June 5, 2008 -- Carol Stocker gardening chat
Carol_Stocker: Greetings Gardeners!I am Boston Globe Garden writer Carol Stocker and I will be on line for the next hour to try to answer your gardening questions.
peony_lover__Guest_: Where can I find good quality Peony trees in the boston area?
Carol_Stocker: Most large nurseries in the Boston area now carry a few tree peonies, which are different from common peonies. They are slow growing shrubs which bloom in May (not June) with large unfragrant flowers. They should never be cut to the ground. They require much more patience that regular perennial peonies so fewer people grow them. I would try one of the Mahoney's branches in the Boston area, including Brighton. I saw some for sale last week at Thomas's Nursery on Route 28 in Milton.The shrubs are usually quite small and very expensive. At maturity, which can take decades, they seldom exceed four by four. So think twice before you invest. Perennial peonies, which are the faster growing fragrant ones you cut to the ground each winter, are much easier. The absolute best place to buy tree peonies is from Cricket Hill Garden, 670 Walnut Hill Road, Thomaston, CT. 067787. Their peonies are still in bloom if you feel like a drive. Otherwise, you can order by mail. Their website is www.treepeony.com.
moma__Guest_: My husband put in a small flower bed along the edge of the woods near my house, he wants me to plant flowers there, but it gets NO sun. What should I plant?
Carol_Stocker: Flowers need sun. But you can try impatiens, which is America's favorite annual because it is the only plant that will provide a mass of flowers all season long with very little light.
nobees__Guest_: we have a water ban in our town, is it worth it to dig a well and put in sprinklers? or just a waste all around (ecologically)? when and how was it decided that we shoul dhave grass lawns anyway? and when your non-well owning neighbors run their sprinklers, would you call the town to report them?
Carol_Stocker: Now that so many Americans have retired to the southwestern states, where water is very scarce, people are getting used to landscaping with pebbles, mulch and accent plants that are drought tolerant. This look is now considered not only more ecological than a lawn, but more stylish. If you hire a landscape designer who specializes in Xeroscaping, as it is called, or buy a book on the subject and put in your own landscape, your yard may look strange to some, but in a few years, as water gets more scarce and expensive here, all your neighbors will be asking you for advice as they switch over, too. You'll be like the first person on the block to buy a Prius. I have no lawn at all in my front yard, only gravel, cobblestones and plants which use a water thrifty underground drip (not spray) irrigation system that delivers water to each plant with no evaporation. And my front yard looks great!
dcf__Guest_: Hi I have just started a perennial garden from scratch. I planted several "Elijah Blue" Blue Fescue ornamental grasses. Unfortunately, the time between when I purchased the grasses from the nursery and the time they went in the ground was few weeks. Now they looked dried out and the tips are brown. I was hoping the would rejuvinate once they got established in the ground, but no luck so far. Should I trim the brown stalks off or just leave them alone? If I do trim, to I start where it starts to brown or from the base at the root? Thanks!
Carol_Stocker: One thing people don't realize is that plants in pots need to be watered even more often than plants in the ground. The problem was not that you took so long to plant them, but that you probably didn't water them while they were waiting in their containers to be planted. Plants need to be watered, both when they are in containers before they are planted, and then immediately after they are planted, and then every week after that for a couple of months at least. Plants do not need fertilizer. They need water. So now what? Grab your fescue in one hand and cut it back with one cut of the pruning shears in the other so that all the brown is gone and the height is even. No doubt some of the roots have died so the rest of the roots will appreciate having less top growth to support. Make sure fescues are in full sun or they will always look ratty. Water weekly.
bud__Guest_: Should you cut dead blooms off lilacs
Carol_Stocker: I like to deadhead spent blossoms because it looks neater and the plant does not expend energy making seeds that nobody wants.
scott__Guest_: I have a yellow magnolia about 8 ft high. Has 7 small trunks. only flowers on one trunk. this is the second season since I planted.
Carol_Stocker: Give it more time. As long as the other trunks produce leaves, they are alive and they may flower in future years. If some branches are in sun and some are in shade, the sunnier branches will always produce more flowers.
rhody__Guest_: I've read where you say rhodys don't like to be cut back. what do you do then, just let them grow bigger and bigger each year? can you trim at all? i have one on either side of the fron of my home, we were trimming them each year, this OK?
Carol_Stocker: It is better to move them to a more spacious location than to have to prune them all the time, but if they are too big to move, you have no choice. Most shrubs love to be pruned and grow more vigorously after pruning. But rhodies act like you just cut off some of their fingers and don't thrive like other shrubs afterwards. But if you gotta trim, you gotta. Just don't leave any stumps. Cut back to a branch crotch.
rhody__Guest_: also, i have a sweet bay magnolia, planted 3 years ago, this spring quite a few branches seem dead, you think just due to the hot summer and lack of water? we have a town water ban, and try to abide but often forget about the trees - any hope for recovery?
Carol_Stocker: As long as you have some leaves on the tree there is hope for recovery, but the dead branches will have to be cut off. Do try to water weekly. This is a tree of marginal hardiness and the winter might have been too hard on it.
sixstring_girl__Guest_: hi carol. i recently ordered a banana plant, a citrus tree (hybrid - lemon/tangerine/orange) and a lime tree but i have no idea how to take care of them. any suggestions? I have them potted outside for now with the intention of bringing them in during the winter. i was also thinking of implementing a greenhouse
Carol_Stocker: Well the summer will be the easy part and the winter will be the hard part if you don't have a greenhouse. I would plant them in very large planters filled with very lightweight soil so you can bring them indoors at the end of September. Don't wait too late. I Hope you ordered dwarf varieties! Indoor conditionsfrequently make lemon trees vulnerable to scape, and red spikdermites because they get stressed by low light. Lime trees are a little easier but both are hard to keep alive and take years before they produce fruit. In other words, what you have taken on is so difficult that I myself would not personally try it, since I don't have a greenhouse. Maybe you could find a friend who does?
Saramiah__Guest_: My houseplants always get tiny black bugs. As soon as I get rid of the plant the bugs disappear. How can I get rid of the bugs without getting rid of the plants. I have tried sticky paper but this is unattractive and does not work very well.
Carol_Stocker: check new plants for bugs, disease or signs of ill health before bringing them into the house. before letting a new plant join your old plants, keep it by itself for two weeks so you can monitor developments. If your houseplants develop problems try spraying with insecticidal soap, available at nurseries.
Carol_Stocker: That's all we have time for this week. i am sorry if i did not get to your question. I will be back on line two weeks from today, June 19, at 1 p.m. Unanswered questions will remain posted until then so I can get back to them. Thanks for chatting!
Carol_Stocker: For gardening events and tours, visit boston.com/thingstodo.