A Greener View

Q: I recently moved to a new home and I thought the lawn looked like it needed some help, so I went to the store for some gypsum. Where I used to live, gypsum was added to the lawns all the time. I was told that in my new region no one adds gypsum, but that some people add limestone. What are gypsum and limestone used for? What can I do to make my lawn look better?

A: Gypsum is calcium s ...

Updated: Wed Apr 28, 2010

Q: Some of our vegetables are beginning to rot while they are still on the plant. How can we prevent this?

A: Extremes in moisture, especially in the spring, can cause a number of disease problems in garden vegetables, but your problem is probably an environmental one instead of a disease. It is called blossom-end rot — the result of the plant's inability to have a continuous suppl ...

Updated: Wed May 05, 2010

Q: I bought a beautiful cream and pink poinsettia early last November. I figured if it didn't last, I could always get another one at Christmas. Now, it is May and it looks almost as good as when I purchased it. It has hardly lost any bracts or leaves. I have read poinsettia care online articles that say to cut it back when the flowers fall off in early spring, but since this hasn't happened, I ...

Updated: Wed May 12, 2010

Q: We have odd-looking growths on our juniper shrub. They are brown, woody and about the size of a golf ball. I thought the juniper's fruit were small little berries, but these almost look like a pine cone.

A: Your juniper has a rust disease. There are three common rust diseases on junipers and red cedars, which spend half their life on that plant family and half on rose family plants. F ...

Updated: Wed May 19, 2010

Q: Something is eating half of my rose leaves. It leaves a paper-thin layer on the leaf, but it eats the rest. I saw a slug on the leaf, but this doesn't look like slug damage to me.

A: It sounds like your roses have rose slug sawfly larvae. They eat the layers of a leaf and leave the top. You can see through the remaining layer since it's so thin, but many times they eat the leaf and ju ...

Updated: Wed May 26, 2010

Summer is here. It is time to analyze how your landscape looked this spring. By doing the analysis now, you can plan for a better spring landscape next year. Walk through your landscape and ask questions like these: How did your bulbs bloom? Did you have weed problems? Did your lawn come out of the winter in good shape? Take more pictures as you do your analysis and add them to your photo album ...

Updated: Wed Jun 02, 2010

Q: I have noticed that several of the plants in my garden, from trees to rose bushes, have half-inch diameter holes missing out of the leaves. The holes are much larger than anything I have seen before. They don't have discolored edges like a disease, and I can't find any insects on the plants. What could be causing this?

A: Leaf-cutter bees are your culprits. It is a small bee that lays ...

Updated: Wed Jun 09, 2010

Q: We found mushrooms in our yard that don't look like the typical white lawn mushrooms. We picked up a book at the library and they appear to be the famous morel mushrooms. We haven't tried eating them yet, but we were wondering why they are growing in our yard and if we can keep producing them?

A: Morel mushrooms grow in a relationship with tree roots. Even though they are a popular ...

Updated: Wed Jun 16, 2010

Q: We bought raspberry plants last year. They have looked fine and gave us some raspberries over the past couple of weeks, but the stems are dying. The leaves just turned yellow along the whole stem all at once. What is going on?

A: Nothing beats having fresh raspberries on your ice cream. Raspberries and blackberries are collectively known as brambles. Your raspberries are going through ...

Updated: Wed Jun 23, 2010

Q: I planted my annuals and some tomatoes the same way I always do, but some plants are flourishing while others are just sitting there. For instance, I planted two tomatoes in the same bed a few feet apart. Although their color is fine, one hasn't grown an inch and the other is starting to produce fruit. They are in the same light and soil.

A: This is a fairly common problem. It can hav ...

Updated: Wed Jun 30, 2010

Q: The plants in my patio containers are getting plenty of water and the soil is staying moist, but the plants wilt every afternoon. They perk up each evening and morning, but I am sure this is not good for them. What can I do to prevent this?

A: Some days are so hot. With a patio area in direct sunlight, plants have a hard time keeping enough water in the leaves. A plant's leaf evaporat ...

Updated: Wed Jul 07, 2010

Q: We have been pulling weeds in our garden. Several of the people we hired, my husband and I have had to go to the emergency room because of a blistering rash. What kind of plant could do this? We have a mix of common perennials and weeds, nothing out of the ordinary.

A: What you might be experiencing is called phytophotodermatitis (PPD). That means it is a plant- and sunlight-induced r ...

Updated: Wed Jul 14, 2010

Q: Something is eating the waterlily leaves in my pond. Someone at a store told me that frogs would eat them. Someone else told me it was the goldfish. Then another opinion blamed the snails. My once-blooming waterlilies are now chewed up. I appreciate your opinion and what I can do.

A: Let's take them one at a time. Frogs only eat algae and other plant material when they are tadpoles. E ...

Updated: Wed Jul 21, 2010

Q: We are in a mild drought and were wondering if we should be using a rain barrel to conserve rainwater. A local conservation organization sells them, and their brochure says we will save water and money. We want to water our garden and landscape as much as possible.

A: There are some good reasons to save rainwater and useful devices to do it, but a rain barrel may not be the best one f ...

Updated: Wed Jul 28, 2010