Q. The last three years I have had scale on my hollyhocks. They just start to bloom, and the scale appears and they die. Is there something I can use to get rid of the scale? After they start to die, I clean up everything and burn. – I.T., Paoli, Indiana. A. I wonder if you might be referring to hollyhock rust, a fungal disease that commonly affects hollyhocks. The rust-colored blotches can resemble scale […]

Q.  I need information on how to manage hops from the ground up and when and how to do what. Any information you can provide will be greatly appreciated, such as when to dig rhizomes, prune, storage, etc. A. Hops for production require good management through pruning, training and fertilizing and through a fairly long growing season of 120 frost-free days. Note that there are some varieties of hops that are ornamental rather than for hop […]

Q. My landlord gave me a start of this plant. They didn’t explain what it is. I have looked in the seed catalogs and don’t see anything like it. Would like to know if the little bulbs are edible. – P.B., Summitville, Indiana A. Excellent photos! This distinctive perennial onion is known as Egyptian, tree or top-set onion, so-named for the cluster of aerial bulblets, called bulbils, produced at the tip of the leaves. The […]

Q. I was wondering if you had any solutions for tomato rot. I throw my grass clippings on the soil to keep the weeds out. Does that have anything to do with it? – RM, Tinley Park, Illinois. A. Blossom-end rot is a common problem of tomatoes; it’s named for the black, leathery scar that develops on the blossom end of the fruit opposite the point of stem attachment. The black scar tissue is caused […]

Question & Answer Protecting Rhododendrons from Winter Winds Q. I planted a new rhododendron a couple of months ago, and the leaves are already turning yellow and curling up this winter. The plant is on the west side of the house, which was the sunniest location we have. Is there anything I can do to save it? D.L., Lafayette, Indiana. A. Extreme cold and high winds are especially tough on broadleaved evergreens such as rhododendron because […]

Q. I have small evergreen trees planted in my yard. They are the small, slow-growing type. They are around 8 years old. Every fall the yellow jackets start swarming around them, crawling in and out of the inside of the tree. They don’t seem to hurt it, but it looks like they are trying to find something – acting like a honey bee on a flower. But these have no flowers. They don’t bother us […]

Q. We have several firebushes whose leaves never turn that spectacular red in the fall. They just remain green until they fall off. We have fed them spring and fall, and yet there are several other firebushes, treated the same, whose leaves do change color. Any suggestions? J.L., Terre Haute, Indiana A. Fall color or lack thereof is affected by a number of factors, including genetics of the plant and environmental conditions such as temperature, […]

Q. I live on 6.5 acres of land that is completely surrounded by a few varieties of tall pine trees, over a hundred of them. When we moved here 4 years ago, the trees were very full and looked very healthy; however, this past year or two I have noticed many of them seem to be losing their limbs, starting at the bottom, and it seems to be spreading. We trimmed the trees that line […]

Q. I’ve attached photos of my hydrangeas. While they both produce blooms, both seem to have problems. The paniculata Vanilla Strawberry, as you can see, is kind of sparse, not full like others I’ve seen. I believe the other is an arborescens Annabelle. This one never grows more than about 18 inches high and gets very droopy, requiring a lot of water. Both get morning sun and more later in the day. Annabelle is shaded […]

Q. This year some of our peas started to die. This would start by the (rusty) post where my husband anchors a pea fence. Then the disease spread to other pea plants in the row. It went from the post and progressed east. The plants west of the post did not die. Attached please find a couple pictures. I’m sorry that I did not send this earlier, as all the plants are ready to die […]