| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
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| Seed starting | 11/10/2008 | Mike Mascio |
Q: I want to grow a vegetable garden next year. ( not too big) When is the best time to start some ...
A: Bill, starting seeds is actually an easy process, but success only comes through many years of trial ...
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| Ground Ivy | 11/4/2008 | C.L. Fornari |
Q: About a third of our backyard is ivy. It was planted about 12 years ago. Is it ok to mow it to try ...
A: Patricia, Whew! When I saw that the question was about ivy I was afraid that you were going to ask ...
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| bogenvia wintering | 10/25/2008 | Myrna Ellis |
Q: I live in Minnesota and would like to winter my Bogenvia. Is this possible and how do I do it? ...
A: Bougainvillea is a true tropical plant and will not tolerate any frost. Geraniums will take a bit of ...
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| Cutting back Hibiscus | 10/25/2008 | C.L. Fornari |
Q: I have a potted Hibiscus that I would like to move in to our shed for the winter. Do I need to cut ...
A: Bob, All experts seems to think that I didn't answer this and I'm not sure if I did... so if I ...
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| geraniums | 10/24/2008 | Myrna Ellis |
Q: I live in Minnesota and would like to keep my geraniums for next year. What is the best way to ...
A: There are 3 ways to over winter geraniums. There may be more but I don't know of them. You can do ...
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| bogenvia wintering | 10/24/2008 | Myrna Ellis |
Q: I live in Minnesota and would like to winter my Bogenvia. Is this possible and how do I do it? ...
A: Bougainvillea is a tender perennial, so yes You can over winter it inside, if you have a place where ...
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| Dragon tree | 10/24/2008 | C.L. Fornari |
Q: I'd seen this picture on the Internet of a braided dragon tree! it was beautiful!!! i just recently ...
A: Kristen, You would cut where the bottom leaves are - then strip away all the lower leaves - leave a ...
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| New Guinea impatiens | 10/23/2008 | C.L. Fornari |
Q: I have some beautiful New Guinea impatiens that are still flowering and budding. It's getting cold, ...
A: Marion, It's so hard at this time of year because our annuals look fantastic but they will soon be ...
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| Searching for a flower | 10/22/2008 | Long Island Gardener |
Q: My looking for the name of a small (one inch) rounded flower with small leaves, green long stems, ...
A: Anna, this is a very tough question. It is almost IMPOSSIBLE to find a flower from a description. ...
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| spike plants | 10/21/2008 | Myrna Ellis |
Q: I buy these every year to accent my pots; they always look so good in the fall after flowers have ...
A: Yes you can overwinter your Dracaena spikes inside, if you have the room and light to do so. Next ...
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| Replanting hydrangeas | 10/20/2008 | Mike Mascio |
Q: The web site said that fall was one of the best time to replant. Is it too late (Oct/Nov) to ...
A: Fall is a great time to plant, but you must plant at least 4 weeks prior to your first expected ...
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| transfering annuals inside for the winter | 10/16/2008 | C.L. Fornari |
Q: can i dig up my spikes (espigas) and keep them inside in a big pot for the winter
A: Yes! These plants over-winter beautifully in front of a sunny window. Dig them now and pot them up ...
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| overwinter impatients | 10/14/2008 | Myrna Ellis |
Q: I have a lovely bed of inpatients that have thrived all summer this is the first year I've seen them ...
A: Impatiens are a tropical tender perennial. Being from a climate that doesn't get frost, it will die ...
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| betunia | 10/7/2008 | C.L. Fornari |
Q: We had one of these was given to us in early June.It has been outside in our "wonderful English ...
A: John, As far as I know there is no plant that is called a betunia, but I think that you have one of ...
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| Asparagus Plumosus | 10/5/2008 | C.L. Fornari |
Q: I have found an asparagus, which my father r.i.p. may have planted in the hothouse of garden, not ...
A: The plant is going dormant now - cutting it won't kill it so don't worry. you can try making the ...
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| soil preparation | 10/4/2008 | Mike Mascio |
Q: I haven't had much success in the past plants dying, weird bugs migrating in the house my wife ...
A: You'll never totally debug the soil, but you can minimize the problem and then take care of any ...
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| Impatiens dying | 10/3/2008 | Mike Mascio |
Q: Have lots of impatients and slowly something started eating the stems and leaves from bottom up, ...
A: I'm not sure if you've actually seen the insects, but the symptoms you have described sound more ...
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| Impatiens | 10/1/2008 | Mike Mascio |
Q: I live near Jacksonville Florida and very near the ocean. I bought a hanging plant on impatiens ...
A: Marcie, the plants have most likely lived their course. Like most annuals, the plants will produce ...
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| Japanese Maple in trouble | 9/30/2008 | C.L. Fornari |
Q: I have a few questions about my Tamukeyama Japanese Maple. Thee tree looked healthy when I bought it ...
A: Ananth, You don't say where you are, but in general Japanese Maples do overwinter well in large pots ...
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| ant on plants | 9/29/2008 | C.L. Fornari |
Q: I live in Lasveggas. I just bought 3 Petunias, 1 Dahlia and a Potato plant(in an diffrent area) on ...
A: Michelle, If you have sugar water you'll have ants. No way to discourage ants but not butterflies I ...
