Gardening Questions Answered
Below you will find some general gardening
and landscape questions that are fairly common
and hopefully have simple answers. If you
have any gardening or landscape questions--please
e-mail me and I will answer them and might
add them to this list. So check this page
out from time to time and your long sought
question might be answered--or something
like that---Happy Gardening-
Q-When can I plant bare root roses?
A- For those of you living in the northern states,
bare root roses are available in Nurseries
beginning in January and lasting until around
April. You can save a few dollars by planting bare root,
plus the selection will be better then in
the summer. For more information click on
Roses
Q- Why and when should I spray my fruit trees
with dormant oil?
A- Fruit trees should be sprayed with a dormant
oil anytime from late fall to early spring.
You want to spray them after the leaves have
dropped in the fall and before the buds start
in the spring. Dormant oil will help control
any disease that is lurking around--It
works really well as a way to control scale.
Q-What causes the tips of my houseplants to
turn yellow?
A-Yellowing tips can be the cause of several
things. The most common is a salt build up
in your soil. The way to solve this is to
soak your house plant with water. You may
want to do this in your sink or bath tub.
Soak it until water is coming out of the
bottom.This will help get the salt out of
the soil. To prevent a salt build up from
happening--watch your watering. If you just
water your plant a little your chances of
salt build up is greater. Always water your
plant well, you won't have to water as often.
Q-Why did my fruit trees produce small sized
fruits this year?
A- The main cause of small fruit is that your
fruit tree might need pruning. You should
prune your fruit tree every other year if
not every year. If a tree is overproducing
there is to much fruit and not enough nutrients
to take care of all of the fruit. Cut out
the long whip like growth every year and
keep the center open to allow good circulation.
Q- When should I prune my roses?
A- They best time to prune roses is in the early spring. If you live in a area that gets a lot of snow, you might want to prune them a little in the fall so the snow does not break the canes, then do the major pruning in the spring. Prune out all of the dead and leave three or four canes about 2 to 3 feet high.
Q-Can I fertilize my lawn in the winter?
A- If you fertilize your lawn in the fall with a fall or winterizer fertilizer, then your lawn should stay green all winter long. Come February if your lawn is looking a little pale you can fertilize with a triple 13, that will green it up and then fertilize in April with your regular lawn fertilizer.
Q-What do I do to keep my Poinsettia alive after the Holidays?
A-Page coming soon on this---:)
Q- When should I prune my fruit trees
A-The best time to prune is in late winter or early spring--which ever way you want to look at it. You want to prune when the tree is still dormant and before they start budding out.
Q- What plants will deer stay away from?
A- Page coming soon on this--:)
Q-Will Ivy kill my tree?
A- There is a good chance that it will. Try to keep Ivy from getting into other plants. The State of Oregon has just listed English Ivy on their noxious weed list. This means that there is a good chance you won't be able to by it in Oregon in the near future.
Q- When is the best time to plant a tree?
A- You can plant trees or shrubs any time through out the year. Spring is the best time as far as weather, and selection. Bare Root is available in the spring and you can save a few dollars by planting bare root. Some people like to plant in the fall and say that the plants have a chance to get established come spring time--which is true but your selection will not be as great. You don't always have a choice as far as when you plant, so plant when you can.
Q- Can you grow Eucalyptus in Southern Oregon?
A-Yes you can if you live in zone 8. If you live in the higher elevations the heavy frost will get it. They can take a little cold but not a lot. The best variety to try is Gunnii.
Q- Will Palm trees grow in Southern Oregon?
A-The two types that will grow in Southern Oregon are Windmill and Umbrella. They will grow mainly in zone 8 and up and they do not like long heavy freezes.
Q- What kind of grass grows best in the shade?
A-In The Northern part of the U.S the grasses that grow best are called cool season grasses(zones 5-8). The best cool season grasses that can grow in the shade are--Fescue and Rye. You can get a blend of Fescue, Rye and Bluegrass which works fairly well--Just avoid using straight Bluegrass.
Q- Will St Augustine grass grow in Oregon?(or cooler areas).
A- St Augustine grass is a warm season grass that does best in areas like Florida. I would not try it in Oregon.
Q- When is the best time to put in a new lawn?
A- In zones 5-8, you can put in a lawn, roughly from April to September. April and May are the best times, since the spring rains will help and the temperature is not to cool or hot. The evening temp should be at least 50 degrees.
Q- Will Artichokes handle a freeze?
A- Artichokes will handle a lite freeze(25 degrees and up). If you live in a area that stays below freezing all winter, they will not survive the winter.
Q- How can I keep cats out of my garden?
A- Oh--cats are so cute aren't they? They sure can mess up a garden area real quick. It's pretty tough to keep them out. The more plants you have in your garden, the less likely they will visit. They do their best damaged when a bed is cleared out. Try using Cayenne pepper or ground-up citrus rinds. Also, poultry netting will help some---good Luck.
Q- I have a passion flower vine, it grows like crazy and is full of buds but only a few will open and bloom the others never open. I have open some to look for bugs and have sprayed the vine, but still only a few blooms. What can I do?
A-Although they grow like crazy--I would try beefing it up with some fertilizer--something like a 10-5-20 and do it again in about 6 weeks. It might give it a little added strength to the vine. Also the soil should be evenly moist--not too wet-not too dry.
Q-Many seeds list to plant or transplant after the last frost or to start seedlings x# of weeks indoors before the last frost. I am not sure when the last frost is for Oregon. I live in the Portland area so I am in zone 8. Do you have a general idea of when the last frost would be?
A-On the average it is around the 28th of April. Even if the frost is over with, the soil temp is the key on getting plants to grow and seeds to germinate.In some elevations, the frost danger is always there.
Q-Is it better for flowers to be dry or hydrated before and during an overnight frost/freeze?
A-It's better for flowers to have some moister before a freeze. Water will insulate.
Q-I planted my lettuce and beet seeds, set up the watering system, and then left for two weeks vacation. When I returned this last weekend I discovered that the watering system malfunctioned. I have it working again – but now, here’s the question—will the seeds I already planted still germinate and grow, or do I need to buy and plant new seeds?
A-Most likely you will have to plant again. If you got no rain while you were gone and the bed was dry, you will mostly have to do it again. One seeds get moist, they need to stay moist until germination.
Q-We just replanted our snowball, and need to know when the best time to prune it is. We have had it in a large bucket for awhile.
A-If you need to prune it-- prune after the flowers have faded away.