DATE: Sunday, July 20, 1997                 TAG: 9707180105

SECTION: HOME                    PAGE: G4   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY ROBERT STIFFLER, GARDENING COLUMNIST 

                                            LENGTH:  130 lines

APPLE PROBLEM MAY STEM FROM SOIL

I grow peaches, apples, nectarines, cherries, plums and thornless blackberries. I spray them with Imidan and Captan every seven to 10 days. Everything will be fine except for red and golden apples. There are spots on the apples that show up black through the skin from inside the apple. The apples are brown and dry. What am I doing wrong?

Harry Clark, Machipongo

Horticulturist Dan Milbocker says the pithy brown spots described on your apples have two common causes:

1) Hail. Some fruits may be susceptible to hail at certain stages of development. Apples will show spots on the upper half of the fruit.

2) Micro-nutrient deficiencies. Manganese deficiency can cause a corky spot. Check the soil pH and apply micro nutrients. Barring a hail storm, that should help ensure better apples.

Based on Milbocker's advice, the first thing you should do is get a soil test from Virginia Tech and make sure they know the soil is from around your apple trees. It's sometimes difficult to find micro nutrients, but a farm fertilizer store should be able to get what you need.

My wife and I have been removing a large number of small to middle-size (2- to 4-inch diameter) holly trees from our back yard. We have found that the stumps of hollies are a lot like an iceberg in that the portion of the stump below the ground can be quite a bit larger than the portion on the surface. The digging is killing me.

In places where we don't plan to replant, we would like to simply cut the tree off flat with the ground. Is there something we can apply to holly stumps to keep them from giving off shoots or new growth?

Mark Gilbert, Virginia Beach

I agree with Virginia Tech's Bonnie Appleton in that the stump rot products available in garden centers do not do the job. She suggests you cut the stump below ground and apply straight nitrogen such as ammonium nitrate, available in garden centers, to the stump. That will slowly rot it away. Some people recommend using powdered milk in the same manner.

When new shoots come up, as they will from native holly, use a brush killer or Rounduup on the shoots. Continue to do that, and you'll eventually kill the stump. Cutting through the roots out away from the stump will also speed up the decaying process.

Please identify the enclosed plant. It grows 3 feet tall and sheds its leaves in the fall. It's growing between my peonies. If it's worth keeping, I'd like to transplant it.

M.C. Blakeley, Norfolk

The sample had deteriorated so severely that positive identification was not possible. Kunso Kim at the Norfolk Botanical Garden says it appears to be black gum, Nyssa sylvatica. It is an excellent ornamental tree that grows to 60 feet tall. It has a small blue berry that birds like, and fall foliage is scarlet to orange.

If you want to keep it, you should probably move it this fall. Readers are reminded that when sending plant samples, they should be wrapped only in a dry paper towel.

I am enclosing some branches of Juniperus communis (columnar), showing a patchy disease. I have 100 plants of this species in my garden on the Eastern Shore and would appreciate your suggestions on how to deal with this problem. It appears to be twig blight, because it occurs on isolated branches. It is gradually killing my trees.

Renato Cardano, Cape Charles

Virginia Tech's Bonnie Appleton says that columnar juniper won't tolerate wet feet. Your damage appears to be caused by that problem. She says she sees lots of plants with the same problem, and it's almost always caused by poor drainage. The tips of the plants might have twig blight, but she doesn't believe that is the primary problem. Prune out the older growth, which might revitalize the plants.

Enclosed is a vine with a beautiful flower and another part of the vine without flowers. Will you please identify?

Isabelle C. Miller, Ahoskie, N.C.

Your vine is Bignonia, more often called cross vine. It is native in this area and can be found growing in the woods. The flower is shaped like a trumpet lily. Kunso Kim says one species is named Tangerine Beauty, with a bright tangerine-colored bloom.

I have had this plant and finally pulled it out, because it never bloomed, and it sends up hundreds of shoots from it's roots. I tried to eradicate it last season but still see shoots coming up, 6 feet from the main plant, where there are roots in the soil.

Bignonia needs lots of sun to bloom. I know some people adore it so my opinion may be prejudiced.

We purchased a home that had been professionally landscaped many years ago. All the beds are nicely shaped and edged with liriope. Over the years, Bermuda grass has invaded the liriope. We have replaced the yard with fescue, but the Bermuda that had infiltrated the liriope is slowly spreading across the lawn. I have spent many a weary day carefully weeding the liriope, only to have the Bermuda re-emerge stronger than ever!

Is there anything I can spray on the liriope that will kill the Bermuda and the occasional fescue without harming the liriope and other plantings in the garden?

Sally Parrott, Virginia Beach

Yours is a tough problem and one that many gardeners share. Virginia Tech weed specialist Laurie Smith says that Ornamec will do the job. It is a liquid that can be sprayed over the beds and will take out the Bermuda as well as the fescue and not harm the liriope. Wholesaler John Parrish at distributor Turf & Garden says the product is available at Abner's Hardware on First Colonial Road in Virginia Beach.

I am sending you some camellia buds and leaves. Can you tell me what the trouble is with this plant? Why won't this one bloom?

Mildred W. Copeland, Suffolk

Horticulturist Dan Milbocker replies: ``The leaves of this camellia sample indicate a considerable amount of physical stress. Buds will abort from freezing or any other stressful condition occurring at the time when the flower should open. If unopened, buds are dead inside, then the cause is probably frost. If the buds die as they attempt to open, the plant is probably in a condition too poor to support the growth necessary for opening flowers. Maybe it lost its roots. I'm not aware of any disease or insects that could cause this problem, though thrips can cause such problems in other species.''

If your camellia is planted too deeply, that could also be a cause. If it's in a low spot with poor drainage, standing in water could have caused the roots to rot, as Milbocker suggests. That means it does not have enough energy for the buds to open and bloom. Your only solution might be to move the plant.

I want to plant a Damson plum tree on our property, but I have not been able to locate one. Will they grow in Virginia Beach? Where can I purchase one and when is the best time to plant it?

Esther Lloyd, Virginia Beach

Most likely the reason you can't find a Damson plum locally is that they do not grow well here, if at all. Virginia Tech specialists in Blacksburg say Damson plums do not grow well in mild climates, like that in Virginia Beach. The only plum that does well here is a red plum.

I tried Damson many years ago, and the tree died before it bore fruit. If you still want to try, cost is $16 to $20 per tree. You will find them in free catalogs from either Stark Bro's. Nursery at (800) 325-4180 or Miller Nursery at (800) 836-9630. MEMO: No gardening questions will be taken over the phone. Write to

Robert Stiffler, The Virginian-Pilot, 150 W. Brambleton Ave., Norfolk,

Va. 23510. Answers will be published on a space-available basis. For an

earlier reply, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu