DATE: Sunday, September 14, 1997            TAG: 9709130129

SECTION: HOME & GARDEN           PAGE: G1   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: Reminders

SOURCE: Robert Stiffler 

                                            LENGTH:   99 lines

OCTOBER IS IDEAL TIME TO PLANT AZALEAS AND CAMELLIAS

NEXT MONTH IS the ideal time to plant azaleas, camellias and rhododendron in Southeastern Virginia and Northeastern North Carolina.

Rhododendrons are difficult to grow in this area, but Arthur Coyle of Coyle Gardens near Waller, Texas, has been doing it successfully for 30 years. Here are his recommendations:

Beds must be constructed to give the utmost in drainage and air circulation. Place the rhododendron on a 6-inch gravel pad in a raised bed (10 to 20 inches thick) made of equal parts of coarse sharp sand and sterilized pine bark, to which iron sulphate has been added. A mixture of pine needles and oak leaves is recommended as mulch, up to 8 inches thick.

Azaleas and camellias can be planted without that much preparation but must be planted shallow if you want a healthy plant. Do not mix peat moss into the soil. Use only the soil taken out of the hole to put in around the plant.

Some good growers put bricks under a camellia to prevent it from sinking too deeply for vigorous growth. Do not fertilize until after blooming next spring.

Ginter Garden fair

The Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond will hold its annual fall garden fair and plant sale Friday and Saturday. More than 400 commercial specialists will sell unusual plants and garden accessories. Garden admission will be waived for the event.

For a nominal charge, you can get your houseplants repotted. Book collectors will find texts at bargain prices. In the ``Recycled Plants'' tent, shoppers will find affordable house and garden plants grown by Ginter Garden volunteers.

Hours are 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Free parking is at the corner of Lakeside Avenue and Hilliard Road, with trolley service to the garden. Call (804) 262-9887, Ext. 3035.

Watch out for mice

Have a mouse in the house? Here are signs to look for: Check for rodent droppings in undisturbed areas such as storage, attics, garages, under baseboards and along walls. Look for gnawing on packaged goods, cardboard and areas around pipes, ducts and vents.

Take notice if your dog or cat paws excitedly at a kitchen cabinet, the base of your refrigerator or a wall. Listen for scampering or gnawing sounds late at night. Take notice of burrows or nests that may be spotted in the ground along the outside of your home. Check for rodent tracks in pathways where you suspect mice run.

The folks who promote October as National Rodent Prevention Month say a good way to remember to check your house for rodents is to do it when you reset the clock to end daylight savings time. The pests invade households with the onset of cold weather.

If you have a vacation house, be sure to conduct a final clean-up and lay EPA-registered baits and traps before closing it for the season. That reduces the risk of disease spread by mice and rats.

Native plant workshop

If you want to ``Go Native'' with your garden plants, mark your calendar for a workshop Oct. 3 and 4 at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond. Principle speaker will be Sara Stein, author of ``Noah's Garden.'' Other speakers include Dick Bir of North Carolina State University and Clare Sawyers of the Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College.

Cost varies from $31 to $98. For information, call (804) 262-9887, Ext. 3022.

Almanacs are arriving

The first 1998 almanac to reach my mailbox is Baer's Agricultural Almanac and Gardener's Guide. It predicts the first great snow of 1998 will arrive Jan. 8-11. Baer's, in its 50th year, is available in gift shops or can be ordered for $3.75, mailed to Baer's, Box 328, Lancaster, Pa. 17608.

Webworms cover branches

Those webs you see on cherry and other trees are fall webworms. They form webs on the ends of tree branches and feed on foliage inside the webbing, expanding the web as they exhaust their food supply. Like tent caterpillars, they may be present in large numbers. Their potential harm is not great in that the leaves would soon be dropping anyway.

For control, break the web and spray inside it with malathion, Orthene or Sevin. Organic sprays include BT or insecticidal soap.

Manage nutgrass now

A few weeks ago, this column recommended Manage for eliminating nutgrass from lawns. I've used it since then, and it works. Pulling up nutgrass is futile, because each primary nut or bulb has several tiny bulbs around it, which do not pull up.

Manage eliminates nutgrass, also called purple or yellow nutsedge, without harming grass. It can be used in beds without harming shrubs. Now is a good time to eliminate nutgrass before you reseed. ILLUSTRATION: Color file photo

Shallow planting is essential to growing healthy azaleas.

Photo

RHONE-POULENC AG CO.

Fall webworms form webs on the ends of tree branches and feed on

foliage inside the webbing. Damage is not great, because leaves soon

will drop anyway.

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