THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 18, 1996 TAG: 9602160136
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G3 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: GARDENING REMINDERS
SOURCE: Robert Stiffler
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
IF YOUR HOUSEPLANTS have blackened leaves or your African violets suddenly folded and died last week, most likely you were one of the thousands without heat two weeks ago. The cold in your house killed your plants. African violets are very tender. When temperatures get near freezing in your home, they're gone.
Anything near a window, such as my spathphyllium, may be showing foliage damage. You'll need to throw out the African violets and get new ones. For other plants, prune out the blackened foliage and keep the plant fed and watered, but don't overwater. With heat and sunshine, the foliage plants should recover. OUT ON A LIMB
Many pine trees in the area were damaged by the ice storm this month. If yours were, call a tree company. Trying to do risky jobs yourself could put you in the hospital. With power lines down, broken branches and debris everywhere, make sure the company you hire has proper insurance. Check the Yellow Pages for a Certified Arborist and then ask questions. FIGHTING WHITE FLIES
By this time, some of your houseplants are probably covered with flying white insects called white flies. They're very difficult to control. Joe Freeman, chief horticulturist at Cypress Gardens in Florida, says to apply an insecticide twice a week for at least three weeks. He uses Neem, often sold as BioNeem, an organic insecticide that disrupts the white fly's life-cycle and repels adult white flies. If that doesn't control them, use alternate applications of Neem with an insecticide named Thiodan. If you can't find Neem, it can be obtained by mail from The Natural Gardener, 8648 Old Bee Caves Road, Austin, Texas 78735 or Gardens Alive, 5100 Schenley Place, Lawrenceburg, Ind. 47025. NEW LAVENDER ROSE
It's time to plant bare-root roses. and if you like lavender, Leon Johnson of the Tidewater Rose Society, recommends a new one called Shocking Blue. He says it's a clean, medium-lavender floribunda rose. It's not blue - just a nice clear lavender - and ``shocking'' may be a stretch, but he says it's impressive with loads of fragrant flowers.
``This beauty will give Angel Face a run for its money, since Shocking Blue has better vigor, more blooms, better form and glossy foliage. Angel Face has been a popular lavender rose, but it's a weak bush without much vigor and doesn't bloom much,'' Johnson says. Shocking Blue is available at Wedgewood Garden Centers and elsewhere. A WELCOME WEED
For a new way to control aphids in your garden, Peggy Downs of Virginia Beach writes, ``I know most gardeners, including me, do not like weeds in their vegetable gardens. But I let one weed grow - thistle. Why? Because aphids love it. For the last three years, I've allowed a few to remain - the first year because I was too lazy to pull them. Now I do it so I no longer have trouble with aphids. I don't let the thistle go to seed. Cut it off at ground level and toss it away before it goes to seed. I also had a tremendous population of ladybugs. They stayed all growing season, breeding in my asparagus patch. I hope other gardeners will give the thistle a little room in their gardens.''
That's an approach worth trying. by CNB