When Life Gives You Lemons

My daughter lived in California for a while, where she had a Meyer lemon tree. Now back here, she just put up a large greenhouse. Where can I buy one of these trees for her locally? Can you put it outside during the summer?

Mary DeMattio in Bedford
Logee’s (logees.com) in Danielson, Connecticut, sells Meyer lemon trees in several sizes. Their fabulous greenhouses make the trip well worth the effort, but you can also order plants online. Many local garden centers also carry citrus trees.

The very flavorful Meyer lemon is a hybrid of a lemon and an orange. It cannot survive outdoors in New England’s cold winters, but potted trees can be placed on patios, balconies, and decks during the summer months. The Meyer excels in full sun and should be watered daily, making sure it drains thoroughly.

I have a Meyer lemon tree, and it’s doing well, blossoming and producing fruit. How do I make cuttings, and what is the best time of year (if any) to do it?
Leslie Gensburg in East Burke, Vermont

If you take cuttings from a mature plant that is blooming and fruiting, they should blossom within a year. To increase your chances of success, take two or three cuttings and root them in the same container.

Using a diagonal cut, snip a 6- to 8-inch length of an established branch that is from the tree’s most recent flush of growth. Remove all but two to four leaves at the top of the cutting, and scrape about an inch of bark from around the base. Dip that end into a rooting hormone such as Rootone or Dip ’n Grow (available at garden centers).

In a container of moistened sterilized sand, vermiculite, or other sterile growing media, make a 4-inch-deep hole and insert the cutting. Firm the planting material around it. Most of the cutting should be buried. Spritz the cutting with water, and place a plastic bag over the container to create a “greenhouse” that will keep the air around the plant moist. Don’t let the leaves touch the plastic, as that will increase the chances of decay.

Place the cutting in a bright window or under a light but not in direct sunlight. If it looks too wet inside the plastic, open the bag for a few minutes to release some moisture, but don’t let the plant and soil dry completely. In four to six weeks, tug gently on the cutting. If you feel resistance, you’ll know roots have started to form.

We have an orchid that hasn’t bloomed in three years. It is otherwise a healthy plant. How can we get it to flower again?

Ethel Kramer in Great Barrington
Orchids can be finicky. To rebloom, they need the right light, temperature, and fertilizer. Different types of orchids vary in their requirements, so the following are general recommendations: Provide indirect moderate to bright light such as in east or west windows. Or set the plant beneath a light for 12 hours a day. Orchids like a 15- to 20-degree difference between night and day. Some varieties prefer it cool (60-degree nights, 75-degree days), some midrange (65-degree nights, 80-degree days), and some like it warm (70-degree nights, 85-degree days). Fertilize orchids weekly with an all-purpose houseplant fertilizer diluted to one-quarter strength. If the plants spend their summers outside, change to a half-strength solution while they enjoy the fresh air. Many orchids rest in winter, when they should be fertilized with a quarter- to half-strength solution every three to four weeks. Once buds develop along the stem, keep the air around the plant quite humid. Otherwise the flowers for which you have waited so long will shrivel and drop.

Last year, my garden was devoured and devastated by groundhogs, moles, voles, and rabbits. We have a fence, but these pests are good at digging, and rather fearless. I tried spraying plants with soapy water to make “the salad” taste bad, but I had to reapply the soap immediately after every rain. What can I do to protect my garden?
DeVona Dors in Medford
Ordinary fencing is not enough. Use wire mesh with small openings. To block moles, voles, and rabbits, the wire mesh should stand 2 feet above the soil and extend 6 to 12 inches below, For groundhogs, the fencing should be 3 feet above the soil and 2 feet below. You also can try blending sharp-edged gravel into the top 3 inches of your soil to deter voles from tunneling through the garden.

Moles are more interested in lawn grubs than plants and will tunnel through the yard in search of them, so check and treat for grubs. Since moles appear to dislike the scents of lavender and rosemary, you can plant these herbs as a deterrent.

If pests are nibbling on the bark of young trees and shrubs, loosely wrap plastic cylinders (found at nurseries and garden centers) around the trunks. Remove overgrown grass and brush where rabbits and groundhogs can nest and get rid of any fallen fruits, vegetables, and plant debris that the animals find tasty.

Havahart cages and other no-kill traps are a humane way of catching above-ground pests. Garden centers have products that naturally deter animals, typically by using the scents of their predators.
With a full-on offensive, you can make someone else’s yard more appealing.

I neglected to plant daffodil bulbs last fall. Can I plant them in early spring and have them bloom next year?
Emily Mundo in Waldo, Maine
Spring-blooming bulbs such as daffodils (left), tulips, and crocuses require a period of cold temperatures to bloom. If you plant bulbs now, they won’t bloom this year, and if they do emerge next spring, their growth and bloom will likely be stunted.

If you want daffodils this spring, purchase containers preplanted with cold-treated bulbs from your local garden center. Plant them in the garden, and you’ll not only have blooms this year, but the bulbs will bloom again next spring.
Ellen C. Wells is a horticulturist and freelance writer. E-mail her at ellen@flowerink.com.