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| Japanese Maple in trouble | 9/29/2008 | C.L. Fornari |
Q: I have a few questions about my Tamukeyama Japanese Maple. Thee tree looked healthy when I bought it ...
A: Ananth, If Japanese Maples dry out they are prone to leaf scorch, which as you describe starts from ...
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| Plants and Butterflies | 9/29/2008 | Long Island Gardener |
Q: I live in Lasvegas,Nevada and today i just bought new plants Red, White,puple Petunias, an orange ...
A: I admit I am not THAT well versed in the Butterflies of Nevada --- but here's someone who is: ...
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| Plants and Butterflies | 9/29/2008 | C.L. Fornari |
Q: I live in Lasvegas,Nevada and today i just bought new plants Red, White,puple Petunias, an orange ...
A: Most parts of the country see Monarchs that fly though as they migrate to Mexico or Central America. ...
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| planting in the shade this Fall | 9/27/2008 | C.L. Fornari |
Q: Do you have any suggestions about a flower I can plant in front of our building in the shade under ...
A: Ron, There are a number of pansies that are now sold in the fall that are perfect to plant now in ...
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| Petunia care | 9/25/2008 | Mike Mascio |
Q: I have a hanging potted petunia. I live on an island off the northern WA. coast. My petunia looks ...
A: Ann, as an annual, it is not advisable to overwinter petunias. Peunias, like all annuals, go through ...
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| Impatients | 9/21/2008 | C.L. Fornari |
Q: I have four pots of inpatients on a bakers rack by my back door, morning sun afternoon and evening ...
A: Barbara, If these are on a rack then it's doubtful that it is an animal such as a rabbit. Look at ...
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| Tiny Black Bugs | 9/21/2008 | Myrna Ellis |
Q: I often notice my petunias and pansies with holes in their leaves and upon inspection, tiny black ...
A: There is no other plant that would work, unless you want to try planting garlic. Some say it helps ...
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| impatients | 9/20/2008 | C.L. Fornari |
Q: I have a huge impatients plant and would like to bring it into the house. Can impatients survive in ...
A: Peggy, It is really tempting to want to save all of our summer annuals at this time of year because ...
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| snap dragon flowers | 9/15/2008 | C.L. Fornari |
Q: my friend has some beautiful snap dragons, and they are the low ones. according to one answer on ...
A: Linda, There are indeed SEVERAL types of snap dragons. Some are hardier than others and without ...
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| Impatients | 9/14/2008 | Myrna Ellis |
Q: I have been really taking extra care of my impatients. They started out in a flat i got at Lowes ...
A: Actually what you see in the center of the flower are what will turn into the seed pod after it has ...
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| gerber dasies | 9/14/2008 | C.L. Fornari |
Q: Should I cut my Gerber daisies back for the winter. If so when and how close to the ground do I cut ...
A: Kathleen, Just cut off any wilted or dried flowers and their stems, but if the foliage is green ...
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| juncus "afro" | 9/13/2008 | C.L. Fornari |
Q: I live in zone 5 and wonder if it is possible to save this annual by overwintering it inside. This ...
A: When overwintering Juncus you don't want to keep it as wet as you do papyrus but it's still pretty ...
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| My Hydrangea | 9/9/2008 | Myrna Ellis |
Q: I have A Hydrangea,all of its leaves look like their burnt,I take them off and the new growth ...
A: Hydrangea is not something that I grow so I don't know that much about them. It is not an annual ...
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| nasturtium | 9/8/2008 | Myrna Ellis |
Q: I am new at harvesting seeds and I have searched for an answer to my question. I hope you can help. ...
A: No you never pick anything green if you want to harvest seeds. You have to wait until the seed pods ...
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| sticky impatients with crystaline globules... | 9/8/2008 | Long Island Gardener |
Q: I have had two wonderfully full INDOOR WINDOW BOXES overflowing with Impatiens. But recently I ...
A: I have a feeling you're not going to like this. This 'honeydew' you observe, this sticky, clear ...
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| purple fountain grass | 9/7/2008 | C.L. Fornari |
Q: We live in Tracy, CA. We have several of these plants and in the last week about 3 of them have ...
A: Debbie, Have there been heavy winds lately? You don't mention if these are newly planted or ...
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| Betunia | 9/7/2008 | C.L. Fornari |
Q: You wrote Date: 9/17/2006 Subject: Betunia Question Early this summer I bought a potted plant for ...
A: Jean-Marie, As far as I know there is no plant that is a cross between a petunia and a begonia. I ...
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| identify a flower | 9/5/2008 | Myrna Ellis |
Q: Canada? Here I am in Maine. Forgive me for not being able to use plant terminology. The flower ...
A: There are a few plants that have flowers resembling a rose But if the flower is relatively the same ...
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| indentify flower | 9/5/2008 | C.L. Fornari |
Q: This flower was among a group of seedlings given to me. Each has a single stem with smooth leaves ...
A: Leah, Without a photo it's pretty hard to guess what you might be talking about, but my guess, based ...
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| Preserving Seeds from Annual Pod | 9/4/2008 | Myrna Ellis |
Q: Can you tell me how to dry and/or preserve seeds from pods for planting next year? I don't know the ...
A: This sounds very much like Hyacinth bean. It comes in a variety of leaf colors including your ...
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