Some wood chips stunt growth
We have a lot of wood chips from stump grindings. Can anything grow in this?
Fresh wood chips and grindings can be used for pathways within the landscape. Avoid using more than a light application as a mulch in gardens and among ornamental plantings.
Decomposing wood chips of any type bind up nutrients needed for plant growth. Adding them as a soil amendment or more than an inch-thick mulch would be risky and lead to nutrient deficiencies. Wood chips and grindings are best added to a compost pile to utilize with plantings after decomposition into a soillike material.
My neighbors feel crape myrtles must be trimmed by cutting them way back each year. But I feel pruning it is not necessary. Please clarify which is the best way.
Have the crape myrtles your way and your neighbor can, too. No one appears to know where the tradition of cutting the tops and trunks back to the thick and single limb portions began, but the plants don’t seem to mind.
Severe trimming does concentrate new growth and flowering to give the plants a congested look. Many seem to like the appearance or feel it is normal. But if you resist the pruning, crape myrtles can show attractive tree and shrub forms with open and spreading branches full of blooms each year.
Perhaps the severe pruning began when crape myrtles were planted in the wrong places and pruned to control height and width. Many likely continued what amounts to whacking the trees and shrubs way back, thinking it normal pruning. Each spring some gardeners remove the old seed pods and perform a little thinning but even this is not necessary.
Something is eating the leaves of my hosta plants. What could be the cause?
Perhaps you have plants that resemble hostas but few local gardeners have been successful with this northern favorite. You might be growing a look alike called the Amazon lily or maybe a peacock ginger. Only the Amazon lily is full of green foliage at this time. The peacock ginger and true hosta plants died back for the winter and begin their growth in about a month.
When pests are feeding in the foliage of any of these plants, they are normally snails or slugs. Check in the late afternoon or evening for these critters. If present, handpick from the plants or use a natural snail and slug bait found at garden centers. Caterpillars can also feed on these plants but they are less common.
My sago is sprouting new growths at the top after a two-year rest. There are also shoots at the bottom of the trunk. Should I leave the shoots from the base and lower trunk?
Only if you want a multi-trunk sago would you leave the shoots to grow from the lower trunk and near the ground. An email picture shows your sago as an older plant with one big trunk and a welcome flush of growth at the top. It is probably best left as the single trunk and have the new shoots along the trunk and at the ground removed. If you wish, they can be rooted to start plants for your landscape or to share with friends.
I have a large poinsettia growing in a container. When can I plant it in the ground?
Wait no longer to add this holiday treat to your landscape. Find a full to filtered sun location for a good planting site. Plant as you would any shrub improving the ground if you wish with compost, peat moss or manure. Then add your plant and keep the soil moist, watering every day the first few weeks and then every two to three days after that. Trim the poinsettia back to within 18 inches of the ground and apply a slow-release fertilizer as instructed on the label through fall. Additional light pruning is needed every month or two until September to keep the plant compact and full of shoots.
My gardenia appears to need a boost and I want to provide the proper feedings this year. When should I fertilize and does it need an acid-type fertilizer?
Gardenias are finicky when it comes to care but not overly particular about their soil type. As with most landscape plants they prefer a slightly acidic soil growing within a pH range of between 5.0 and 6.5. If the soil acidity is above the pH of 7.0, an acid-forming fertilizer may be of value as it usually contains minor nutrients that are often not available at these higher pH levels.
When the soil acidity is within normal range, any general slow-release landscape fertilizer should be fine. Make an application in March, June and August to keep the plants growing and attractive. Additional care needed by gardenias includes a 2- to 3-inch mulch layer, moist soil, often extra magnesium and control of scale insects on the foliage and stems. Then, if you want pest free flowers control the thrips in the blooms with a natural insecticide as they begin to open.