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by Rett Davis | |
Gardening Q&A by Rett Davis appears in
Alamance County's daily newspaper, The 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:
Indeed this was a good year for grapes. Dry weather favors
grapes. They have less disease problems and tend to be sweeter. Your
problem is not weather related. Scuppernongs are a variety of muscadine
grapes. Scuppernong is a light colored grape and produces only female
flowers. Therefore another muscadine grape variety either wild or
culitvated is needed in order for scuppernongs to produce fruit.
Apparently there has been one nearby either belonging to a neighbor or
in the woods that has been furnishing your grape vine the necessary
pollen. It must no longer be there. You need to purchase a perfect
flowered muscadine variety to grow in close proximity to your
scuppernong. I would suggest one of the following perfect flowered
varieties; Cowart, Dixie Red, Dixieland, or Sterling. I am personnally
fond of Cowart.
Question:
I can't ever seem to get my Christmas cactus to flower at
Christmas. Instead it flowers later on in the winter and early summer.
Is there any way to get this cactus to flower at Christmas time again?
Answer:
During the month of October, do not water the plant at all.
Resume watering very slowly in November. Overwatering makes the leaves
wilt and flabby. After the plant completes blooming, withhold water for
6 weeks. When new growth appears, repot with fresh soil and resume a
normal watering schedule.
Question:
I have the most unusual bugs on my broccolli plants. They are
different colors with orange, red, and yellow marks on them. Some of
the plants are wilting. Repeated dustings with Sevin have not done a
thing. What are they and what will control them?
Answer:
Your broccolli plants are infested with Harlequin bugs. This
black, shield shaped bug is brightly colored as you indicated. They
attack a broad range of plants such as squash, corn, beans, asparagus,
okra, tomatoes, and of course broccolli. Young plants will wilt, turn
brown, and die. Older plants will be stunted. As you have found out,
Sevin is not the insecticide of choice. Switch over to malathion and
your efforts will be more successful.
Question:
I have lost several trees this summer in my yard. Now I have
a hickory tree that has fine sawdust at the base of the tree. Several
people have told me that I have borers and need to get someone to spray
for them or the tree will die. Can I spray them myself and if so, what
is the best product to use?
Answer:
It appears that your tree has been attacked by Ambrosia
beetles. They are not borers. These beetles seek out dying trees.
They seem to know when a tree is on its last leg or last root. They do
not attack healthy trees. However there is the Asian ambrosia beetle
that appeared here last year that loves healthy trees. But that is
another story for another Sunday column. Your hickory must have been
injured from grading, lightning strike, the addition of fill dirt, or
storm damage. In essence, there was some other activity or event that
started the downward sprial for this tree. Early on in my career, one
of my forestry professors told me that ambrosia beetles would know when
a tree was dead before I would. He was right.
ANTIQUE APPLE FRUIT TREES FOR SALE
The Alamance 4-H program is selling antique apple fruit tree as a fundraiser. For $16 a tree, you can own an apple tree of historical significance. These varieties were widely grown throughout the south from the 1600's to the early 1900's. Southern families depended on them for fresh eating, cooking, cider, and drying. These varieties are time tested and delicious. Varieties available include; Aunt Rachel, Blacktwig, Spitzenberg, Grimes Golden, Newton Pippin, Winesap, Virgina Beauty, and Yellow June. The trees are one year old and grafted to a semi-dwarf rootstock. Delivery of the trees will be in early December at the Agriculture Building in Burlington. Quanities are limited. Call 570-6740 or come by the Agricultural Building to obtain an order form. More information is available on these varieties and their usage upon request.
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If you have any horticultural questions, please direct them to Rett Davis