THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 4, 1996 TAG: 9608020083
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G3 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: GARDENING REMINDERS
SOURCE: Robert Stiffler
LENGTH: 103 lines
MORE PEOPLE have complained to me this season than anytime I can remember about poor fruit set on cucumbers, squash, tomatoes and other vegetables. Could it be a lack of bees for pollination? I'm convinced that is part of the problem.
Weather also may be a factor. Fruit won't set when it's very hot in the middle of the day, and we had some scorchers early in the summer. In addition, heavy rains cause too much vegetative growth and lessen the fruit production.
You can't do anything about the weather, but you can rent bees, just like commercial orchards do. Beekeeper Art Halstead tells me he still has hives to rent, and it only costs $40 for the season. If he doesn't have bees, he will refer you to a beekeeper who does. Call 488-7617. LEARN TO ``GIB'' CAMELLIAS
Want to know how to ``gib'' camellias? The Virginia Camellia Society will hold a hands-on ``gibbing and planting workshop'' in the Hofheimer Camellia Garden at the Norfolk Botanical Garden at 10 a.m. Saturday.
``Gibbing'' camellias causes them to bloom earlier and with larger blooms. Gibberelic acid will be available for sale, so you can go home and gib your own buds, preparing for the Camellia Society's fall show on Nov. 2. Normal admission to the garden applies. Call 625-0374. VIOLETS MAY NEED MORE LIGHT
If your African violet won't bloom, it may need filtered light with a small amount of morning sun. It likes to be close to an east- or north-facing window. If the plant does not receive enough light, flowering decreases or stops. If the plant receives too much light, the foliage gets pale.
African violets need continual feeding to grow and flower. Use an African violet fertilizer, applied every one or two weeks. If you move an African violet, repot it or let it get cold, flowering will stop for a while. DIVIDE AND REPLANT IRIS
This is the month to divide and replant iris. Farrell Braun, who lives in the southern part of Virginia Beach, writes that he has large purple and white varieties of iris for $2 a clump. He also has daffodil bulbs for a nickel each. Call 427-6380 to get directions and to make sure he's home. GET SOIL READY
As you get ready to plant this fall, make sure your soil is ready. The Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association offers four ``how to'' brochures related to using peat moss. Send a self-addressed, stamped envelope with 52 cents postage to CSPM Association, Box 385102, Minneapolis, Minn. 55438. LOOKING FOR CACTUS LOVERS
Tom Cseh is a life member of the Cactus and Succulent Society of America and is interested in starting a Hampton Roads Cactus & Succulent Society. If you'd like to help form or participate in such a group, call him at 588-2665 at night. During days, call 855-2091, Ext. 28. Or write him at 520 Austin St., Norfolk, Va. 23503-5504. NEW NEWSPRINT MULCH
PennMulch is a a new product developed by a Penn State researcher to cover newly seeded turfgrass. It's made from shredded newsprint. It's available in garden centers and would be ideal to use after sowing grass seed this fall, particularly over bare spots. It protects seedbeds, retains moisture and contains fertilizer. One 6-pound bag costs about $4.99 and covers up to 100 square feet because it expands when watered. PLANT A RAINFOREST
Joseph Azaraia, managing director of the Rainforest Seed Co., says: ``Rainforest plants can be grown indoors to become a thick jungle of striking foliage, flowers and fruits. With just slightly more loving care than a gardener would give common houseplants, he or she can grow coffee, cashew nuts, monkey's comb, black pepper, perfume tree, bananas and a hundred more species inside a home, anytime of year, all from seed.''
Rainforest Seed Co. began experiments in 1980 and has concluded that most giant rainforest plants can become gentle dwarfs when grown as houseplants. For details and a catalog, send $2 to Rainforest Seed Co., 241-1017 San Jose, Costa Rica. Phone (506) 231-0980 or fax (506) 232-9260. SECRETS TO SUCCESSFUL CLEMATIS
At a meeting of the Dare County Master Gardeners in Kill Devil Hills last month, Linda Courson told how she makes sure clematis gets sunshine to bloom, yet keeps its roots cool. She plants mint around the roots to shade them. Another Master Gardener said she plants clematis in the sun but plants liriope around the roots to keep them cool.
Others on the Outer Banks told me they are able to get lisianthus (Estoma) to come back each spring by mulching it heavily in the fall. When it was introduced a few years ago, it was promoted as a perennial, but most gardeners have found that it does not survive Hampton Roads' winters. RABBITS ON THE RUN
For you folks with rabbit problems, Professor Francis Gouin of the University of Maryland recommends this old-time recipe: mix 2 tablespoons of Vapor Gard with 8 tablespoons of Louisiana hot sauce in a gallon of water and spray on plants. Without Vapor Gard, the spray will wash away, he says. It will keep rabbits away but will not work with deer. If you can't find Vapor Gard, 4 tablespoons of Wilt-Pruf can be substituted. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
File photo
If you want iris to bloom profusely next spring, divide and replant
them now. by CNB