ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, September 29, 1996 TAG: 9610010025
SECTION: HOMES PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: DEAR JOHN
SOURCE: JOHN ARBOGAST
For now and the weeks to come, a thorough fall cleanup of fruit plants and trees will go a long way toward reducing pests and problems next year. It also means there should be less need for pesticides next year and that's good news for the environment.
Good orchard sanitation practices will destroy many harboring places for insects and diseases. Conditions that encourage mice near the plants should also be eliminated now, because mice can chew on bark and roots of fruit trees during the winter.
Practices to include in a fall or winter sanitation program:
*Prune and destroy dead and diseased limbs, branches and twigs (this should be done now while leaves are still out so that dead leafless parts can easily be determined.
*Collect and dispose of debris.
*Remove and destroy all dropped fruit (this is important now before frost so that overripe or spoiled fruit does not linger where it will attract bees, wasps or hornets).
*Rake and dispose of all fruit leaves, especially apple and cherry leaves because of their potential to carry diseases over the winter.
*Scrape loose bark from trunks, crotches and main limbs of apple trees so that moisture and insects don't have the chance to accumulate.
These recommendations apply to all tree, vine and bush fruits that are grown on home grounds. The bramble fruits - the blackberries and raspberries -require additional sanitation, or actually a clarification of the first point in the list above. Each year in the bramble plants, new shoots grow from buds at the crown (the top of the roots) and then grow to maturity, bear fruit and die during their second year while more new shoots are growing. This means that an important part of bramble sanitation is pruning and removing all old canes after they have fruited.
Cut dead bramble canes close to the base of the plant. Some growers do this immediately after harvest. This sanitation could be done now while leaves are still out on young shoots. However, it is OK to wait until you do a dormant bramble-pruning in late winter to cut out all the old, dead fruiting canes.
Q: I have two snowball bushes. Their leaves turn brown, curl up, and are dying. Is there anything that can be done? Also, when is the time to transplant creeping phlox? V.A., Roanoke
A: I can't suggest what you should do for your snowball bushes because, in most cases, it's difficult to identify the cause of a plant's problem without seeing a sample of the plant. It's necessary to look for clues and learn essential facts about the problem and plant, like approximately when was the problem first noticed and the age and site of the plant. In your example, there is also the question regarding what your plant really is and under what name to look for information for a diagnosis. What folks in this area commonly refer to as a "snowball bush" could be either a viburnum or a hydrangea. The best way to find help would be for you to call the Master Gardeners "Greenline" at 857-6208 and arrange to take a fresh sample of the problem to the Roanoke Extension Office.
Creeping phlox can be divided or transplanted in early to midspring when the soil is not too wet to work but before hot weather sets in.
Send short questions about your lawn, garden, plants or insects to Dear John, c/o The Roanoke Times, 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 during the weeks that the subject is timely. Personal replies cannot be given. please don't send stamps, stamped envelopes, samples, or pictures.
Gardener's checklist
Jobs for late September/early October:
The end of the growing season is the time to dig, divide and move crowded spring or summer blooming perennials.
Do not automatically spray your pine trees when their inner needles turn golden brown and drop off this time of year. Inner needle color change and dropping occurs naturally in pines at this time.
Remove all accumulation of fallen leaves and extra mulch from around the trunks of azaleas so that the bark can get tough as the season changes.
Take soil tests from flower beds, gardens, the lawn and landscaped areas. If lime is needed, remember that all forms of lime, the material used to raise soil pH, take many months to work.
Prune dead wood from trees and shrubs now while it is still easy to see the leafless branches.
Continue to cut dying flowers from roses, but do not prune the plants back hard.
John Arbogast is the agricultural and natural resources extension agent for Roanoke.
LENGTH: Medium: 88 linesby CNB