| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
|
| Scolptureing of Evergreens | 3/24/2007 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: I am trying to find the steps required to shaping bushes in to a round head or various heads ...
A: Johnny, The art of topiary pruning is not very easy, and will take a lot of practice. The following ...
|
| transferring whole evergreen plant to different location in yard | 3/24/2007 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: I planted few different evergreen shrubs too close to each other few years ago. Now it seems that ...
A: Danny, It is possible to replant them into another location. You will need to do while the weather ...
|
| Inkberry holly (Ilex glabra 'Shamrock' | 3/23/2007 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: We purchased these last spring. They had the nice little white flowers and the berries.They were ...
A: Chris, From the description of the damage, I would have to diagnose it low temperature injury. This ...
|
| skyrocket juniper | 3/23/2007 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: I feel the Skyrocket Juniper would be perfect answer to a landscape problem I am having. The one ...
A: Linda, The root system of Junipers is about the same as any other plant, although they are not as ...
|
| Holly bushes | 3/22/2007 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: I planted 4 holly bushes last fall. 3 female and 1 male they are about 2 feet tall. We had a hard ...
A: Greg, Hollies are amazingly resillient plants, and they can recover from just about any type of ...
|
| chinese wisteria | 3/21/2007 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: I have a chinese wisteria that is 3years old and about 9 feet high,its on a heavy trelis,it's trunk ...
A: Mae, There are several possiblities for why the Wisteria is not flowering. Too much vegetative ...
|
| pruning a sweet olive (osmanthus fragrans) | 3/20/2007 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: What is the best way to prune a sweet olive bush? It is about 5 feet high right now and I would ...
A: Sunny, I would recommend that you wait until after the shrub has finished flowering before ...
|
| Loropetulum losing leaves | 3/20/2007 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: I planted a loropetulum last Fall in my back yard-afternoon sun-and it is losing most of its leaves. ...
A: Sunny, The only thing that I can attribute the die back to would be low temperature injury. Did the ...
|
| rust color foliage | 3/19/2007 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: I know that rust occurs on roses since I had that problem two blooms ago. This last fall, one of my ...
A: Dorene, There are two seperate things that I could attribute the rust color to- Mites or ...
|
| sick mature holly bush | 3/16/2007 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: I live in No. VA. We have a large sized holly bush (that produces red berries) on the corner of our ...
A: Kathleen, I think that the Holly has succumbed to winter dessication brought on by the warm spell ...
|
| sweet broom | 3/16/2007 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: I bought a sweet broom cytisus spachianus and would like to know if it is hardy in zone 7b. I have ...
A: Dawn, This plant, from what I have been able to ascertain,does well in climates where the ...
|
| Allamanda | 3/15/2007 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: I have several allamanda bushes I use as a low hedge plant against my house. I have a section that ...
A: Connie, It sounds like you may have a drainage problem as well as receiving too much water from the ...
|
| Care of Gardinias | 3/15/2007 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: Ed, I have two Gardenia shrubs planted right outside my front door, (under the eaves of my house) ...
A: Sharon, It sounds like you have either a scale problem or aphids. Both of these insects secrete a ...
|
| gardenia | 3/13/2007 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: my gardenia has been indoors all winter but lately it leaves have started to turn brown and the ...
A: Debbie, I would recommend that you check the soil, or if possible, replant it into a highly ...
|
| rhodendriams | 3/12/2007 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: I whacked back some 5 yr. old shrubs 2 years ago. Last year and so far this year they failed to ...
A: John, Sometimes when you severely cut back flowering shrubs, especially if it done at the wrong ...
|
| Loropetalum Chlorosis? | 3/9/2007 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: I have three 5-year-old Loropetalum "Sizzlin' Pinks' growing on a south- facing sunny slope in Zone ...
A: Ellen, I would recommend adding some compost or top soil high in oganic matter to the plants. also ...
|
| Boxwood prunning | 3/7/2007 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: It is now March 7, is it too late to prune boxwood. My boxwood is old and looks unhealthy. I want ...
A: Julia, No, it is not to late to prune your boxwoods. Now is the perfect time to do any type of ...
|
| Photinia apperar to be dying with spot leaf | 3/6/2007 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: Your recommendation was to use a Copper Fungicide. Would copper sulphur be good to use. My ...
A: Mike, I found this on the North Carolina Extension website- it should answer yourSeveral fungicides ...
|
| Disease or Weed killer? | 3/3/2007 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: We planted 6 5ft Cherry Laurel Shrubs three days ago. We removed healthy shrubs and plants from the ...
A: Chris, To completely answer this question, there is some information that is missing. I would need ...
|
| Azaleas | 2/13/2007 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: I have a large bed of azaleas which is overgrown in some areas with weeds and trees. I am in the ...
