THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 25, 1995 TAG: 9506230125
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G2 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: GARDENING REMINDERS
LENGTH: Long : 165 lines
FOR A PLANT that thrives on neglect, plant a yucca. Yuccas need full sun, but they grow best in poor, infertile soil, including beach sands. In a fertile, well-prepared flower bed that receives regular irrigation and fertilization, they often fail to send up their tall stem covered with creamy-white blooms. Yucca thrives where other plants die and can be transplanted or planted almost any time of year.
Other good perennials for dry, sunny areas are Black-eyed Susan, coneflower and coreopsis, but they need regular watering until they're established. After that, they need little watering. Mulching will help keep them healthy, so surround them with several inches of organic mulch such as shredded bark. It's not too late to plant perennials, and garden centers often mark them down in price by now. GUIDE TO MAIL-ORDER GARDENING
If you like to order plants by mail, you should request ``The Complete Guide to Gardening and Landscaping by Mail'' from the Mailorder Association of Nurseries. You get listings for more than 100 mail-order firms and coupons worth $35 to use when ordering. For a copy, send $2 to MAN, Dept. GWPR5l, P.O. Box 2129, Columbia, Md. 21045. MADE IN THE SHADE
If you're short of sun but want to grow herbs, here are some that grow in partial shade: chervil, parsley, caraway, peppermint and spearmint. They will grow in moist but well-drained, fertile soil. PREVENT BROWN PATCH
Brown patch is the leading disease problem plaguing fescue lawns. It dismays homeowners from now through fall. Gary W. Simone, turf authority at the University of Florida, says in the May issue of Landscape Management professional magazine: ``This fungus is active between 70- to 90-degree weather. It is most damaging when temperatures are between 80 and 85 degrees. It appears as three symptoms: variably-sized spots that may span many feet in diameter; a `doughnut-like' ring, with healthy grass in the center; or a blight where tips of blades discolor as the fungus moves downward on the grass stems. Maintain balanced fertility but avoid applications of readily available nitrogen while the disease is active. Mow affected areas last and collect clippings if possible to avoid spreading the fungus. Dethatch turf and apply fungicides at the first sign of brown patch.''
Fungus diseases are best prevented rather than controlled, so water less and use a fungicide at first knowledge of brown patch. The products recommended most are Daconil for a spray and Bayleton for a dry, granular product. HOW TO ATTRACT BUTTERFLIES
To learn more about butterfly gardening, Tidewater Community College is offering a ``How to Garden for Butterflies'' course, beginning Thursday. It runs five weeks on TCC's Chesapeake campus from 6:30 to 9:15 p.m. Cost is $50. The course covers butterfly identification and plants to attract butterflies and caterpillars that become butterflies. Call 549-5155 to enroll. IMPORTANCE OF PRUNING
Nearly all landscape plants benefit from judicious pruning and some require it for good health and steady growth. This is especially true of plants that bloom or bear fruit. Well-pruned plants tend to be healthier and more resistant to drought, disease and insects. Pruning trees and shrubs increase the plants' density, making them sturdier and keeping size in bounds. Removing interior branches, or thinning, opens up the plant to more light and air circulation. Trees need thinning to allow light to reach areas of lawn beneath trees.
Dead or diseased wood can be pruned out anytime. Flowering shrubs, including forsythia, rhododendron, quince, azaleas and mountain laurel, should be pruned as soon as they've finished flowering. Hedges should have been rejuvenated by cutting back hard in March or April. Trim to maintain shape this month and next. TRY A TROPICAL TOUCH
Landscape designers are recommending many tropical plants as a way to bring new flowers and a new look into your garden. Plants such as brugmansia (more often called datura or moon flower), bougainvillea and others are grown as annuals here. They must be brought into the house in the winter or left outdoors to freeze. I found the best selection of these and other new tropical plants at Lynnbrier Greenhouses, 1315 Kempsville Road, Chesapeake. HOT NEWS ABOUT SQUIRRELS
If squirrels bother your bird feeders, here's a recipe from Green Thumb XTRA, an organic newsletter. They say that squirrels damage bark and kill entire branches of trees by gnawing on the bark, often girdling the branches. They recommend a repellent made from habanero pepper sauce, water and a biodegradable soap, to help with adhesion to the bark. It can also be used around bird feeders.
``Blistering hot habanero pepper is 20 times hotter than jalapeno and adds a new twist to squirrel busting,'' the newsletter says. ``Handle very carefully and use sparingly as this is often called the `king of all peppers.' ''
The recipe is 1 to 2 teaspoons of habanero sauce and 1/2 teaspoon liquid hand soap in one gallon warm water. Stir for two minutes and apply using a pressure tank spray. Repeat every three weeks and after heavy downpours. HELP PLANTS STAY HEALTHY
Remember this number one rule for your garden: A healthy plant is much better able to cope with adverse growing conditions than an unhealthy one. The best means of helping a plant survive stressful weather is to routinely follow recommended practices for pruning, mulching, feeding, watering and disease and insect control. Most trees and shrubs benefit from an annual feeding in spring or fall. This is especially true if they have suffered for several years from weather-related stress. TRY A WOOD SUBSTITUTE
Organic Gardening magazine says a raised garden bed allows roots to receive more nutrients, holds moisture better and makes weeding easier. Envirowood is a wood substitute, manufactured from reclaimed plastic, used for garden bed frames, compost bins, retaining walls and general landscaping. It's resistant to damage from salt or fresh water, insects, acid rain and sun. It has a life expectancy of five to 10 years and can be cut and fastened like wood products.
An 8-by-4-foot raised bed can be made with three 8-foot lengths of Envirowood at a cost of about $30 plus shipping. It's sold to homeowners by calling (800) 323-0830. LIGHTEN SOIL WITH GYPSUM
Most soil has clay in it. It can make your annual flower beds tough to work and grow in. You can add peat moss, says the Brickman Group, this country's largest contractors of horticultural services, but gypsum is an inexpensive alternative. Gypsum makes soil less dense, giving a boost to early root growth in annual flower beds and gardens. Gypsum usually has to be applied heavily the first year, then less each successive year. A heavy application of gypsum would be 30 pounds per 100 square feet, but gypsum is cheap. To keep the soil from compacting again, you can add sand to the soil after the gypsum has separated it. LOOKS AREN'T EVERYTHING
If your mulch looks lousy, don't add more for cosmetic purposes. Too much mulch is just as bad as not enough. Try some of the colorants on the market that make old mulch look like new. A BERRY TO BEHOLD
Deciduous hollies are getting around these days. ``The Garden,'' the journal of the Royal Horticultural Society of Great Britain published in London, praises the deciduous holly but notes that it's little known in Britain.
The foremost breeder is R.C. Simpson of Simpson Nursery in Indiana. Simpson shipped me ``Bonfire,'' which is fast growing, with magnificent fruit. An outstanding plant, it produces masses of non-fading fruits, even when young.
``This is one we must get over here,'' says the Royal Horticultural Society journal. The male pollinator is named ``Southern Gentleman.''
Talk to your favorite nursery about stocking these sensational plants from wholesaler Simpson Nursery. GET WITH THE DRIP
Summer is upon us, which usually means dry weather for Hampton Roads. If you're into drip irrigation or plan to be, DripWorks will help you. They say that drip and micro-irrigation are the wave of the future for backyard gardeners and landscapers. Plants are healthier, yields increase and savings in water, time and energy are proven. For a free catalog or information, call (800) 522-3747 or fax (707) 459-9645. ILLUSTRATION: Photos
Black-eyed Susan (left) and coneflower are among the perennials that
do well in dry, sunny areas, requiring little care once
established.
by CNB