THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 10, 1995 TAG: 9512080099
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G4 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: GARDENING
SOURCE: ROBERT STIFFLER
LENGTH: Long : 140 lines
I bought two hibiscus plants at a builders store last spring. I can't believe how well they did, planted in my back yard. Is there any way I can save them through the winter? They have grown rather large. I gave them very little care and they produced flower after flower all summer long.
Brad Sheehan, Virginia Beach
It's difficult to answer your questions, not knowing what variety you have. It sounds like you have tropical hibiscus, which have large blooms of yellow, red, pink or white. They should have been brought in before a frost and kept in the sunniest location possible.
Watch closely for aphids and white flies. Spray if you find those insects. Early in the spring, cut back the plants to half their size and put outdoors in the sunshine. You should be able to keep them growing for years, eventually repotting in larger pots.
I have apple, pear and peach trees. They are only 4 years old and have been bearing fruit for two years. We were unable to eat the fruit, because the apples and peaches were full of worms. The pears rotted. Apples and peaches fell down to the ground. I did not spray them, because I'm afraid I might use the wrong pesticide or wrong technique and wrong frequency. Please advise what to do.
Fe Carolino, Virginia Beach
There is no way you can sucessfully grow fruit in this area without at least seven sprays a year. Many successful fruit growers spray more than that. The spray program is complicated, so rather than try to explain it here, you're being mailed four pages of instructions from Virginia Tech on how, when and what to use. If you choose to do it by organic methods, buy one of the Rodale books such as ``Chemical-Free Yard & Garden.''
A small tree came up in my yard this past summer. I thought it was a mimosa (silk tree), because its leaf looked like that. Recently it began blooming with yellow-gold flowers. Do you know what this tree might be?
Jan Gladstone, Virginia Beach
Your tree, with its small fern-like leaves, is an Acacia. It is native to the Southeast and particularly the North Carolina Outer Banks. It has showy yellow flowers in clusters or spikes. One variety grows into a small tree and is very attractive but often freezes out in the winter, so it's best to keep in a container and move indoors in winter. The one native to the Outer Banks is more a small shrub. In this area, it dies back to the ground in winter but comes back from the roots. Any member of the Acacia family is nice to have, but in this climate, you have to give it special winter protection.
During the drought, our trees suffered heavy leaf loss. Years ago, I had a hollow-tube root soaker that could be attached to a hose. I made a few inquiries as to current availability but nobody seemed to know what I was talking about. Recently The N.Y. Times quoted an employee of the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx who recommended a ``Ross Root Feeder'' which has a 30-inch tube. Do you know of a local source?
Ed Walshe, Norfolk
You have properly identified what you are looking for as the Ross Root Feeder. It used to be very popular for deep-feeding plants. It contains fertilizer, then you attach a hose, push the thing into the ground and turn on the water. The theory is that water and food reaches the tree in its root zone. In recent years, they have dropped in popularity. Wetsel Seed, the wholesale distributor, still sells it. Tell your favorite garden center to call Wetsel (460-5623) and order one for you, and you can then purchase it from your retailer.
The man who rakes my pine needles, cuts the grass, etc., apparently does not know how to prepare the soil when reseeding so the lawn will produce green grass. Will you tell me the order of applying fertilizer, lime and seed so I can advise the lawn man? How does one know if lime is needed? In addition, should the soil under the existing grass be raked or tilled before applying anything? You've mentioned several varieties of lawn seed. Which do you recommend to get a good healthy green lawn?
Mary Balasco, Norfolk
Fall lawn renovation can start as early as Labor Day and continue through mid-October. If you haven't limed in three years, it's a safe bet the soil needs lime. To be sure, take samples and have the soil tested. Lime, 8-8-8, 10-10-10 or a special ``starter'' fertilizer should go on ahead of the grass seed by a few days. Ideally rainfall will occur between that day and the day you seed. For hard soil, nothing helps more than using an aerator to loosen up hard-pan areas. If you can't do that, stir up the soil with a garden rake so seed has a decent place to get established.
The seed I would use is Shenandoah or Rebel II fescue, but there are several other good fescues, including Titan and Southern Belle or whatever your garden center recommends. Keep the seed moist for 18 days, fertilize again in a month and once more one month later with a high nitrogen fertilizer. By then you should have a lawn established.
I am told you recently published a column concerning carpenter bees and methods to eradicate them. I did not see the column, and I have recently discovered these bees in my facia boards. Can you repeat the information?
Melvin L. Armstrong, Chesapeake
Carpenter bees, says entomologist Peter Schultz, director of the Hampton Roads Research Center, become a nuisance in summer, flying erratically near eaves and gables of homes, especially those with unpainted wood trim. Carpenter bees are large (1-inch long), heavy-bodied, metallic blue-black in coloring, often with green or purplish highlights. They resemble bumble bees in size. Females have black heads and sting, while males cannot sting. They overwinter in nests in wood tunnels. They emerge each spring and look for nail holes, exposed saw cuts or unpainted wood nesting sites. They prefer soft wood such as cedar, redwood, pine and fir. They cause damage to overhead trim, outdoor wood furniture, porches, garages, railings, roof overhangs, shingles, siding, window sills, fence posts and other weathered wood.
It's important to exterminate carpenter bees as soon as you notice them. If uncontrolled, a community can grow large and seriously damage a structure. The greatest problem is not the wood damage, but the homeowner's fear of this large bee. Well-painted wood is seldom attacked, and aluminum, asbestos, asphalt and similar non-wood materials will not be attacked. Damaged wood should be removed and replaced with pressure-treated wood.
After dark on a cool evening, when bees are in their nests, treat the entrance with Baygon, malathion or Sevin applied directly into the nest and on a wide area of adjacent wood. Wait 24 hours, then seal the hole with wood putty, caulking compound or a dowel to prevent future infestation. If tunnels are plugged before the bees are killed, the bees may bore new openings. Another method is to use balls of cotton, treated with an insecticide, pushed into the tunnel.
How do I winter over my ``Dwarf Cavendish'' banana tree? It has grown very well, making lots of little new trees beside the main trunk. I cut some off and planted them, but only one grew. I would like to know the proper way to take them from the mother tree. What do I do with the little ones over winter?
Becky Cook, Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach banana queen Esty Vollrath says to cut off the leaves down to the trunk but do not cut the trunk. Shake soil off the roots and put the plant under the house or in a garage. Do not separate the small ``pups'' that grow out beyond the main trunk until they're at least 18 inches tall. Then wiggle them apart, cut them apart with a machete or hose them apart and replant.
I have a yard full of pine needles that I would like to compost. Can you tell me the best way to do it and how long it will take before I can use the compost?
Dennis Williams, Chincoteague
Pine needles are bristly, so advisers at Virginia Tech recommend you grind them up with a lawn mower before attempting to compost them. Then put them on the compost pile and add limestone and nitrogen fertilizer. They then rot quickly and your compost should be ready to use next spring. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Park Seed
Tropical hibiscus need to be brought in before frost.
by CNB