Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 16, 1994 TAG: 9412160005
SECTION: HOMES PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN ARBOGAST
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
A: It's a little late to begin forcing a poinsettia into bloom for early holiday gatherings; but, start right away and you should have color by the second or third week of December.
Your letter's date (Sept. 29) was almost the time to start the "long uninterrupted night but short sunny day" routine needed to initiate poinsettia flowering.
Every afternoon at around 5:30, put the poinsettia in a dark environment at room temperature where it must not be disturbed until around 8 the next morning. Then place the poinsettia in a bright, sunny window, again at room temperature.
Fertilize the poinsettia once a month. Water as needed. Do not prune the plant during the fall. Keep it out of chills and any kind of draft, hot or cold. Check the poinsettia daily for insects and control any found by washing, wiping, hand removal or plant trimming before these problems get out of hand.
Insecticide sprays can cause poinsettias to lose leaf color or drop leaves.
Q: I read that mineral oil kills corn worms. Do I spray it on the new silk of the sweet corn ears? Also, how should I store gladiolus for the winter? T.L.C., Christiansburg
A: Corn earworms can be controlled by spraying corn plants every two weeks from the time plants are knee-high until ears begin to form, according to "The Garden Doctor: 267 Garden Problems Solved" by Rodale Press. Spray with a light horticultural oil mixed with Bacillus thuringiensis (BT).
Then apply a drop of mineral oil to the silks of each ear after the silks have dried.
Cure gladiolus corms after digging for two to three weeks in a dry, well-ventilated area with temperatures in the 60-degree range.
Then remove old corms and cormels. Store in labeled paper bags in a area that won't freeze but stays between 35 and 40 degrees.
Q: My azaleas have turned brown spotted. I can't seem to get rid of morning glories that are growing in the azaleas, even though I have black plastic down. When do you feed and spray the bushes for this brown-spotted problem? I feel like it would be better to pull the azaleas up and start all over, but I would appreciate your help. Also, when do you trim azaleas? J.L., Troutville
A: The spotted brown coloration of your azaleas sounds like lace bug insect damage. It's too late to spray the undersides of the leaves for lace bugs. However, it is often difficult to give a correct diagnosis on which to make control recommendations without seeing a sample of the affected plant part.
You should call your local Botetourt County Extension Office at 473-8260 to arrange to take in a sample for diagnosis. If it is lace bug damage, you'll want to call your local Extension Office in the spring for control
recommendations since you'll start spraying for them in late May or June.
Solve your morning glory problem this way: Cut the vines down at the ground line and then treat only the freshly cut stumps with a stump killer chemical directly from the bottle. Apply according to the label directions for stump killing.
An example of this type of product would be Brush-B-Gon Brush Killer; the purpose of the stump killer treatment is to kill the roots of the unwanted weedy vine.
If you want to fertilize your azaleas, do so in the spring right after their blooms fade. Trim those plants right after blooming also.
Q: Please tell me when is the best time to trim my iris back. Should they be cut halfway to the ground? When is the best time (month) to transplant them? Can that be done now? I also have a holly bush that was full of red berries when I planted it a couple of years ago. It hasn't had any red berries since. Is it necessary to have two hollies in order to get berries? Mrs. M.L.H., Roanoke
A: Iris foliage should not be cut as long as it is green. It is all right to cut the tips off iris leaves when those ends turn brown in late summer or early fall, but cutting them by half might be too much green removal.
Yes, irises can be transplanted now. Actually, anytime after blooming is acceptable .
Certain hollies produce male and female flower parts on separate plants. In order to get berries on a female holly of one of those holly species, it is essential to have a male plant near the female. Thus, it sounds like you bought a holly species that has separate male and female plants. You got the female, which must have received pollen from a male plant at the nursery where it was grown.
Not all holly species have sexes on separate plants.
However, since it is necessary to have a male holly to go with your female holly in order to make berries, identify the holly species that you have and go to a nursery and ask for a male holly of the same species.
Send short questions about your lawn, garden, plants, or insects to Dear John, c/o the Roanoke Times & World-News, P. O. Box 2491, Roanoke, Va. 24010-2491. We need your mail, but this column can't reply to all letters. Those of wide appeal will be answered each week. Personal replies cannot be given.
John K. Arbogast is the Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension agent for Roanoke.
by CNB