THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 14, 1996 TAG: 9601120052
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G3 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: GARDENING
SOURCE: ROBERT STIFFLER
LENGTH: Long : 123 lines
I have a beautiful Norfolk Island pine houseplant that is 9 years old. This tree is close to outgrowing my living room, where it has lived its entire life. It is 7 feet tall. What do I do when it reaches the ceiling? Can I prune it and if so, how? Will it live outside in this area?
Joey B. Caruthers, Virginia Beach
With Norfolk Island pines, you either can't get them to live (they often drop their lower limbs from too much or too little water) or they love you and grow to the ceiling.
They won't live outdoors in this area, and no one at Virginia Tech knew what would happen if you pruned out the top. Maybe a reader can help.
My advice to others has been to give the plant to a bank, hotel or hospital, where there is a large lobby with plenty of sunlight, so your tree can live happily as long as it wants.
The enclosed leaf is a mystery to me. In 1980, we purchased a lot on a canal that leads out to the Currituck Sound. The leaf came from a branch of a shrub that was near the water. I trimmed the lower branches and told it to be a tree, because we needed shade. I fed it tree spikes fertilizer. Now it is 15 feet tall and provides lots of nice shade. Four years ago it started getting these funny knots on the leaves.
I have to be very careful about spraying anything because my tree sits about 2 feet from my bulkhead and overhangs the Currituck Sound. I wouldn't want to harm fish, crabs, etc., but I sure can't afford for this special tree to die. Please tell me what shrub/tree this is and what ailment it has. What can I do to get rid of these funny pods on the leaves? Should I continue to fertilize it?
Carole Rogers, Virginia Beach
Your tree shrub/tree is a Red Bay (Persea borbonia), a native of the Southeast. One sure way to identify it is that it invariably gets warts on its leaves, called leaf galls. They're unsightly, but they don't harm the tree. Spraying won't prevent them. The only solution is to pick them off by hand, but most folks just leave them alone. Red Bay is usually 15 to 40 feet in height, grows in sun or shade, likes very acidic, sandy soil. Fertilizing is not essential, but if it were mine, I'd continue to fertilize it at least every other year.
Please advise a source for peony bulbs. If I give peony bulbs for a Christmas present, is it OK to plant them in late December? Do you know anything about Van Dyck's Flower Farms Inc. in Brightwater, N.Y.? Their prices are reasonable. Is it possible to dry zinnia and marigold seed and plant the seeds in the spring? I looked for your book at Greenbrier Mall in Chesapeake but could not find it. Where can it be found?
Betey Jennetu, Kitty Hawk, N.C.
Peonies, planted in containers, are available at most garden centers. For Christmas giving, that is what I would use and then the recipient can plant at once. If you buy peonies by mail, the best source is Klehm Nursery, Route 5, 197 Penny Road, S. Barrington, Ill. 60010. They specialize in peonies and furnish complete planting instructions. My experience with bulbs has always been that getting them into the ground at once was better than storing them in the refrigerator.
As to Van Dyck's Flower Farms, I ordered bulbs from them last year and what I received was not first quality. This year their catalog was upgraded and they guarantee top quality material, so I tried again, but they have not arrived yet.
You can dry zinnia, marigold and other flower seed at home. Any variety that is a hybrid may not repeat to be what you originally planted, but you'll get something. Many flowers will re-seed themselves and repeat the following year.
My book is not available in Greenbrier Mall but can be ordered by mail from this newspaper or purchased at many bookstores and garden centers. The one nearest you is Manteo Booksellers.
Where can I buy the tomato seeds a lady wrote about recently in your column? They were unusual and grow from early spring to late fall, and cold weather doesn't hurt them.
Lillian Evans, Eastville
The letter you are referring to was from Dot Pefley, who lives on 30 acres near the North Carolina line. She has a super-green thumb, growing everything from lilacs to persimmons. The tomatoes she recommended were Sungold, Oregon Spring and Fantastic. They're available from Thompson & Morgan, Johnny's and Nichols Seed companies. Their catalogs are free. If you don't receive them, watch for ads in garden magazines.
During the last three years, I have had nutgrass or nut sedge come up in sections of my yard. Can you tell me how to get rid of it and prevent it coming back in the future?
Douglas M. Joyner, Portsmouth
More people, including me, seem to be having more nutgrass or nut sedge than ever before. There is a product named Manage, made by Monsanto, the people who make Roundup, that can be used on lawns and it controls nutgrass. But it is available only to licensed commercial operators. I have observed where Cooper Lawn Service used it in Norfolk, and it really worked. The other options are Roundup, which has been the recommendation for years, but you know it kills not only nut sedge but everything it touches. Other methods of control are to spray Basagran or MSMA. Repeat applications will most likely be needed.
The questions concerning planting azalea seeds drew my attention because I had experimented with them many years ago. I bought 20 seeds from Park Seed. It took a magnifying glass to count them out. They were labeled, ``Deciduous, assorted yellows.'' I used a large clay pot filled mostly with potting soil, topped with a thick layer of milled spaghnum moss. I misread the instructions and covered the seeds with 1/8 inch of milled spaghnum. I kept the seeds slightly moist, tending them daily, for at least two months. There was still no sign of green so I figured I'd goofed by covering the seeds. I put the pot under a tree in my backyard where it stayed unattended until fall. When my wife wanted the pot to use for plants for winter, I went to get it and saw 17 tiny plants. I brought them indoors for the winter and checked them daily. By spring, the plants were 1/4-inch high. At the end of the second year, they ``zoomed'' to an estimated 1/2 inch. They doubled in size each of the next several years. Even now, after 15 years, the tallest plant is not more than 3 feet tall. But they have produced gorgeous flowers, starting when not over 6 inches tall, in shades of peach, orange and pinkish-orange.
I've had a few seed pods develop but have always picked them too early or have waited until they popped open and lost their seeds. The resident azalea expert at the Research Station told me years ago that getting about two out of 20 seeds to reach maturity is what you should expect, so I guess I did better than normal.
Frank Pogue, Virginia Beach
Thanks for an interesting letter. You've convinced me I'm too old and impatient to try to grow azaleas from seed. Those who want to try now know the hardships and risks. You're to be commended for your diligence. MEMO: No questions will be taken over the phone. Write to Robert Stiffler, The
Virginian-Pilot, 150 W. Brambleton Ave., Norfolk, Va. 23510. by CNB