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by Rett Davis | |
Gardening Q&A by Rett Davis appears in
Alamance County's daily newspaper, The Burlington Times-News,
every Sunday in the Accent section. Each week's installment is
posted to this
website, beginning with January 1998. Scroll to the bottom of
this page to navigate to other Gardening Q&As. Please contact
Rett via e-mail with questions
or
comments in regard to this column.
Question:
I have been placing mouse traps by the entrance holes of voles
and covering them with clay pots. I have been very successful in
eliminating 13 as of this week. However many of the voles have
been partially eaten when I uncover the trap. What could be
eating them under a heavy clay pot?
Answer:
Voles are well known for their food
preferences that include many bulb plants, hostas, daylilies,
fruit trees, and other ornamental plants. However they will
occasionally feed on snails, insects, and animal remains. This
would explain why your dead voles have been partially eaten.
Using mouse traps to catch voles is an excellent way to rid your
property of voles without the fear of poisoning pets and wildlife
with baits. Strategically placed traps using fresh or dried
apple has certainly proved to be effective in this ongoing battle
with these meadow mice.
Question:
The leaves on our azaleas have lost their
green color and are beginning to turn yellow. I have been told
to add iron to the plants to green them back up. Is this true?
Answer:
I seriously doubt that you have an iron
problem. I suspect your problem is more insect related. I have
seen many azaleas this spring heavily infested with azalea
lacebugs. This is the most common of all azalea insect pests.
It is worse on azaleas that are not in the shade all day. Azalea
lacebugs feed on the underside of the leaf. Turn the leaf over
and you should see the tiny insects crawling around and some may
actually around. You should also see their excrement in the form
of small black specs on the back of the leaf. Controlling this
insect will require repeated spraying of either Cygon, Orthene,
diazinon, or Sevin. Sprays should be applied several weeks apart
with the spray directed toward the underside of the leaf.
Although this insect will not kill your azaleas, the leaves will
turn pale green or silver in color and remain so through the rest
of the season. From a horticultural standpoint, plant azaleas in
the shade. They are not for sunny sites.
For more information on azalea lace bugs, click here.
Question:
We keep having a grass-like plant appear and
spread in our landscape beds. It is not wiregrass but has a root
system like johnson-grass. The leaves are a shiny green in
color. I was told to use Roundup on it but that has not worked.
What is this plant and how do I get rid of it?
Answer:
The key to this is proper identification of
the weed. Your description leads me to believe that you are
dealing with yellow nutsedge. Roundup is virtually ineffective
in controlling nutsedge. Nutsedge is often called nutgrass. It
is not a grass, therefore grass herbicides provide no control.
Nutsedge rapidly spreads by underground rhizomes the same way
johnson grass spreads. Tubers will develop on the end of the
rhizomes in late June which will lead to further spreading next
year. Nutsedge must be controlled now before the tubers develop.
Hand pulling can be done after a rain and continue to monitor the
site all summer. Chemical strategies are limited but there are
two products that can be used to control yellow nutsedge.
Basagran and Image can be sprayed on nutsedge in and around many
ornamental plants. However, these products can injure other
ornamentals too. For instance, Image can cause severe injury to
azalea, viburnum, pieris, abelia, and ligustrum if it comes in
contact with it. These products work very well when used
according to the label and hand pulling is not an option
especially in commercial sites.
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