A: Curtis, In this case I would recommenddoing a rejuneation pruning on the azaleas. Rejuvenation ...
|
| Manhattan Euonymous | 2/7/2007 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: Our Manhattan Euonymous is big and tall i.e. 10-12 ft. tall and about the same size around. It is ...
A: Paul, Euonymus is one of the broad leaf evergreens that can be cut back drastically (down to 6- 8 ...
|
| shrubs | 2/5/2007 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: We are currently rewriting our specifications and are wondering....is there a rule about how much ...
A: Barb, I normally follow the specs from the NYC Parks Dept and NYS DOT. Here are the quantities: ...
|
| Arborvitae turned brown | 2/4/2007 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: I tried to find your column on longisland.com/horticulture expert but was unable. Can you give me a ...
A: Patrick, You can use this link to my article: http://experts.longisland.com/horticulture. I am ...
|
| Meyer Lemon tree | 2/4/2007 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: I have a beautiful meyer lemon that finally has started producing a mountain of lemons. This year we ...
A: Jan, To be honest, I never got into fruit production problems, but I do know that there are a few ...
|
| Arborvitae bark stripped on trunk | 2/2/2007 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: I have several mature giant arborvitae (over 20')lining my drive way leading up to the house. The ...
A: Dave, The culprit in this case may very well be rodents or rabbits peeling the bark for eood or ...
|
| Arborvitae turned brown | 2/2/2007 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: That's great to hear. Thanks for your speedy reply. Can you give me some advice regarding how, ...
A: Patrick, I would recommend fertilizing the plants in mid to late March and again in mid to late ...
|
| Arborvitae turned brown | 1/31/2007 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: I have a row of Arborvitae about 60' across the back of my yard. There are about 12 separate trees ...
A: Patrick, The fact that the arbs are trying to recover is a very good sign. I think with a little ...
|
| diseased schrubs | 1/30/2007 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: wehave a boxwood hedge about 15 years old. We keep it pruned, it is only about 2 ft. high. About 1/3 ...
A: Peggy, From the description of the damage, I would have to conclude that the Boxwoods are being ...
|
| hibiscus not thriving | 1/19/2007 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: I live in SW Florida - Zone 9b - not near the coast. I manage our church butterfly/native plant ...
A: Mary, From what you are saying, my first recommendation would be to have the soil tested. If ...
|
| Mulching Azaleas | 1/17/2007 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: Is it OK to mulch Azaleas with fresh cut wood chips or is that to much acid for the plants?
A: Michael, I would recommend using composted mulch instead of fresh wood chips. Fresh wood chips will ...
|
| brown dots from shrubs on car and building | 1/9/2007 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: Do you have any idea how to clean these dots from the building if they are the fungal spores you ...
A: David, I found these methods on the Penn State website. Thanks to Dr. Donald Davis- From cars ...
|
| Alberta Spruce Shrub | 1/7/2007 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: Our small alberta spruce turns brown but then after a lot of watering and a little fertilizer it ...
A: Gladys, It sounds like the Spruce is struggling to survive. This could be due to many factors such ...
|
| Cherry Blossom Trees | 1/4/2007 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: I was wondering if you knew anything about cherry blossom trees. There are 2 located on each side ...
A: Monica, Cherry trees are one of the easiest trees to prune. They grow so rapidly in the spring that ...
|
| dogwood tree mulch | 1/3/2007 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: I am about 5 miles from the Maryland coast in a wooded community. I have planted my second American ...
A: Jack, It is always good to turn over the mulch a few times a year, this will promote better air ...
|
| brown dots from shrubs on car and building | 1/3/2007 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: I park my car in front of my office which is lined with small evergreen shrubs (3 feet high)similar ...
A: David, I do not think that the spots are fromthe shrubs, they sound more like the fungal spores ...
|
| lemon tree disease | 12/30/2006 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: My father has a lemon tree in his back yard in So. Cal. the soil seems to be fertile enough. ...
A: Jack, From what you are describing, I would have to guess that it is a citrus saw fly larvae or ...
|
| Privets | 12/30/2006 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: I have privets that form a hedge and grew to a height of 10' and then I cut them back to 3'. They ...
A: Melvin, Cutting the privets back this drastically can have long term effects on the plants. I never ...
|
| shrubs *Privet* | 12/28/2006 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: We are buying privet shrubs (no I don't know the species),where is the best place to put them? Would ...
A: Andrea, Privets can be used almost anywhere. Their root systems aren't invasive, so they can be ...
|
| meyer lemon leaf problems | 12/28/2006 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: I have a potted Meyer lemon, and it has lemons that are just starting to turn yellow. But it is also ...
A: Ann, The sticky substance you see is called honeydew. This is the sugary excrement of aphids. If ...
|
| wisteria pruning | 12/27/2006 | Edward Gulliksen |
Q: We have an established wisteria vine that runs along the top boarder of the back yard fence. My ...
A: Jackie, Wisteria is a very hardy and fast growing vine. The drastic pruning that your husband did ...
|
