DATE: Sunday, October 5, 1997               TAG: 9710040019

SECTION: HOME                    PAGE: G4   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: GARDENING QUESTIONS

SOURCE: BY ROBERT STIFFLER, GARDENING COLUMNIST 

                                            LENGTH:   64 lines

ZOO'S ROSES GROW WELL ORGANICALLY

In a recent column, you criticized the practice of growing roses organically. You are forgetting one of the most beautiful public rose gardens in our area is the rose garden at the Virginia Zoo.

During April, the roses were bursting with blooms and were beautiful all summer. These roses are fed twice a year with Mills Magic Organic Rose Food and sprayed rarely with nothing stronger than horticultural oil. These roses are mainly shrub and old-fashioned varieties, but include Queen Elizabeth and Chrysler Imperial.

Give your readers the real story - protect our environment from harsh chemicals. And visit the rose garden at the Virginia Zoo. The display will knock your socks off!

Judy Murrett, Norfolk

I don't mind being quoted, but the comments about organic rose growing were from the rose test chairman for the Garden Club of Virginia and experiences in her Richmond garden. I agree with her that it's very difficult - if not impossible - to grow tea or floribunda roses without using chemicals.

I am aware that you tend the rose garden at the zoo, so your bias is normal. You are growing mainly old-fashioned and shrub roses, which fortunately require little or no spraying. The good news is that many new roses are shrub or carpet roses that require no spraying. I'm happy for you that you are growing good roses without using chemicals. I hope it continues. Once black spot begins in the garden, it's a real challenge to manage it.

You can laugh or cry at this picture from May's issue of National Geographic. Whether its the paradise of Hampton Roads or the hell hole of Africa's Namib desert, we will always have a mole too many.

Julie Miller, Norfolk

The report from the National Geographic, with a photo, reads: ``Golden Moles: Deep Breathing in the Sand. Tiny blind burrowers, Namib Desert golden moles have nifty survival tricks. After hunting termites on the surface, they dig a foot or so into the African sand and remain torpid there for 19 hours or more as their bodies cool, reducing their energy needs.''

``They essentially become lizards in this respect,'' says zoologist Roger Seymour, a Society grantee, who adds that the desert sand has uniform grains that permit the passage of air.

I guess it shows that no matter where we go - even into the desert - there will be moles.

I have a house trailer at a campground in Williamsburg where I go on weekends. There are lots of black walnut trees there. I'm having a hard time growing flowers. Would you please tell me what I can plant? How about pansies, impatiens, marigolds, zinnias, scarlet sage or wax begonias?

Nora Reem, Norfolk

You're going to need to use shade plants that are not affected by the juglone a walnut tree emits. It's a material poisonous to many plants. You may have to resort to shrubs, vines and a few perennials.

My literature says that ajuga, creeping buttercup, forget-me-not, lily of the valley, peony and thyme are the only flowers that are immune to juglone. The following shrubs and woody vines are reported to grow within the root spread of a black walnut: American barberry, spice bush, wild hydrangea, blackberry, bitter-sweet, Virginia creeper, St. John's wort and blackberries or black raspberries. 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.

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