THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 23, 1996 TAG: 9606210103
SECTION: HOME & GARDEN PAGE: G3 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Gardening Reminders
SOURCE: Robert Stiffler
LENGTH: 138 lines
IT'S NOT TOO LATE to plant coleus or caladiums. The main thing is proper bed preparation to provide good drainage. Coleus will not perform well in poorly drained soils.
Water when plants do not fully recover from afternoon wilting by the next morning or when the soil is dry at 1 inch below the surface. Try some of the new SuperSun coleus.
It's also not too late to plant roses, if you buy them in a container ready to go into your garden. Lady Banks (Banksiae Lutea) is an early flowering climbing rose that every garden should have. It's easy to care for and has an avalanche of yellow blooms.
Wedgewood Garden Center has them now for $14.99, and other garden centers may also have some, although they're often difficult to find.
Remember that humidity and frequent rain help promote blackspot, so you should be spraying every 10 days with a fungicide or an insecticide-fungicide combination.
Look out for bagworms
Check conifers for bagworms and pick off and destroy any you find. A conifer is a cone-bearing shrub or tree, most of which are evergreens. Juniper, cedar and Leland cypress are three of the bagworms' favorite plants.
Hand-picking is best, but if the plant is too tall to reach the bags, spray with Orthene twice, about 10 days apart, and you should be able to eliminate most of them. Bagworms can kill trees by defoliation, so be on guard.
Weeping love grass
Thanks to Elizabeth Sykes of Norfolk for providing a source for weeping love grass, which readers often ask about. It is available from Adams Brisco, P.O. Box 19, Jackson, Ga. 30233-0019.
Sykes says: ``We bought a lot of things from them when we had a farm near South Hill. They are very reliable.''
The Adams Brisco catalog says that weeping love grass is ``an old and very popular grass for quail. Grows 2-4 feet tall. Produces an abundance of seed which quail love. Quail also love its weeping growth habit for nesting cover. Will grow well on steep, rough land. $2.50 per pound.'' The catalog is free and offers every kind of grass you've ever heard of.
For hummingbird lovers
If you're a hummingbird watcher, and many gardeners are, you may want the new book, ``Hummingbird Gardens,'' by Nancy Newfield and Barbara Nielsen (Chapters Publishing, $19.95 paperback). It's a how-to book on feeders, plant combinations and garden design.
Noted naturalist Roger Tory Peterson says, ``The book gives detailed information on the native and exotic plants that hummingbirds prefer.'' Any bookstore can order it for you or you can order by calling (800) 892-0220.
How to reduce gumballs
Questions continue about the name of the product that is said to reduce production of gumballs and mistletoe in trees. The product is called Florel. It costs around $30 for a quart bottle at Virginia Beach Feed & Seed. Other outlets may also have it.
Get smart about sun rays
Because gardening often is done during the most dangerous daylight hours, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Sun Smart Institute says gardeners risk overexposure to the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays. The sun's UV rays have caused skin cancer to reach epidemic levels in this country.
The scalp, face, nose, ears, eyes and neck are where most sun damage occurs. The institute's newsletter, The Sun Smart Times, says to always wear a well-made, wide-brimmed hat. Even wear a hat to the garden center or nursery. Wear sunglasses and light-colored, tightly woven, loose-fitting shirts and pants.
For a copy of the Sun Smart Times, send $2 to The Sun Smart Institute, Box 20471, Alexandria, Va. 22320.
Stay clear of poison plants
Dr. Lee Kaplan is chief of dermatology at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in San Diego. Contrary to popular myths, he says poison ivy isn't contagious - you can't get it by touching someone who has it. It's contracted only by coming into contact with urushiol, the oil sap that makes poison ivy, oak and sumac ``poison.'' But be aware, says Kaplan, that even if you think you're immune to these plants, each time you're around them, you get less immune.
The best protection is to recognize and avoid the plants. ``Leaves of three - let them be'' is the guide to safety. Poison ivy and poison oak are three-leaflet plants.
Pest prevention
The Environmental Protection Agency has produced a new pest control brochure that covers chemical and non-chemical management of pests. It includes ways of preventing pests inside and out and tips on children's safety. Copies are free by writing the National Center for Environmental Publications, P.O. Box 42419, Cincinnati, Ohio 45242-2419 or by calling (513) 569-7562.
Beware of borers
Wherever dogwoods are grown, borers are usually a major problem. At least seven kinds can attack dogwoods. The most destructive are flat-headed borers and dogwood borers, said Dr. Balakrishna Rao, manager of technical development for the Davey Tree Co., Kent, Ohio. In Landscape Management magazine, Rao recommends you treat the trunk and lower branches with insecticides, such as Dursban, starting in early May and repeating applications three times at three-week intervals. Read the label and follow directions. Keep the plants properly watered and fertilized to improve vitality.
Neem spray to stop pests
Seeds of the neem tree, native to India, have been researched for a quarter century. From them has developed a workable product for gardeners called ``Neem-Away.'' The odor of Neem-Away, azadirachtin, is so offensive to Japanese beetles and other harmful insects, they're effectively repelled from sprayed plants, says the manufacturer. It suppresses the insects desire to feed, reducing plant damage. And it stops larval development.
Spray it on vegetables, herbs, fruit trees and lawns to control gypsy moth larvae, adult Japanese beetles, Mexican bean beetles, bagworms, aphids, cucumber beetles, cutworms, whiteflies and other insects. Yet it spares beneficial insects, the manufacturer claims. It's supposed to be especially good on green beans, when sprayed twice a week, to deter Mexican bean beetles.
An 8-ounce concentrate makes 5 gallons of spray and costs $8.95, plus shipping. Currently it's available only from Gardens Alive!, 5100 Schenley Place, Lawrenceburg, Ind. 47025. Tel. (812) 537-8650. FAX (812) 537-5108. Some garden center have similar Neem sprays.
Horticultural courses
The horticultural school offering the most courses in this area is Tidewater Community College in Chesapeake. Its current session will start this week with a course on ``Garden and Landscape Pests'' on Tuesday and ``Butterfly Gardening on Thursday.
Classes run from 6:30 to 9:15 p.m. through late July. To register, call 549-5149. by CNB