Gardening Q and A
Salt-tolerant Plants
Q: We just bought a house on the beach and we’ve been told that most regular plants will not grow there due to the high salt content of the air and soil. We need to put in grass and shrubs...
Pine Tree – Reviving after Lightning strike
Q: A 70 foot pine tree right next to my house was hit by lightning. It blew the bark off in a line 1-2 inches wide from the top of the tree all the way down, including disrupting the dirt...
Steep Slope – Controlling Erosion
Q: My sister has purchased a house with a steep drop off from the road to her home. It is eroding badly. Terraces are essentially out of the question for this area, since it is very steep. What groundcovers, shrubs,...
Mediterranean Heather – Care
Q: I’ve been growing three Mediterranean heather bushes since the tornado in 1998. They have outgrown their space so I need to know about moving and caring for them. A: Two plants are called Mediterranean heather: Erica carnea , which...
Hammock – Damaging Tree Bark with Chain
Q: A couple of weeks ago, a reader wanted a way to hang a hammock from her trees without harming them. We hang a hammock, with no invasion to our trees, using a chain around each tree’s trunk connected to...
Bearded Iris – Propagation from Seed
Q: What are the pods on a bearded iris for? Do they have seeds? A: If you are both adventurous and patient, you’ll get lots of enjoyment from propagating iris from seed. The swollen seed pod below the faded flower...
Tomato – Planting Upside-Down
Q: A lot of my gardening friends think I’m crazy but I have planted a tomato so that it hangs from the bottom of a five gallon bucket of dirt. My plant is doing fine and already turning up toward...
Japanese Maple – Planting in Container
Q: I have a copper planter that I want to put a Japanese maple in. I do not want to put holes in the planter. What is the best way to prepare the planter or do I have a choice?...
Columbine – Leaf Miner
Q: In a matter of days after planting, most of my columbine leaves had serpentine patterns on them. Some look like they will yellow and drop off the plant. Is this a leaf miner? A: Anyone who grows columbine, Aquilegia...
Insect Books – Suggestions
Q: Recently on your television show you mentioned a book on insects. I believe it would make a great gift for our granddaughter. She lives near Savannah and is VERY curious about insects as well as other natural life. What...
Spider Mites- Identifying
Q: Last summer we had repeated attacks from spider mites in our bermudagrass lawn and on our evergreens. They were turning brown and dying. We sprayed Kelthane each time. It appeared to solve the problem, but after several weeks the...
Soil Temperature – Measuring
Q: What is the best way to measure soil temperature? A: You’re smart to monitor your soil’s warmth. Soil temperature determines when to do many garden jobs…from putting out pre-emergent herbicides to planting summer bulbs. You can buy a soil...
Maple Tree – Planting flowers underneath
Q: I have a three-year old red maple tree. I would like to make an eighteen-inch high stone wall five feet out from the trunk, fill this with dirt and plant flowers under the tree. My husband said it would...
Landscape Design – Courses of Study
Q: What credentials should one have to be a landscape designer? In college, I considered studying to be a landscape architect, but I chose accounting instead. After twenty years of income taxes, I’ve realized that my true calling is gardening....
Soil Conditioner – Replacing
Q: I added soil conditioner last year on your advice and the soil was wonderful to work with! Do I add more this year? If not, do I add lime again? A: Once the soil is soft you can just...
Fertilizer Capsules – Identifying in Soil
Q: I’d like to know if the tiny eggs that I see embedded in a pot of soil make it unsafe to plant there. I’m assuming that these yellowish eggs are from spiders. I don’t want to simply throw out...
Balm of Gilead – Procuring
Q: I’m looking for a Balm of Gilead tree. Over one hundred years ago, a Native American taught my Carolina ancestors how to make a burn salve from wild ginger, Balm of Gilead buds, and hog lard. The batch we...
Love-in-a-mist – Care
Q: I have a mystery flower, grown from a wildflower seed mixture. I am not sure if the pods precede the flower, but I was hoping you could identify it. A: It’s the fascinating-looking love-in-a-mist, Nigella damascena. The dianthus-like flowers...
