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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:
Last year I lost most of my squash plants early in the
summer. You told me they were squash bugs. How do I treat them to
prevent them from destroying my squash this year?
Answer:
The squash vine borer is the culprit. This small borer will
begin to enter the stem of squash about the time the first bloom appears
or around the middle of May in our area. Excluding this insect is
crucial for long term survival of these plants. Once infected, there is
really little recourse. The plant will just suddenly wilt and stop
growing. By then it is obviously too late. Therefore a timely
application of an insecticide called Thiodan is recommended in the next
week and then weekly for nor more than 3 sprayings. Spray the stems of
the plants late in the day after the blooms have closed. This will
protect your squash plants from infestations of this pest. The second
infestation of the squash vine borer will be in late July. If you
prefer an organic approach, you may wish to wrap the stem carefully with
strips of nylon from an old pair of panty hose. Any color will do. Few
gardeners are into fashion statements. You can also take a hoe and pull
dirt over the stem to prevent entry. Thiodan is not available at all
garden centers. Call before you take off to buy it.
Question:
We had our lawn reseeded last fall and straw was used in some
areas. Now a very course grass is growing that is light green in
color. It outgrows the new grass and looks terrible. How can I get rid
of it without hurting my good grass?
Answer:
The seed of the straw has germinated. It is probably wheat or
oats. It will certainly outgrow your fescue that you sowed last fall.
As this small grain ages, the stem gets woody and is very distractive in
a green lawn. There is no solution to this problem other than frequent
mowing. This 'weed' will begin to slow down and dieback in late May.
By June it will be disappearing and will not return again in the fall.
Just bear with this problem for a few more weeks and it will go away on
its own.
Question:
The tips of the limbs on my pear trees and some apples have
turned black. What is happening to my trees?
Answer:
Blame this on a disease called fireblight. This bacterial
infection occurred during the blooming period of those trees. Cool and
wet weather during bloom will hasten its spread. There is really no
practical control for homeowners that I have seen. On small trees you
can cut the infected shoots off about 12 inches below the infection.
Next year, during the bloom period, you can use repeated sprays of
streptomycin. Closely timed sprays before bloom, during bloom, and
after bloom will reduce infection. As for now, pruning out the infected
shoots is all you can do. On large trees it is impossible. By far the
best control of fireblight is to avoid it all together by using
fireblight resistant varieties. This is very important especially for
pears. It is much easier to avoid fireblight than it is to control it.
If you need some recommendations on varieties give me a call or email
me.
Question:
I have been impressed with the Kousa dogwood that is in bloom
now. However a local nurseryman told me that you did not like them and
would not recommend them. What do you not like about the Kousa dogwood.
Answer:
There are times that I think my name is like the 'UL' stamp of
approval. That can be scary for someone like me that is a public
official. I often get misquoted too which only adds to the frustrations
of nursery personnel, landscapers, and garden center owners. As for the
Kousa or Chinese dogwood, I like it a lot better than I did several
years ago. It is not widely planted in our area (hopefully not due to
me) and some of the earlier plantings I saw years ago where struggling.
Mostly due to lack of watering and our long dry summers we continuously
have. The leaves seem to scorch more readily than our native dogwood.
But as the tree ages and the root system expands it is not much of a
problem. Therefore my reservations about this tree have long since
passed. I think the Kousa dogwood is an excellent choice for sunny to
partial shaded sites. It has a magnificent flower display about one
month after our native dogwoods. Growing to about 20 feet in height it
makes an excellent tree for use around homes and under power lines. It
is also pest free and does well in our clay soils. I even have one in
my own landscape!
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If you have any horticultural questions, please direct them to Rett Davis