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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.
Answer:
As much as you like this tree, I would go
ahead and cut it down. What is left now is a lopsided tree with
a large wound on one side. That wound will begin to decay in 2-3
years regardless of any tree wound dressing or paint you put on
it. In addition, the weight of the tree is now concentrated on
one side making this tree more prone to being blown over. One
sided trees aren't very attractive either.
Question:
This prolonged drought is having some effect on my
older Japanese hollies. I have noticed some leaves beginning to
yellow. They are well mulched and are probably 10 years old.
Should I be watering them and if so, how often?
Answer:
Many older shrubs and trees are showing the
effects from months of low rainfall. Tulip poplars, river birch,
dogwoods and many others are dropping leaves and are beginning to
wilt. Watering them is almost impractical. Deciduous landscape
plants such as beautybush, wiegelia, forsythia, and others are
wilted. Evergreen shrubs are showing drought stress by dropping
leaves. I would purchase soaker hoses to maximize water usage
and place them at the base of shrubs. Run these hoses about
every 2-3 weeks to maintain soil moisture. Replenish mulch
around shrubs to a depth of 3-4 inches to reduce soil drying. Do
not fertilize any trees, shrubs, or lawns at this time.
Question:
I had my lawn sodded last fall. I am
watering everyday in order to save it. Now some of the grass is
turning gray. What should I do?
Answer:
Grass does not need to be watered daily. The
exceptions are usually associated with golf greens. Grass that
was sodded in the fall is well rooted by now. Daily watering of
sod is done only the first two weeks after it has been laid.
Your overwatering has caused an increase in leaf diseases, molds,
and algae. In addition the roots of the plants will not venture
very deep into the soil and will remain shallow. I would back
off this daily frequency of watering slowly and aim toward a 5-6
day cycle. The molds and algae will begin to disappear as the
soil drys out.
Question:
I have a rather large garden and must
irrigate from a well. I am worried about the well going dry.
How much water needs to be applied to vegetables every week?
Answer:
Because vegetables are more than 90% water,
they demand at least one inch of water a week. It is hard to
apply one inch of water at one time, it is best to split the
application during the week. Watering twice a week is a good
rule of thumb. Measure the amounts you apply by placing bowls or
pans around the garden. Do not water daily. You are not raising
aquatic plants. If possible mulch your vegetables with any
organic form of mulch; wheat straw, newpapers, grass clippings,
compost, etc. If you have a shallow well I would consider
halting all irrigation of vegetables, flowers, and lawn. We have
heard reports of wells that are 180 feet in depth going dry.
Question:
My fescue lawn is almost totally brown. Will
it come back?
Answer:
No absolutes on this. In my opinion all lawns
sowed this spring to fescue will more than likely die. Fescue
planted on poorly prepared soils, soils that are compacted, and
soils that have no topsoil regardless of age, will also succumb.
Fescue that is well established and in good deep fertile soils
will be fine and will recover with the return of rainfall.
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If you have any horticultural questions, please direct them to Rett Davis