THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 6, 1995 TAG: 9508040082
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G2 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: GARDENING REMINDERS
SOURCE: Robert Stiffler
LENGTH: Long : 109 lines
IT'LL SOON BE time to bring houseplants indoors or buy new ones for fall. Remember that the following plants are toxic to pets: English ivy (Hedera), anthurium, calla lily, dieffenbachia, spathphillium, caladium and philodendron. If they're bad for pets, they probably also dangerous around small children.
Public libraries have several books, including the American Medical Association Handbook of Poisonous and Injurious Plants, that list poisonous plants.
Safe plants for the home include ferns (Boston type), geraniums, begonias, dracena, chlorophytum (spider plant), plectranthus (Swedish ivy), sansevieria and schefflera. SLOW DOWN THOSE VOLES
The North Carolina Botanical Garden reports that voles, one of the major pests in gardens, love leaf mulch and will tunnel through it to get to roots of plants. Because voles favor hostas as food, it is suggested that you till composted leaves into the soil around hosta, with a tiller or fork. Then incorporate pea gravel into the top 3 to 4 inches of soil and cover with an inch of small pine bark mulch. The composted leaves enrich and aerate the soil, while the sharp pieces of pea gravel will slow down or stop the voles tunneling. Pine bark mulch keeps the soil cool and helps retain moisture. SURE SIGN OF GRUBS
If hungry birds, moles, raccoons and other insect-eating animals are tearing up your yard, it's a sign that you have an infestation of grubs or other harmful insects. I've had birds tear up a grassy lawn pulling out grubs. When you see that happen, you may want to spray or sprinkle Sevin or another insecticide over the area. Many are available, but Sevin is the least toxic. BOXWOODS WILL TAKE ROOT
If you'd like to grow more boxwood, August is a good time to do it. Select a container that is large enough to hold the cuttings you want to root. Punch holes in the bottom and sides for drainage and put an inch of gravel in the bottom. Then fill with sand. Prune 8-inch cuttings of terminal growth from your boxwood, stripping leaves off the bottom half of each cutting. Dip the cut end of each cutting in Rootone and stick the cutting into the sand and firm up the sand around it. Cover the container with a plastic bag, tightly tied around the container. Put a bent clothes hanger or some other support in the container to keep the plastic off the cuttings. Place out of direct sun but in a well-lit area. Once a week, remove the plastic and water the cuttings.
Cuttings should be rooted in six to eight weeks and you can then transfer them into pots and keep in partial shade until ready to plant in a permanent place. MANDEVILLA SURVIVES WINTER
Doris Brown, who lives in Grandy, N.C., called to say she leaves Mandevilla in the ground all winter and it has survived beautifully. A few weeks back, I advised that it should be wintered over in the house. She lets the vine die back from frost, then cuts it off and covers it with a foot of pine straw. Her vine is planted on the south side of her house. Once the weather warms up, the vine has come back each spring for the last three years and blooms beautifully all summer.
That's much better than trying to keep it alive indoors during the winter, so give it a try. ``CRITTER CONTROL''
Birds, mice, moles, squirrels, rabbits, woodchucks, raccoons and deer have long wreaked havoc in gardens. Some old-time gadgets and homemade concoctions work well against pests, but there are many new solutions that repel these critters more quickly and surely. The best old and new critter controls are detailed in an issue of The Avant Gardener newsletter called, ``Critter Control.'' For a copy, send $2 to The Avant Gardener, P.O. Box 489, New York, N.Y. 10028. PROTECT ASSETS WITH PHOTOS
Photograph your valuable trees and shrubs now before a windstorm or hurricane plays havoc with them, advises the International Society of Arboriculture. This can help provide compensation for trees and shrubs destroyed or seriously damaged by storms. Keep track of receipts for plant material purchased and costs for maintenance. Tax losses can be claimed on trees and shrubs that are casualties of storms, and, in some cases, homeowner's insurance policies will compensate, says the Arboriculture Association. MOWING DOWN ZOYSIA
Doc and Katy Abraham, writing in Nursery Business professional magazine, say: ``We asked for opinions on zoysia grass for the home gardener. All the letters we received were negative.
``One person wrote, `Despite claims to the contrary, zoysia must be mowed regularly and once firmly established, it is very difficult to mow. I have been trying to eliminate it from my yard, but patches continue to pop up. If there is a vegetation killer that one can use during the winter months when the color is evident, I'd appreciate knowing what it is.'
``Another wrote, `Having planted zoysia 40 years ago, I know something about it. You listed all the pluses. Here are the minuses: brown until mid-May; will not grow in a shaded area; very difficult to cut, even with a self-propelled mower; creeps into my neighbor's yard and can only be controlled by spraying; creeps into driveways and walks; it actually likes asphalt and will completely cover concrete. My advice: Don't plant it. You can never get rid of it.'
``Perhaps everyone doesn't agree with those comments, but before converting to a zoysia lawn, you might want to consider the negatives.'' by CNB