DATE: Sunday, November 2, 1997              TAG: 9711010114

SECTION: HOME                    PAGE: G3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: ROBERT STIFFLER

                                            LENGTH:  110 lines

PLANTING IN SAND LIMITS CHOICES, BUT WAX MYRTLE IS A GOOD ONE

I am building a home in the southern part of Sandbridge. Being from Pennsylvania, I need to know what type plants will survive in the hot climate near the shore. I will need ground covers that are low maintenance for both full sun and partial shade, to stabilize a bank and a fast-growing sluice. I'll also need trees that will serve as a privacy fence that will be in partial shade.

Ed Weiland, York, Pa.

Yours is not an easy problem to solve, because you'll be planting in total sand. My suggestion would be to bring in a load of top soil and fill every planting hole with soil before putting a plant in it.

For a plant that is tough and makes a good hedge, wax myrtle - also called native bayberry - is hard to beat. Clemson University lists these plants that do well near the coast: Leyland cypress, Eastern red cedar, golden raintree and sweetgum.

For ground covers in shade, liriope, mondo grass and English ivy are probably best. For sun, shore Juniper or one of the ground cover roses are good, but I'm not sure their root systems will stabilize a bank. Cottoneaster would probably do a better job. Other sun ground covers include seaside goldenrod, sea oats and American beach grass.

A recommended list from the University of Maryland is being mailed you in the stamped, addressed envelope you provided. After Oct. 15 would be the best time to tackle your project.

Enclosed is a leaf from a 30-foot tree in our front yard. Is it a river birch? We moved to this house last fall and in the spring a great deal of leaves fell while they were still green, requiring a lot of raking. They continued to fall, even in the summer, but not as much. Is this normal for this tree? When is the best time to prune it? It has a lot of 3-inch round branches on the lower part of the tree that I want to cut off.

M.A. Paul, Hampton

Curator Kunso Kim at the Norfolk Botanical Garden identified your tree as river birch. It is a good tree for this area but it does get aphids. Either aphids or compacted soil around the tree could cause leaf drop. Check the tree for tiny bugs on its leaves. Aerate the soil this fall by punching some holes in it to try to loosen it up or spray with a product called Aqua-Turf.

You can prune the tree almost any time, but the recommended time is late February.

Can you tell me if leaves enclosed are from a hackberry tree? If not, what kind of tree is it? Also tell me what can be wrong with this tree? Every year since I can remember, it starts shedding leaves in late spring and into fall. There are other trees like this one on my street, but this is the only one I see shedding leaves early.

Emily A. Smith, Virginia Beach

Curator Kunso Kim at the Norfolk Botanical Garden identifies your tree as a hackberry. It gets galls, which causes the swollen leaves you see. This can be caused by stress such as drought. When the leaves get galls, they shed, which is what you're observing. Galls are more a visual nuisance than a real problem to the tree.

Fertilize the tree this fall and water it during stress periods next season. Perhaps you can prevent the galls.

Would you please send me instructions on pruning a dark purple muscadine grape? This one was kept pruned until two years ago. Now it is growing leaves but has little fruit.

Virginia E. Porter, Portsmouth

Pruning grapes is complicated and differs by grape variety. Recommended time is late February. Established muscadines, unlike many grapes, need fertilizing in late March with 8-8-8 or 10-10-10. When they're young, straight nitrogen is recommended. They are vigorous and require more space than other grapes. Muscadines have spurs every 6 inches, but the spurs should be encouraged to branch until a mass of six or eight spurs remain at each spur location. Each year, the spur cluster should be pruned back to four to eight subspurs with two to three buds each.

Remember that grapes produce on new growth from buds on last year's wood. Wood that is 2 to 3 years old will not produce like last year's wood. Sounds complicated - and it is. Recommended reading is ``Growing Fruits and Nuts in the South,'' by William D. Adams and Thomas R. Leroy (Taylor Publishing, $24.95 hardcover). I'm sending you a reprint with diagrams in the stamped, addressed envelope you enclosed.

I have found the bugs, enclosed, in my kitchen sink. Can you tell me what they are and do you have suggestions for getting rid of them?

T.G. Grant, Chesapeake

Entomologist Peter Schultz at the Hampton Roads Research Center identifies your bugs as ground beetles. They have nothing to do with the sink and usually enter the house through a door. They're attracted to light. Schultz says they won't establish themselves in your home. Use any household spray to eliminate them.

You might check under your sink to see if there's a way they are getting in your home.

This letter will be a challenge with three samples enclosed.

Sample 1: This has a lovely aroma, stands 3 feet tall. It bloomed early with purple blooms. Could be from a wildflower packet.

Sample 2: The hairs on the stem and leaf make your skin burn. It came up where I planted moonflower and butterfly weed seeds, given me by your generous readers. This is a nasty plant with white flowers. It curls around anything nearby.

Sample 3: This plant is very hearty and healthy.

Please identify these specimens for me.

Sarajane A. Whann, Chesapeake

Sample 1 probably was in your wildflower mix, because it is Dames Rocket (Hesperis matronalis), a native flower. It's a sometimes hardy plant and often will come back every year. Sample 2 could be stinging nettle (urtica dioica), except that plant is not a climber. Sample 3 is a bramble, most likely a wild blackberry. Best advice is to pull it out of your garden.

Plant identification is a difficult science and not many local people are qualified. A plant bloom is almost a necessity for proper identification. Identification of your samples was by Kunso Kim at the Botanical Garden. He's one of the best. 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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