THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 4, 1996 TAG: 9602020041
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G3 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: GARDENING
SOURCE: ROBERT STIFFLER
LENGTH: Long : 162 lines
In the spring, I planted several camellias. Because we had little rain until fall, I watered them frequently. One plant lost all its leaves but four. Then another plant started losing its leaves after they became spotted like the samples I'm sending. What can I do to stop this problem?
Barbara H. Keenan,
Southern Shores, N.C.
Hampton Roads Research Center experts examined your leaves and say the plants have been over-fertilized. Camellias require little fertilizer. The year they are planted, it's smart not to give them any food. Another problem may be salt in your water. Salt in the soil occurs naturally and from fertilizer. If your water is salty, and it very well could be in Southern Shores, that can be a severe problem.
Slightly prune each plant, add no fertilizer or water until spring and see if they'll leaf out and come back. Winter rains may leach out the salt in the soil.
I have two beautiful pink camellias. Can I take cuttings and start them like I do azaleas?
Adrian West, Norfolk
Yes, you can. Take cuttings in March and dip them in Rootone and place in a container of a potting mix covered with plastic, and they should root.
A better method, in my opinion, is to air layer them so you end up with a larger plant. Scrape the bark off a 12-inch limb and dust it with Rootone. Take spaghnum moss (not peat moss) and soak it overnight in water. Wring out the water and wrap the moss around the scraped area. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, tying the top securely. Leave the bottom tie not quite so tight so water can drain out. Cover with tin foil and then with a brown kraft bag to keep birds from pecking the foil. Good roots should develop within six to eight weeks, and you can cut the limb off then or wait until fall.
Some gardeners pot the new plant in gallon containers for a year. I plant them directy in the ground to avoid another move. Either method is satisfactory.
The condition of the bush limbs I am sending you started last year. It began at the bottom of the bush and spread to the top. The bush is 5 feet tall and 25 years old. Each time I cut off a dead branch, another branch close to it became infected. I have watered, used Sevin dust and fertilized with K-Gro to no avail. I have four other bushes identical to this one and they are healthy. Can you give me any ideas on how to save this bush and can you identify it?
N.R. Reeves, Norfolk
Your bush is boxwood and it has root rot, says Virginia Tech disease specialist Tom Banko. This is a common problem with boxwood. Your bush is too far gone to save it. Such a problem can be caused by poor drainage, but that is not the only cause. BanRot is a material that will not cure the problem but helps prevent it. Another and better product is Subdue, but it is very expensive and can be used only by a licensed pest control operator.
If you plant another boxwood in that spot, I would remove the soil and replace with fresh soil and plenty of organic matter. Make sure the area has good drainage.
In response to requests for moonflower seed, I have several seed pods on plants but have no idea when to remove them or how to handle the seed afterward. Do I remove the seeds from the pods in the fall or spring, and should I put them in the refrigerator or store them outdoors? I also have butterfly weed seed. If anyone is interested in some, call me at 490-2928 or write me.
Larry Foley, 191 Iroquois Road,
Virginia Beach, Va. 23462
Leave the seed pods on the plant until they start to turn brown. Just before they crack open to drop their seed, you should collect the seeds, or they will drop to the ground and be hard to find. Store in an airtight container in your refrigerator until planting time.
You probably remember Sam Thornton (known to his friends as ``Doc'') who was with Royster for many years. He always said that I wanted to grow plants that would not grow here. I guess he was right, because I am trying without success to grow fuchsia. Where can I get information on the culture of these very finicky plants?
Charles F. Burroughs, Norfolk
I agree with Doc Thornton, who was the Royster Company's respected agronomist for years. You can't grow fuchsia in this climate. Your only chance for success, Charlie, is to move to England or California where it thrives. Virginia Tech experts say it must have shade and dampness. Even the hardy fuschia won't winter over here. The only ones I've seen that look decent are in hanging baskets under shade trees, where they look pretty good for two to three months.
For further reading, they're often discussed in books on houseplants. I'm sending you copies of some literature I found in plant-care books. If any reader is successfully growing fuchsia, let us hear from you.
I have several trumpet vines, growing in some soil, but mostly sand. They were flourishing until I started watering them during the drought. They look pitiful now, unlike the untended wild ones I see along the roadside. Do these plants not like water?
Erle Marie Latimer, Willoughby Spit, Norfolk
Virginia Tech authorities suggest you've solved your own problem when you comment that the wild ones along the roadsides look healthy. You've most likely over-watered yours. Where they grow wild, they exist with what rainfall they get. If yours are still alive, quit watering and they'll recover.
Can you identify the plant in the picture I am sending? It has berries that look like blackberries. The plant is thornless.
Pat Evans, Chesapeake
Your plant is lantana, a tender perennial that can be used in a hanging basket or as a ground cover. It appears from the photo that you are growing it as a ground cover. Some gardeners tell me they mulch it heavily and it will winter over, but I've never been able to have that happen. Unless it receives full sun, it will not bloom. Berries form after the blooms fall. Flowers are available in shades of lavender, yellow, orange and variegated yellow and orange. In a hanging basket, it requires a lot of water. It remains a popular plant with homeowners and can be purchased in the spring from garden centers.
I need some information on sunlight, fertilizer, watering and proper care for ``Wonder Egg'' plants. I received a free package of seed, which were in a Burgess Seed and Plant envelope. Can you give me some help on how to care for these plants?
Mary Bridgers, Washington, N.C.
``Wonder Egg'' is a miniature eggplant that can be grown outdoors or inside as a houseplant. Some garden outlets sell them year around as novelty houseplants. They need lots of sun and weekly watering. Fertilize them slightly every two weeks. The best help you can give this plant is to set it outdoors in summer, where it should thrive. Eggplant attracts white flies, beetles and other varmints so watch closely for them.
Can you give me some advice about bittersweet vines? This is the fourth summer for mine and they are very healthy. In fact, they are taking over a large part of my yard. I've never had any berries on them, which is the problem. I do long to have a bittersweet wreath. This past spring, I had loads of blooms, but the blooms dropped off and nothing happened. Is there something I am not doing right?
Joann Langley, Aulander, N.C.
We're on the fringe area for growing bittersweet. I know of only one or two vines in this area that produce berries. You're farther south than we are, which makes it even more difficult. Bittersweet thrives in the woods from Pennsylvania to Wisconsin and farther west.
If you observe carefully this summer, you may notice that the vine probably sets berries, but they drop off due to heat. I know of nothing you can do to correct the problem. Maybe a reader has a solution.
As an alternative, you might try some vining euonymus, which provides some of the same effect as bittersweet.
I am looking for info on shrubs for hedges. I have a 4-foot chain-link fence in my back yard and would like to start a hedge to hide the fence and provide privacy. Because my fence is 240 feet long, I need to keep the expense down but at the same time I would like to find quick-growing, thick shrubs that will grow fairly large.
Jim Huckleberry, Suffolk
Your least expensive hedge would be Tatarian honeysuckle, available from mail-order sources. It has red berries that birds like, sheds its leaves in winter, but grows very fast to 8 feet tall and 3 feet wide. It could be planted now.
Next best, but it may grow too large for your use, is wax myrtle or native bayberry. It should be growing in the woods around Suffolk. All you need is a friend with some woods who will allow you to dig. It grows 8 to 10 feet tall and 6 feet wide.
Another excellent but slightly more expensive hedge is Leyland cypress. It grows into tree size but can be kept pruned. You could start with 3-foot plants and in three years it would be head high. It stays green all winter and is very attractive, but it does attract bagworms so you must constantly check for them. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Camellias are easy to start by rootings or air layerings.
by CNB