THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 11, 1994 TAG: 9412090111
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G2 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: GARDENING
SOURCE: ROBERT STIFFLER
LENGTH: Long : 110 lines
I have a big oak tree in my backyard that my son planted nearly 40 years ago. It has a fungus or some kind of disease. Little bump-like blisters come on the outer limbs in the spring. They dry up like scales, and the ends of these branches eventually die. The tree seems to get thinner every year. I would hate to lose this tree, because it shades my backyard and the house. If you know of anything I can do to save it, please tell me. It is too big to spray.
Lillie M. Cahoon, Chesapeake
Virginia Tech experts say most likely your tree has a fungus that is attracted to weak limbs. It especially attacks limbs that don't receive any sun. There also is one variety of oak that gets the chestnut blight. Oaks are tough trees, and yours should live. Fertilize it this fall, spreading the fertilizer under the entire limb area of the tree, using a special tree fertilizer. During dry spells, let a hose run slowly all night at the base of its trunk. It would be a good idea to start doing that now, before the ground freezes. Rest assured that your tree will live.
I have several dogwood trees that are about 4 years old and have just started growing good. One of the trees died this summer, even though it was in a moist, sunny location. It looked as if it had been sprayed with Roundup. Now I have another doing the same thing. I am sending some leaves, hoping you can offer some suggestions as to what the problem is. Should I cut off the dead parts of the trees?
Mrs. Swann Broocke, Courtland
First, cut off any dead limbs. Dogwoods need sunshine to bloom, but prefer shade in the afternoon. They require lots of water during their growing months but must have good drainage. Virginia Tech experts suspect your trees came from a plastic container where they'd been too long. That makes them have girdling roots, which could be choking the tree now. Plants in plastic also often get moldy.
Whenever you take a plant out of a container, cut and separate the roots that go round and round. Once in the ground, they can cause problems that make the plant go downhill. There's not much you can do now except give them water, fertilize after they drop their leaves and make sure they have good drainage. Also mulch them 3 inches deep with bark or pine straw.
This season has been a tough one on dogwoods with too much heat in June, too much rain in July and too many dry spells at other times. Many look bad throughout the area. Yet I see others that could not look healthier. This makes me believe location is more important in planting a dogwood than for almost any other tree. Make sure you have the right spot before planting one.
We bought a kiwi plant from a catalog four years ago. It is supposed to be self-pollinating. The only thing it does is bloom beautifully for a week or so. Then the blooms fall off and the ends of the vine turn brown. I hope you can help.
Juanita Jackson, Portsmouth
Although your kiwi is supposed to be self-pollinating, that may not be happening because of a sterile environment. The flowering type may or may not be self-pollinating. The sure way to get fruit is to get a male plant at once and plant it nearby. Then you'll have pollination and lots of kiwis.
If a product such as Roundup, which contains glyphosate, kills a plant systemically, why does the Bermuda grass keep returning in my fescue? I spray it in the fall, before reseeding. Would the fact that my neighbor's yard is completely Bermuda have anything to do with this problem?
R. Gomez, Chesapeake
You possibly have two problems. Roundup is put to work through leaf absorption. Bermuda has narrow leaves; things with more leaf surface are better controlled by Roundup. When you have Bermuda in a fescue lawn, you don't have much leaf area of Bermuda to spray, so the spray may not be fully effective. Keep after it.
Also what is happening is that wind is blowing Bermuda seed or birds are carrying it from your neighbor's yard into yours, so you're always going to have this problem. The only way to control it is to direct the Roundup to a narrow stream and spray every sprig of Bermuda whenever you see it.
Last fall I threw some pumpkin seeds in my garden from the Halloween pumpkin we purchased. This spring the seeds germinated, and I had pumpkins in my garden. How can you tell when a pumpkin is ready to harvest? The garden book I have said it takes pumpkins 120 days to mature. Are there other signs you can go by, such as color?
William E. Tatem, Virginia Beach
There are two methods of telling when a pumpkin is ripe. One is that it will turn from tan to bright orange. That is not always a reliable method, because some new varieties do not turn orange, but they are not often grown. The other signal is that when the stem dries, your pumpkin is ready to pick.
I read your article on bug-fighting plants, especially those that deter aphids. We've had more than the usual whitefly problems with our gardenias this year. Are there any herbs that I could plant amongst our gardenias to deter the white flies?
Ted Wojnar, Virginia Beach
Specialists at the Hampton Roads Agricultural Research Center say no. There is no attractant plant that is good for combating whiteflies. Spraying with an insecticide, horticultural oil or insecticidal soap is best, but spraying must be done every five days to catch new whiteflies as they hatch.
Rodale's book, ``Chemical-Free Garden Techniques,'' gives a garlic oil spray that will kill whiteflies: Soak 3 ounces of finely minced garlic cloves in 2 teaspoons of mineral oil for 24 hours or more. Slowly add 1 pint of water that has 1/4-ounce of liquid or insecticidal soap mixed into it. Stir thoroughly and strain into a glass jar for storage. Use at a rate of 1-2 tablespoons of mixture to 1 pint of water and spray plants.
My reference books also suggest using yellow sticky traps, placed near your gardenias. They work and will catch a lot of whiteflies. They're available in garden centers. MEMO: No gardening questions will be taken over the phone. Write to Robert
Stiffler, The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star, 150 W. Brambleton
Ave., Norfolk, Va. 23510. Answers will be published on a space-available
basis at the proper time for their use in the garden. For an earlier
reply, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope. by CNB