THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 6, 1994 TAG: 9411040099
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G2 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: GARDENING
SOURCE: ROBERT STIFFLER
LENGTH: Long : 111 lines
A beloved dogwood nearly 30 years old is visibly fading. Year after year another branch or two appears dead and is removed. Since becoming owner of this property, I have given it an annual Lindane treatment in May for borers. It is probably a case of the horse getting out before the stable door was closed. Any good to deep feed it? When?
It is ideally situated near a pond, shaded by two enormous pines. This is the first year I have identified a sizeable seedling from this dogwood. If all fails and eventually the tree has to be cut down, would it be stupid to plant another in that location?
Recently we identified an enormous shrub as a sasanqua camellia. It did not bloom the first few years after we moved here in 1987. It is now covering a window, and my husband would like to move it. The trunk must be 3 inches in diameter. Could we just cut this part down and let the quite substantial lesser shoots develop? Or could we top it, cutting it down to a height of 2 or 3 feet?
I know you do not like photinia, but we inherited a 15-foot property-divider photinia hedge, rotten at the base but still growing much too high. When is the best time to top and trim? I appreciate all your help every week. Sorry this letter is so long, but I feel I am writing to a friend.
Kathleen Stenicka, Portsmouth
Dogwoods are like people. As they age, it's difficult to keep them healthy. One of their problems is borers. Some universities recommend treatment with Thiodan as better than Lindane. My suggestion is that you call a certified arborist. There are three listed in the Yellow Pages. They will tell you whether the tree can be saved. I would not hesitate to plant another in the same location - perhaps the seedling you discovered.
As to feeding the tree, some experts say deep feeding harms a tree. I would fertilize it this fall after it drops its leaves, using a tree fertilizer. It can't hurt and might help. All you need do is scatter the fertilizer heavily under the entire limb area.
As to your sasanqua, any time from now until Jan. 1 is the time to move it. You have a large plant to try to move, so it would be wise to prune it. You can cut it off at ground level or any height you desire. Use loppers or a chain saw, and the camellia will grow back. Do your pruning after it blooms.
For your photinia, if you can do without the hedge for a couple of seasons, cut it off at ground level with a chain saw and it will come back strong. Do that in late February and fertilize it heavily afterward.
Thanks for your kind words. I hope I'm a friend to many gardeners in this area.
Can you help me locate a local source for a yellow wood tree (Cladrastis Lutea). I would like to get one at least 8 feet tall. The Norfolk Botanical Garden horticulturist has been helpful, but I think he has reached a dead end. Greenbrier Nurseries have them, but they only sell wholesale. A private landscaper offered to obtain one and sell it to me for $175 or $264 installed. There are several places in North Carolina that sell them for $16 to $20, so I was not thrilled with that offer. The problem is that the North Carolina sources are four hours away, and the tree is too big for them to ship. I have read very good things about this tree, and we are in the proper zone for it. Why are they so hard to come by?
Vicki Holden, Norfolk
The yellow wood tree is very slow growing, and that is one reason it is expensive. Very few nurseries grow it. My personal opinion is that it's not worth the effort, although when in bloom it has fragrant pendant-like blooms similar to wisteria. I bought one several years ago from Wayside Gardens before I discovered several problems: you have to water it heavily in summer or it defoliates and tries to die; it doesn't bloom until it's 7 years old; often it blooms only every other or every third year; and my friends at the Virginia Tech Research Center said it probably wouldn't live and be healthy in this area.
Mine is still living and growing slowly but has never bloomed. Try calling Jo Anne Gordon in the Norfolk Parks and Recreation Department at 441-2435 or Jack Wilkins, Tree Transplanters of Virginia, 481-6387. One of them may know a source.
It's probably too late for an answer from you for this season, but maybe it will be helpful next year. I have been trying unsuccessfully for five years to grow grass from seed under a shade tree in the summer. It's needed on the north and northwest side, nearest to the house. Can you tell me what to sow or plant and when? I'd like something that won't take too much away from the tree.
Pat Alvino, Portsmouth
Growing grass under a shade tree is like trying to crawl over a barbed-wire fence - it just about can't be done. My suggestion is that you sow rye grass seed now, and you'll have some grass for winter, which will last through May. Rye will still germinate, and it will grow almost anywhere, including under a tree. For a permanent green, till up the area and replace the grass with liriope or mondo grass. Neither has to be mowed and will grow in the shade. Mondo grass looks the most like grass. Other choices might be vinca minor or pachysandra.
I am trying to find the soil sterilant ingredients for the recipe you published in the paper. I cannot find anyone who knows what acetic acid is or where to purchase it. Could you please help me?
Ruby B. Thomas, Chesapeake
An error occurred when one ingredient was listed as acetic acid in the recipe for this homemade organic weed killer and soil sterilant. In a 3-gallon bucket, combine 2 gallons 5 percent acidic vinegar (this is Heinz distilled white vinegar) 1 pound table salt and 1 tablespoon liquid hand soap. Mix and dissolve the combined ingredients and apply with a pressure tank sprayer or by hand. Do not apply over the root zone of trees, shrubs, flowers or other plants you want to keep. This recipe is from the Green Thumb Extra, P.O. Box 17614, Denver, Colo. 80217. Cost is $15 per year. MEMO: No gardening questions will be taken over the phone. Write to Robert
Stiffler, The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star, 150 W. Brambleton
Ave., Norfolk, Va. 23510. Answers will be published on a space-available
basis at the proper time for their use in the garden. For an earlier
reply, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope. by CNB