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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 of this year. 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 a wisteria vine that will not bloom. It is 4 years old. Should I dig it up and and buy a new one?
Answer:
Wisterias can be propagated by seed or by grafting. Plants produced from seed are unreliable in their flowering habits. It can take several years for them to flower. Grafted plants will come from wisteria plants that are of more dependable in their flowering habit. Your wisteria will eventually flower but there is no way to determine when. When buying a wisteria vine, ask the salesperson if the plant is grafted or not. Discovering you have obtained a poor plant is disappointing after waiting several years for it to flower. Root pruning may help force this plant to flower.
Question:
I have always wanted a wisteria vine in my yard. However my
husband is adamant that there will never be one planted in our yard.
Are there any dwarf varieties that would be a compromise and he would
approve of?
Answer:
The most common wisteria in our area that is in bloom now is
Wisteria floribunda or Japanese wisteria. There could also be some
Wisteria sinensis or Chinese wisteria. Both are referred to as the
Asiatic bullies. They are related to kudzu. Therefore your husband is
right in not wanting one in your landscape. These plants know no
boundaries and will cover everything in sight and even run out into the
lawn. If there has to be one in your landscape, to keep the marriage
healthy, then I would suggest the American wisteria. It too is a
vigorous vine that will grow 20-30 foot. But it is far less aggressive
than the Asian type. It will flower on new growth later in the summer
after it has fully leafed out. The Asian type flower before the leaves
emerge. The cultivar 'Amethyst Falls' produces beautiful, fragrant,
lavender blossoms. "Nivea' is the white flowered cultivar. These vines
can be put on a steel trellis and pruned back each winter. (Guess whose
wife submitted this question?)
Question:
We have a row of holly bushes that we had planted last year as
a hedge. Now it appears the lower leaves are turning yellow and
dropping off. Is this because of all the rain this winter or is it in
need of fertilizer?
Answer:
This is a normal occurrence at this time of the year. Older
leaves that are near the center of the plant on American holly and the
many cultivars of Chinese holly will turn yellow and drop off. As long
as the leaves further out the limb are green and new growth is emerging
from the buds, these plants are healthy. Since these are a recent
planting I would recommend fertilizing to encourage more growth and
vigor.
Question:
I do not want to use commercial fertilizers in my landscape.
I would prefer to use organic fertilizers for all my plants and
vegetables. What kind are available in this area?
Answer:
There are many fine organic fertilizers to choose from. Many
garden centers carry the Espoma line of organic fertilizers such as
'Hollytone' and 'Plantone'. They have a good line of products that vary
in their nutrient ratios depending on the types of plants you wish to
fertilize. Most are complete fertilizers and contain a percentage of
all the major plant nutrients. Other organic fertilizers include
feather meal (15% N), blood meal (12% N), and cottonseed meal (6% N).
Bone meal is higher in phosphorus (28&) and should be mixed into the
soil prior to planting. Wood ash and green sand are a good source of
potash.
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If you have any horticultural questions, please direct them to Rett Davis