In the garden
QAll of a sudden my three crape myrtles have leaves that turned a rusty color. The leaves have some mottling color with a bit of green, but mostly rust color. I am rather house-bound following knee surgery, but a couple of people have said they too have seen this change of leaf color almost overnight.
AWe were starting to get quite dry in early to mid-August, and we started seeing some trees beginning their fall decline and starting to defoliate. Red or dark pink flowering crape myrtles often turn a rusty red color for fall foliage. As long as the leaves that have turned also fell off, I think you are OK. Do check the trees for any insect damage — crape myrtle bark scale attacks the trunk and limbs and can cause early decline too.
QWe have six tall red-leaf bushes with the large leaves. This summer they have lost almost all of their leaves. The leaves have dark brown spots and holes on them. The bushes stand 12 feet tall. What can we do to return them to a healthy hedge? Should we cut them back, and by how much?
AYour plants have a very common problem for red tip photenias — entomosporium leaf spot. It has been wiping out photenia plants across the South for years now. You have
several choices. One is remove the plants and replace them with something more carefree. You can also cut them back by half and then spray them with a fungicide in early spring to start the season out healthy and see what happens. If they have totally defoliated from the disease, my guess is they will succumb to it again next season unless you are prepared to spray weekly during the growing season, which I do not recommend. I would replant with something new.
QDo you have any idea what this is? [The reader sent photo above.]
AIt is the seedpod from a vining member of the milkweed family. The common name is climbing milkweed, bluevine or honeyvine. It is in a different genus than most of the other milkweeds, which are Asclepias. The Latin name has changed over the years and you will find Cynanchum laeve and Ampelamus albidus used interchangeably. It is a host plant for the monarch butterfly. It is an annual vine, but once you have it, it will come back. The pods are loaded with seeds, and it can become a tad aggressive.
QThis lovely petite flower is growing in our front yard. [The reader sent photo at right.] The twisting stem is as fascinating as it is delicate. Can you help identify this little gem?
AThe plant in question is actually an orchid commonly called ladies tresses — Spiranthes is the genus.
QI was given a start of this plant, said to have come from my grandparents’ home place in west Tennessee [the reader sent photo above]. It went in the ground in April, has a rather prostrate growth pattern and started to show a bloom cluster in the last few weeks. The flowers looked white at first, then turned pink.
AThe plant in question is commonly called Bouncing Bet or soapwort, Saponaria officinalis. It is an old-fashioned plant that can become a bit aggressive in the garden. It spreads by underground rhizomes, so be aware and contain it if needed.