Your Plant Questions and Answers May 2009

Question: Our picture window on the south reflects so much heat that it is necessary to replant the shrubbery every year. Can you suggest a way of keeping the reflected heat from the shrubs? Mrs. RWG, South Dakota.

Answer: Generally speaking. the heat from a window or brick wall cannot be controlled, but the amount of heat reflected must control the kind of plants used. The absolute maximum temperature a shrub or perennial can tolerate must determine what plants are suitable in front of the picture window. The amount of heat reflected by the window may be decreased somewhat if shades other than white are used. White reflects the maximum amount of heat, black the least.

Question: What is the correct depth for planting old fashioned bleeding hearts? MB, lndiana.

Answer: The fleshy, peony-like roots of bleeding hearts should be planted carefully so as not to break them and damage. the “eyes.” The eyes should be covered only to a depth of about two inches. When and how should dogwoods be transplanted?

Question: Is it true that dogwood doesn’t like fertilizer? CH, Ohio.

Answer: Transplant dogwoods as you would an evergreen with a ball of dirt. If the plants are very small they may be moved bare root. Early spring is the best time to transplant them and a good soil with fertilizer added is excellent to fill in around the balled tree. Or, work 12-12-12 fertilizer into the surface soil around the tree. They like a moderate amount of fertilizer and a neutral or slightly acid soil. In ordinary soil use one four-inch pot full of fertilizer for each inch of diameter of the tree.

Question: My aunt in East Texas uses coffee grounds as a mulch around lilies and roses. The plants are beautiful. Do coffee or tea grounds have any nutrient value, or would they harbor undesirable bugs? CCH, Oklahoma.

Answer: Coffee and tea grounds have practically no value as fertilizer. As a soil conditioner they would be of some value if used in sufficient quantities.

Question: Last spring I planted five rose bushes, after mixing sand and fertilizer into the soil. The bushes seemed healthy, but as the buds appeared, not one of them opened. Can you tell me what is wrong? GS, Missouri.

Answer: If the petals of the flower bud turn brown and the flower barely starts to open or is deformed, or remains entirely closed and dries up, the buds are likely infested with thrips. It is impossible to reach the thrips with sprays or dusts once they are in the flower buds. Spraying the buds every ten days from the time they are just starting to form with a spray of malathion should prevent most of the thrips from gaining access to the buds. A Malathion spray will kill thrips if it contacts them, and will not injure the rose buds.

Question: Please tell me how to keep creeping phlox within bounds. I have a row set 10 or 12 inches from the driveway. The space from where the roots are set to the driveway looks dry and dead. All the green tips that are six to 12 inches long are lying on the drive. Should it be sheared after blooming? L H, Kentucky.

Answer: As Phlox subulata grows at the tips and spreads over the ground the leaves near the base of the plant die, leaving a bushy tip at a distance from where the plant was set. This is usually what happens if the plants are set alongside shrubbery, and are forced to seek additional light. In full sun the plants should spread in all directions and as the procumbent stems root they should make a solid mat of short branches without any pruning. Try moving the stems by laying them alongside of the drive, and place a thin covering of soil over the stems. The old plants should root all along their length and send up new growths in all directions.

Question: We have heard that pine and walnut sawdusts are poison to certain plants. Is this true? Is sawdust from any of the evergreens objectionable, and is there any limit to the amount to use? CF, Ohio.

Answer: Contrary to popular belief, sawdust and shavings of any kind make excellent mulching material. An excessive amount in the soil tends to deplete the nitrogen during the time it is in the process of decay. If commercial fertilizer or stable dressing is added along with the sawdust this hazard is overcome. I have had excellent results substituting all kinds of sawdust and shavings for peat moss and except for its color have found no objections to its use.

Question: When, where and how is the best process to use in planting pecans to grow for nut bearing trees? DK, Missouri.

Answer: To grow pecans the first and most important thing is to secure from a nursery budded trees that are from proven parent trees. Some of the larger nurseries have spent much time and money in searching out trees, for propagating purposes, that are hardy, prolific and with fruit of good quality and size. Pecan trees are difficult to transplant for the young tree root is usually a single long taproot. It is preferable to plant small stock in early spring, in good soil, and they should be planted at least 50 feet apart.

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