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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:
There is a weed mixed throughout my lawn and in some of my flower beds that resembles wild onion. Last year it actually flowered. What is it and how do I get rid of it?
Answer:
It is called the Star of Bethlehem. It is a bulbous perennial that is also sold as an spring flowering ornamental. The leaves are flat and not hollow like our common wild garlic that is in lawn now. Star of Bethlehem has a white streak down the mid- rib of the leaf and a six petaled white flower. This plant does not stay around long and soon after flowering will fade away until next year. So you must move fast with a spraying of a broadleaf weed killer for lawns if you want to control them. In flower beds, just grap the leaves and pull the plant up. You will then see all the underground bulblets that this plant produces. One interesting note is that all parts of this plant are considered poisonous.
Question:
The leaves of my daylillies appear wet and are sticky. There is also a white material on the surface of the leaf. What is wrong?
Answer:
Leaves that appear wet and are sticky indicate the presence of a sucking insect. The presence of small white flakes indicates these are aphids. Aphids are small soft bodied insects that feed on the succulent new leaves. Aphids have an exoskelton and will shed their skins as they grow just like a snake. Now that you know all this you can blast the aphids with a strong stream of water from the hose or you can spray the leaves throughly with insecticidal soap or insecticides that contain cyfluthrin or permethrin.
Question:
Is it too late to sow fescue grass seed?
Answer:
Lets just put it this way. Spring sowed fescue has a 50% chance of making it through to fall unless you have irrigation. So far we are close to 6 inches behind in rainfall now. If you just want to do some small patch work seeding, then go for it. Just be sure to water it along. If I had a new lawn, a construction site, or other large area devoid of grass, then I would seriously consider sowing bermuda (wire grass) now. Bare areas sowed to fescue now tend to end up almost entirely in crabgrass by mid-summer and must be redone in the fall. It is your call and your money.
Question:
The garden centers are full of bedding plants and summer vegetables. Can I safely plant them now?
Answer:
There is no doubt the garden centers are filled to the brim with beautiful flowers and tempting vegetables. Selection is always best now than at any other time of the year. Go ahead and have fun (I can't stop my wife) and get what you like. But keep in mind that our last average frost date is April 15th. So be prepared to cover the plants if we have temperatures drops predicted in the mid 30s. Homeowners that live in the rural areas know full well that temperatures will be 4-5 degrees colder than what is predicted. As for summer veggies, plants are okay but keep the seeded vegetables in the packet for at least 3 more weeks. Soil temperatures are not warm enough for those yet.
North Carolina State University and North Carolina A&T State University commitment themselves to positive action to secure equal opportunity regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, religion, sex, age, or disability. In addition, the two Universities welcome all persons without regard to sexual orientation, North Carolina State University, North Carolina A&;T State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and local governments cooperating.