THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 27, 1995 TAG: 9508250080
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G2 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: GARDENING
SOURCE: ROBERT STIFFLER
LENGTH: Long : 110 lines
I am responding to a reader question concerning rot in Golden Delicious apples. Some 20 years ago, I planted Golden and Red Delicious apples. The Reds are still producing well, but the Goldens are about gone. The trees came from Stark Bros. nursery. I figure the Goldens are not as hardy as Red Delicious. I ran into a problem with the Reds developing corkiness. An extension agent told me it was due to boron deficiency. An application of Borax from the local grocer cured the cork problem. I have had no problem with rot, but I have been using Captan in the spray mixture, which may or may not have prevented it.
I planted a Blushing Golden Delicious along with some other Delicious apples. They are good apples, but the main thing is that they are ``keepers.'' My wife just ate one from the refrigerator and said it was delicious, stored from last fall's crop. For kicks, I gave that tree the Borax treatment and it improved the quality, although it had shown no signs of a cork problem.
What is the best way to store excess seeds? I have had success storing them in sealed glass jars in the refrigerator. A neighbor said to store them in a freezer.
James D. Ifft, Virginia Beach
Thanks for a letter that should help other apple growers. Virginia Tech specialists say to store the seed tightly, using moisture absorbing pellets, in glass jars, kept in either a freezer or refrigerator. The important thing is to keep the seed dry.
What a relief when I read that Twenty Mule Team Borax will kill that perennial, Buttonweed. Please tell me how to mix the Borax and water so it will not separate and how to apply it to the weed. My hose-end sprayer did not work.
Eunice T. Moore, Portsmouth
My friend and Borax expert is Lynn Christian, an animal nutritionist. He says more and more boron deficiencies are showing up, not only in human diets but those of plants and animals. His literature says to dissolve the boric acid (Borax) in hot water. Try 1/2 cup in two cups hot water and thoroughly dissolve. Spray through a hose-end sprayer. If that does not kill the Buttonweed, increase the Borax. If you still have problems using a hose-end sprayer, you may have to use a sprinkling can. Christian is spraying his roses with Borax for insect control and a possible boron deficiency.
Six years ago, we bought two azaleas to plant at the entrance of our home. One plant has never produced flowers. Do you have any suggestions or should we replace it?
D.J. Michaels, Virginia Beach
There's little reason why one azalea should bloom and the other not. Hampton Roads Research Center experts say to keep it in good growing condition, checking regularly for insects. It should have set buds in July. If you saw no bud set, you may want to yank it out and plant a new one this fall.
My sister sent me an article from your paper on mole control. I need the one that tells how to use calcium carbide to control moles. I have obtained some calcium carbide but do not know how to use it.
Pauline Pettipas, Newport, N.C.
There are no printed instructions. Punch some holes in the mole runs and put in some calcium carbide. Be sure to cover the holes. Moisture in the soil causes the calcium carbide to fume, and the fumes kill moles. I no longer recommend calcium carbide, because so many reliable sources have written that handling and using it is dangerous. A safer control that seems to be as good is Mole-Med, a castor-oil based product. It does not kill moles but drives them away. It's available at many hardware stores.
I live in the Great Neck area of Virginia Beach and have noticed that many people cut their crape myrtles way back. They don't leave any graceful branches. When new growth appears, the branches are spindly and unattractive. They resemble Freddy Kreuger fingers. What is the purpose of chopping these beautiful trees back and how long does it take them to bloom after they've been mutilated?
B. Bates, Virginia Beach
Crape myrtles bloom annually on new growth. To keep them to size, many people cut them back to skeletons, and they always bloom again on that year's new growth. It's not essential that you do such pruning. The plant will continue blooming, always on new growth. But it grows larger every year. Hundreds along curbs in Norfolk seldom get pruned, and they are in full color every summer. It's your choice, but there is a growing feeling that we should quit butchering crape myrtles every winter.
Regarding the China rose, Mutabilis, which your reader Anne Stratton inquired about, the rose is indeed everblooming. All China roses are. Mutabilis is hardy to Zone 6. Tidewater is in Zone 7, so your rose can survive any Hampton Roads winter. Interestingly, the only true old rose I have ever found for sale here was Lady Banks White, a species rose dating to 1807. It is only hardy to Zone 8, so one extra-cold winter and you've lost it.
Betty J. Atkinson, Virginia Beach
We have three experts now recommending the Mutabilis rose - Linda Pinkham of Smithfield Gardens; Mark Schneider at the Virginia Zoological Park; and now Betty Atkinson. Those who've seen it love this old rose. Smithfield Gardens sells it, and is the only local source I'm aware of. Antique Rose Emporium and other old rose mail-order firms also sell it.
My family is very fond of rhubarb. We used to live in Michigan where it is popular and had beautiful red stalks. For years, I have been growing it in Virginia, but the stalks never turn red, even when it is labeled ``Luscious red.'' Are the milder winters here responsible for the lack of color?
Trudy Pocklington, Suffolk
Consider yourself lucky that you can grow rhubarb, because dozens of your neighbors try and fail. Virginia Tech experts say this climate is too warm at night for rhubarb stalks to turn red. Continue to enjoy your green rhubarb and add a little red food coloring. MEMO: No gardening questions will be taken over the phone. Write to Robert
Stiffler, The Virginian-Pilot, 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