Q. I lost every one of my rhubarb plants late last summer and fall. The plants started dying at one end of the row and just worked on down the row to the opposite end. Someone told me it was due to grubs; another told me that it was moles eating the grubs. Since this is a plant I intend to eat, whatever I use needs to be food safe. A. It is unlikely that […]
Q. We have an older Bartlett pear tree. It bears a lot of fruit almost every year. The pears rot around the core on the tree. I understand there was a problem last year with a lot of fruit trees, especially apple trees. But our pears rot each year and seem to be getting worse. The pears are big but rotten around the core first, and then the whole pear rots. What can I try, […]
Q. In an earlier In The Grow Column you were writing about possible replacements for white pine trees in Indiana. Yet you did not mention Eastern red cedar as a possibility. Is there something wrong with the native species of evergreens? A. Eastern redcedar is actually a species of Juniper rather than a true cedar. It is widely adaptable to various stresses, especially drought, so it can be very useful for group plantings, windbreaks and […]
Q. We enjoy your articles and were wondering about Jack-in-the-pulpit seeds. Do they have to be stratified? Would you do an article about the different seeds and which ones need stratification and or softening and abrading? A. Seeds of many plants in our climate have an immature embryo that requires a period of moist-chilling (stratification) before they are able to germinate. Although the length of the chilling period varies with the plant species, most seeds […]
Q. We have a raised bed that is about 7 inches deep. The soil is dark-colored and was excavated from the foot of a slope in a woods near a graveled road. I also added several bags of muck topsoil. I have tried to grow several vegetables, but the stems of all are very elongated. Radishes were about 18 inches tall with very small underground parts. Lettuce was about 12 inches tall with small leaves. Tomato […]
Q. The last couple of springs we have had this beautiful flower in our bed, with a nodding, bell-shaped bloom checkered with dark maroon and creamy white. We didn’t plant it, and there is only one. Can you tell us what it is, and where we can buy more? A. That would be Fritillaria meleagris, commonly known as the checkered lily or guinea-hen flower. This dainty spring-flowering bulb reaches just 8-12 inches tall, thrives in […]
Q. My mother ordered ever-blooming lilacs, and I would like to have some for my landscape. Can you share with me the site to order these from? A. To the best of my knowledge, there aren’t any lilacs that bloom continuously all summer, but there are a few that may re-bloom in late summer and/or fall. Different species and even cultivars within a species vary in their requirements for developing flowers buds. So an individual […]
Q. I moved to the country 15 years ago, and started planting oak trees then. I have a problem with my white oaks, but not the reds. The leaves are severely curled up and wilted; new growth comes on and looks good for a short while, then it curls also. The tips are especially affected. The trees are growing, but slowly and look awful. Any idea what to do? A. This sounds like a case […]
Q. I moved to the country 15 years ago, and started planting oak trees then. I have a problem with my white oaks, but not the reds. The leaves are severely curled up and wilted; new growth comes on and looks good for a short while, then it curls also. The tips are especially affected. The trees are growing, but slowly and look awful. Any idea what to do? A. This sounds like a case […]