THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 25, 1995 TAG: 9506230075
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G2 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: GARDENING
SOURCE: ROBERT STIFFLER
LENGTH: Long : 165 lines
Our home is on what was an oat field in Isle of Wight. We would like to know how to get rid of the sand spurs. Also do you have advice for ridding the yard of moles?
Mrs. J.D. Pilley Jr., Smithfield
Virginia Tech experts say your problem is identified as sand bur or bur grass, the common name for Cenchrus passifloria. Whatever you want to call it, it's a horrible pest. Experts say the best control is to use a pre-emerge crabgrass control. You want to do that before blooms fall off forsythia bushes. That prevents the seeds from germinating. If you find some later in the summer, use a post-emergent crabgrass control. Roundup will kill it, but it also kills everything else it touches.
The best method for eliminating moles appears to be the new product Mole Med that you spray on your lawn and garden. It's safe, made from a castor oil solution. Michigan State University says it also deters rabbits, raccoons and squirrels. It is available in hardware and home centers.
I would appreciate your help identifying the plants in the picture enclosed. It was, at its best, about 2 1/2 feet tall and presumably arrived courtesy of some bird. If there is a Latin name for it, I would love to have it.
Some of my camellia leaves are covered with black soot that I understand is from aphids. Should I spray with Volck oil soon? Or just wash the soot off with shampoo or a detergent?
Mrs. Kathleen Stenicka, Portsmouth
Your plant in the photo is cassia, often called sickle pod or partridge pea. It's a nuisance in the cotton fields of the South. It grows wild in the Nags Head area, and I have transplanted it to my property, where it dies down every winter but comes back each spring. Leaves are very smooth and roundish, bluish-green in color. It grows 2 to 3 feet tall, with yellow blooms all summer. It is a legume and a member of the same family as alfalfa, which it resembles. Its leaves and pods are used for medicinal purposes.
As to your camellias, sooty mold is a fungus that grows from the excretion of aphids or scale. It is called ``honeydew.'' You need to spray during cool weather with an oil spray to smother the insects. Then you may want to spray again now with Orthene or a similar spray, making sure to spray the leaf bottoms. Rain will eventually wash off the black sooty mold, but you may want to spray or wash the leaves with some soapy water.
This may not be in the realm of your expertise but maybe you can put me in touch with someone else. We moved into our new house last spring, high on a dune in Kitty Hawk, N.C. We have large windows around the house and had cardinals flying into the windows all last summer. With warm weather, they have started again. Not only is it annoying, but they must be injuring or killing themselves. Evidently they are seeing their image in the glass and think it is a strange male in their territory. Can you help?
Mrs. John H. Whitehead, Kill Devil Hills, N.C.
What you have described is a common occurrence, but usually for a different reason. If you spot a cardinal fighting the bird he sees in the glass, it's for the reason you gave. More often, with windows on each side of a room, a bird can see through to the other side and believes it can fly through. The problem occurs with many birds and is very unfortunate.
The only remedy I'm familiar with is that you can buy large black paste-on hawk outlines to put on your windows. Birds are afraid of hawks and avoid coming toward the glass. It's not attractive, but people who've tried it say it deters some of the problems. If other readers have this problem and have a better solution, please write.
I am a new resident of this area and am puzzled by a big, round, fat, black ``bumble bee'' that seems to be boring holes in the bottom rail of my porch balustrade. Could you identify it or suggest what action I should take? There are tiny mounds of sawdust underneath the bottom rail.
John Johnson, Elizabeth City, N.C.
Theodore Tillmon Sr. of Windsor, N.C., wrote with a similar problems, complaining of bees boring wood under his carport. The bees are carpenter bees, according to entomologist Peter Schultz, director of the Hampton Roads Research Center. They become a nuisance in summer, flying erratically near eaves and gables of homes, especially those with unpainted wood trim.
Carpenter bees are about 1 inch long and heavy-bodied, with metallic blue-black coloring, often with green or purplish higlights. Females have black heads and sting, while males cannot sting. They overwinter in nests in wood tunnels. They emerge each spring and look for nail holes, exposed saw cuts or unpainted wood nesting sites. They prefer soft wood such as cedar, redwood, pine and fir. They cause damage to trim, outdoor wood furniture, porches, garages, railings, roof overhangs, shingles, siding, windowsills, fence posts and other well-weathered wood.
