THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 20, 1996 TAG: 9610180086
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G2 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: GARDENING
SOURCE: ROBERT STIFFLER
LENGTH: 47 lines
A reader recently inquired about castor beans and your reply was to use them for mole control. Readers should be warned that castor beans are poisonous. The ingestion of very few beans can quickly cause death in small children and dogs. We learned this tragically when both of our dogs (a golden retriever and a beagle) ate some beans. The golden retriever died about 30 hours after eating the beans, and the beagle, who apparently ate fewer beans, died shortly thereafter. Once the poison is in their system, there is no cure.
Cherie C. Wilson, Chesapeake
It's heart-rending to lose two dogs. I've visited many gardens where people grew castor beans as an ornamental, but readers who have dogs that dig a lot or will eat practically anything need to be particularly cautious. Thanks for warning others with pets and small children of the hazards of castor beans.
Enclosed you will find several leaves from our red-tips. We've been told these spots are a type of fungus. Could you identify the problem and suggest a remedy?
Beth J. Nard, Virginia Beach
Your ``red tips'' have leaf spot, a common disease on this shrub, whose proper name is Photinia. You should never prune it except when dormant in winter. Spray early in the spring and continue spraying weekly with Daconil. If that doesn't stop the problem, saw it off at ground level with a chain saw. Let new growth come back, spraying weekly to prevent infection. If you still have the problem, dig it up and replace with wax myrtle, ligustrum or anise shrubs.
I am interested in obtaining some of the moth traps you mentioned in a June column. Would you please print the phone number and address for Gardens Alive! so I can call or write them?
Valerie McDaniel, Kill Devil Hills
Gardens Alive! is a firm in Indiana that sells organic products. Its moth trap really works for meal moths and other moths that infest food. Here's the information: Gardens Alive!, 5100 Schenley Place, Lawrenceburg, Ind. 47025. Call (812) 537-8650 or fax (812) 537-5108. MEMO: No gardening questions will be taken over the phone. Write to
Robert Stiffler, The Virginian-Pilot, 150 W. Brambleton Ave., Norfolk,
Va. 23510. For an earlier reply, send a self-addressed, stamped
envelope. by CNB