a soaker hose or sprinkler. Avoid planting a few annuals in a lot of different locations throughout your yard. The objective is to not make work for yourself, and to design your landscape plan (example: the shape and size of flower or shrub beds) so that you won't have to waste water on areas outside the landscape bed .
The plan should limit irrigated lawns to the proper size for your family's needs and lifestyle.
Limit other design features that will take a lot of watering.
Reduce runoff and erosion. This means plan for ground covers and mulch, especially for slopes and close to the house.
Q: I have a small bed of hybrid tea roses which I planted 20 years ago. The number of blooms and general vigor of these bushes has been decreasing during the past five years even though the basic rose care has stayed the same. How many years of good productivity can be expected from a hybrid tea rose? Can these old favorites be successfully reinvigorated or should they be replaced? E.G., Blacksburg
A: I can't predict an average lifespan for hybrid tea roses. The fact that yours have declined over the last five years even though you've cared for them is the signal from the rose plants themselves that, given the soil and the weather conditions in your spot, they are becoming worn out.
Old rose plants that have been neglected sometimes can be reinvigorated with recommended rose care, which can include pruning, disease control, fertilizing and watering. However, roses that have received recommended care and still have declined may just have a shorter useful life due to their particular site.
Q: I have four hydrangea plants (indoor plants) that seem healthy with thick stems and beautiful foliage, but they will not bloom! Two are 7 years old and have bloomed only once. The other two are 2 years old and have never bloomed. Please help. C.E.R., Lexington
A: Review the care and placement of your hydrangeas. In order to be vigorous and thereby capable of producing blooms, hydrangeas like very bright light but cool conditions. The other possible cause, which comes to mind because you mentioned the thick stems and nice foliage, is excessive fertilizing, particularly with the nutrient nitrogen. This will stimulate vegetative growth at the expense of flower bud development.
Send short questions about your lawn, garden, plants, or insects to Dear John, c/o the Roanoke Times & World-News, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke24010-2491. 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.
John Arbogast is the argriculture and natural resources extension agent for Roanoke.
by CNB