DATE: Sunday, September 14, 1997            TAG: 9709130098

SECTION: HOME & GARDEN           PAGE: G2   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: Gardening Questions

SOURCE: BY ROBERT STIFFLER, GARDENING COLUMNIST 

                                            LENGTH:  132 lines

RED SORREL SPREADS BY SEED AND RHIZOME AND QUICKLY TAKES OVER

Enclosed is a plant that is growing abundantly in my garden and yard. It is spreading quickly and gets about 1 1/2 feet tall. It has tall spikes of seeds and is crowding out everything else. I hope you can help.

Pam Foster, Norfolk

Laurie Smith of the Hampton Roads Research Center identifies your weed as red sorrel, also called sheep sorrel, sourgrass or Indian cane. It reproduces by seed and rhizomes (roots underground). The best way to get rid of it is to spray with Roundup. Use some cardboard or newspapers to protect your good plants when you spray.

We recently moved into a townhouse that has three small azaleas plus several other types of bushes. Can you tell me what kind of plants I have, from the three samples included and how to maintain them? Also how large will each become? One bush has powdery white patches on the lower leaves and I would appreciate knowing how to treat it.

Sample 3 is steadily overgrowing the bushes on either side of it and seems to be infested with some kind of caterpillar. I'm not too concerned about the caterpillars, but can you tell me how to prune the bush without it looking bare? All the branches within the bush are bare.

Tammy Rosebrook, Virginia Beach

Sample 1 is privet, a common shrub in the woods. It will grow 25 inches wide and 6 feet or more high. Another version is Japanese privet, which is evergreen. The native version, which you have, loses its leaves in winter.

Your next bush is euonymus. It will grow 4 to 6 feet high. It is infested with scale, and the leaves have been damaged by the caterpillar you mentioned. This bush is very prone to scale, so you should spray twice in May with Orthene or a similar product. In fall and early spring, spray with a dormant oil to smother the insect eggs. If you don't control scale, it can kill your bush.

Sample 3 is a Juniper, and it is being ravaged by bagworms. They will kill the plant. As to pruning, do it judiciously and gradually over a several year period. The bare branches are caused by bagworms eating the foliage. Pick the bagworms off by hand and destroy them.

Most likely you'll have to spray with Orthene in early June to keep them under control. For an organic spray, use BT (Bacillus thuringiensis), also spraying in early June.

I noticed in your column of June 22, you commented on the poor performance of photinia in your area. Photinia (red tip) does very well here in Chowan County. It is a popular shrub and much used for hedges.

I've never seen in your columns any thoughts on Bermuda or other ``wire grass'' invading ground covers such as ajuga, pachysandra, vinca and azaleas. The grass grows up and sticks out above the decorative plant. Roundup won't work because it kills the ground cover.

I've found Ornamec works very well and the grass doesn't come back. I'm into the third year with the azaleas and into the second year of keeping Bermuda out of the vinca. Ornamec is expensive - $18 per quart of concentrate, but a good buy for a club, etc. I bought mine from Wildseeds Farms.

Art Wadsworth, Edenton, N.C.

Photinia may grow better in your area for several reasons: less of it is planted; it may be better spaced and not so crowded; perhaps Edenton is less humid or has less fog than Hampton Roads.

When any shrub is overplanted, such as photinia has been here, disease problems soon follow. Photinia looked problem-free when first planted in this area and for several years following.

I have written about Ornamec, and it is recommended for the purposes you describe. The universities say you can get control with Roundup if you put on rubber gloves and then a pair of cotton gloves over them, soaked in Roundup. Then you have to brush or pat each piece of Bermuda you see and that will kill it. Using Ornamec sounds a lot easier. Thanks for your suggestions.

A friend said she had seen in your column a way to stop gum ball trees from producing gum balls. I would really appreciate your telling how it's done and what to use. I am going crazy trying to keep my lawn picked up.

Marilyn Marsh, Norfolk

I'm sorry to report that Virginia Tech experts say the product named Florel won't work for homeowners. It must be applied at the precise moment when the tree is in bloom. They say only professionals are qualified to use it and even then it does not always work.

I am from New Zealand and would never be without the wonderful fruit known as the Tree Tomato. We used to call it that, but now it is called a Tamarillo. This fruit is full of iron. You can just cut off the top and dig it out like you would a boiled egg, because it is shaped like an egg. You can peel the skin off very thinly and cut it in half. Then with a little sugar and water, you cook them slowly in a saucepan until they are soft but not mushy. Store them in the refrigerator but do not throw away the juice from the cooking. Leave them in it and they are wonderful with whipped cream for a delicious dessert.

I don't know where you can get them as cheap as a penny a pound because when I did find some, I had to order an entire flat, which held 24 and that cost me $20. I really wanted them, because they were imported from New Zealand and were a lot bigger then the ones found in local shops. They are easier to find these days so I am going to be out hunting for them.

June Quinn, Chesapeake

It was good to hear from someone who has really eaten the fruit from a tree tomato. The American Horticultural Society says there is no way they can be grown for $1 per pound, as the magazine ads say.

I think you'll find the only place to buy plants is by mail. If the fruit or plants are available locally, I'm not aware of it.

If you installed a new septic field, what would you plant? I would like not to plant grass but prefer to keep it low maintenance.

Barron Dempsey, Smithfield

Use lots of ground covers and make beds, filled with shallow-rooted plants such as azaleas. You did not say whether the area was in sun or shade and that would determine what plants to use. Daylilies and all the liriopes, mondo grasses, etc., are prime candidates.

Experts say about the only things you should not plant over a septic tank or septic field are root vegetables such as beets or turnips. To play it safe, I'd not plant deep-rooted trees such as oaks, but stick with shrubs, trees and perennials that have shallow roots.

Thanks for putting in your column that I had pachysandra to share. I had 18 people come and get this fine ground cover. We discovered you could pull it up like sod, cut it off in sections of 3 by 5 feet and roll it up. Everyone appreciated getting it, but I had no idea so many people did not know what it was.

I felt like Tom Sawyer, getting my work done by someone else - from a young mother with her first home to much older people. I'm still getting calls, but please tell your readers I have no more pachysandra to share.

Elizabeth Faust, Portsmouth

Thanks for sharing and letting people know the easiest way to move pachysandra is to pull it up by its roots, just as you describe. That's a much more satisfactory method than trying to dig it with a shovel. MEMO: No gardening questions will be taken over the phone. Write to

Robert Stiffler, The Virginian-Pilot, 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.

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