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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:
It is a disease called powdery mildew. This
disease occurs during periods of cool weather in the spring.
Many ornamental plants and trees are susceptible to this disease.
A powdery, fluffy white to light gray colored fungus will grow on
the succulent stems, leaves, buds, and flowers of plants.
Infected leaves may be dwarfed, curled, and deformed. Flowers on
crapemyrtles will fail to open. Some plants are so susceptible
that they should just be discarded with no attempts to control
the disease. Plants in the landscape which may require fungicide
applications to prevent this disease include crapemyrtle, phlox,
rose, lilac, and zinnia. If damage from this disease is severe
and you want to keep the plants, prune out severely diseased
portions and use one of the following fungicides following label
instructions; Immunox, Systane, Eagle, Banner, Funginex, Sulfur
(except when temperatures exceed 90 degrees), and Neem oil.
Homeowners and landscapers are strongly encouraged to select
landscape plants that are powdery mildew resistant. They are
cultivars available of crapemyrtle, phlox, and lilacs that have
this resistance.
Question:
Last week you had an article on the Asian
Ambrosia beetle. However you did not say how large these beetles
were. I found a 3 inch black beetle near one of my trees and was
wondering if this is the Asian beetle?
Answer:
These beetle are less than a quarter of an inch
in length. It would be unusual for you to see and adult beetle.
They must be dug out of the tree or drawn to an insect trap.
Usually all we see is their damage and then it is often too late
to take action. Preventative sprays on newly planted trees is
the only way we can protect them.
Question:
I have noticed a lot of poison ivy coming up
along our woodland edge. What should I spray with?
Answer:
If you just have a few plants, take a mattock
or shovel and dig them up. If the poison ivy is like a ground
cover then spraying is your best alternative. May is an
excellent month for using a herbicide. Roundup, Brush-B-Gon, and
Brush Killer will all do an excellent job. If you have a lot to
spray then purchase the concentrate and mix according to label
instructions. Some companies do sell it premixed in an aerosol
can. Spray when there is no wind movement and do not get these
materials on any desireable vegetation such as flowers and other
ornamentals.
Question:
How soon can I cut the tops off of my
daffodils and tulips?
Answer:
Remove the tops just as soon as they begin to
lose their green color and begin to fall over. Tying up the tops
with rubber bands is not recommended even though your grandmother
told you too. This is also an ideal time to divide and
transplant all your spring flowering bulbs especially if they are
not flowering as well as they used to. Once iris finish
blooming, cut their flower stalks off. They can also be divided
after blooming. If you do decide to divide them, be sure to cut
all leaves back to 4 inches in height.
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If you have any horticultural questions, please direct them to Rett Davis