It's important to exterminate carpenter bees as soon as you notice them. If uncontrolled, they can seriously damage a structure. Well-painted wood is seldom attacked, and aluminum, asbestos, asphalt and similar non-wood materials will not be bothered. Damaged wood should be replaced with pressure-treated wood.
After dark on a cool evening, when bees are in their nest, treat the entrance with Baygon, malathion or Sevin applied in the nest and on a wide area of adjacent wood. Wait 24 hours, then seal the hole with wood putty, caulking compound or a dowel to prevent future infestation. If tunnels are plugged before the bees are killed, the bees may bore new openings. Another method is to insert insecticide in the tunnel using a mechanics oil can or balls of cotton.
We set out our our first rhododendron (Vulcan) in April. It was so beautiful when it bloomed in May, full of big red blooms. We planted it in the yard away from the house. Can you supply information on how to care for it and protect it through the winter?
Margaret Kuhl, Chesapeake
Your rhododendron needs more protection from summer than from winter. They grow much better in colder climates. Rhododendrons should be planted very shallow where they get good drainage. Some experts recommend planting them on top of the ground, in the shade, and piling pine bark or leaf mulch around the roots. Yours bloomed this year because it was budded and ready to bloom when you bought it. Keep it watered during the summer but make sure it does not stand in water or it will get root rot. It's not easy to grow rhododendrons in Hampton Roads, but good luck.
My wife recently purchased 10 Chinese Elm hedge (Ulmus Parvifolia) seedlings. They are also known as ``Wall of China.'' Unable to obtain any information locally, I planted them 5 feet apart, watered daily, and they are doing nicely. I want to develop a long, high hedge at the back of my property as a screen. Before purchasing more, I would like to know the correct spacing.
James M. Whiley Sr., Elizabeth City, N.C.
I've not grown Chinese Elm, but Donald Wyman in his book ``Trees for American Gardens'' says: ``It often is evergreen in this climate and is fast-growing, an excellent ornamental and well worth more use in American gardens. It might be used as a temporary or permanent screen or to provide quick growth, with leaves that are dark green.''
Experts at the Hampton Roads Research Center say, depending upon how fast you want it to close in, 5-foot spacing should be proper. Those who use cryptomeria or cypress for similar hedges usually plant 6 feet apart and the hedge closes in, reaching the next plant in three to four years.
Can you tell me what is causing the leaves on my anise shrubs to turn brown and die? They were planted in November and have been turning brown for the last month. Leaves are enclosed.
Denise Donohue, Virginia Beach
Virginia Tech experts say anise is a tough plant, gets no diseases and doesn't care where it's planted. They examined your leaves and say the brown spots are physical injuries caused in planting or moving the plants. Often some minor disease enters the leaf through such injuries but the plants soon outgrow the problem. If such leaves are unattractive, pick them off. Your anise plants should soon be healthy and better looking.
Granted that butterflies are pretty to look at. I agree with that, but please do a story on how important honey bees are to all of us.
Charles M. Starkes, Virginia Beach
Good suggestion. Now that people are beginning to spray for insects, gardeners should be reminded that bees are very important. Spray only in early morning or late evening after bees have quit flying.
Last fall I bought mums, but I didn't think they would live through the winter. They did and are 12 inches tall. Can you tell me how to care for them, when to cut them back or transplant them? Will they bloom again this fall?
Georgia Hanbury, Norfolk
Last winter was mild, and your mums made it through until spring, so hopefully they'll do it many more winters. Pinch their tops out now so they'll be bushy. You can transplant them anytime in the spring. After they bloom this fall, cut them back when they turn brown. Put some mulch of ground leaves, pine straw or bark over them and they should come back each spring. They like water and fertilizer, so feed them lightly once a month, March through May, with 10-10-10 or flower food and water them during dry spells.
The enclosed leaves are from a sourwood tree in my yard. The tree doesn't appear to be unhealthy, but can you tell me what the spots are on the leaves? Is it likely that whatever is causing the spots will eventually harm the tree?
R.A. Carter, Chesapeake
Entomologist Peter Schultz, director of the Hampton Roads Research Center, says your sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum, also known as sorrel) tree has leaf gall. Though unsightly, there is no harm caused by the galls. They're usually a result of an insect stinging the leaves. by CNB