LITTLE ROCK — Janet Carson is a horticulture specialist for the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. Write to her at P.O. Box 391, Little Rock, Ark. 72203, or e-mail her at
QI have about 10 giant red tip [photinias] on one side of my house that need to be trimmed. I want to do a major trimming from 10 feet downto about 8 feet. Is it too late in the year to cut them back? I spray them three or four times a year to stop the black spots, especially after pruning.
If it’s too late now, when can I trim them?
AIt is too late to prune red-tip photinias. Pruning them back now would dotwo things. First, there would be no recovery, so you would look at cut plants all winter. Second, if there is severe winter weather and the plants get nipped back, you will have toprune even more next spring. Still, photinias are pretty tough plants, so that usually is not an issue. It would be best to wait and prune them between late February and early April.
Continue to be diligent about spraying after pruning in the spring because hard pruning encourages rapid newgrowth and tender, new growth tends to be more susceptible to the diseaseswe have with red tips.
QWe have a gardenia bush that has become too large for its location. When is the best time to cut it back?
AMost established gardenia plants are the type that set their flower buds in the fall for flowering the next year. Pruning them now would cut off latent blooms and expose the plant to potential winter damage.
The best time to prune is immediately after flowering in the summer. Even if your plants bloom with intermittent flowers all summer, there is a main flush of flowers that occurs in late June or July; you need to prune after this main flush. If the plant is blocking a window, sidewalk or driveway, then prune at the appropriate time. If it is large, yet has ample room to grow, I wouldn’t prune but just enjoy the beautiful, fragrant blooms. QI moved to Fayetteville in September 2008 to a yard that was mostlyweeds with a little Bermuda grass here and there. I applied a pre-emergent weed killer in November and February but my yard was still filled with weeds. I had some success with the post-emergent (like Weed-B-Gone) but the predominant weed (a spiky-looking grasslike plant) could only be contained by a product called MSMA. I have managed to clear out some of these weeds with that product but large areas remain. Is there a pre-emergent that I could use that would be as effective as the post-emergent MSMA? Also, what type of grass would you recommend for high shade areas that would blend well with my Bermuda?
AWe first need to find out what the spiky, grass weed is. If it is an annual weed like crabgrass or goosegrass, then a preemergent applied in late February through March should work. If the weed is a perennial such as dallisgrass or nutsedge, pre-emergent products will not work. The only grass that will blend with Bermuda that will take high shade is Zoysia. Both go dormant in the winter. Themost shade tolerant turf in Northwest Arkansas is tall fescue, but it stays green all winter and would not blend with Bermuda at all. Another option would be to plant a ground cover in the shady area.
QI have what I think is an “Esperanza.” I brought this plant from my daughter’s house in San Antonio, where they grow like shrubs. My plant has done very well this past summer. Now, it is time to bring it inside, and it has gotten very large. Would it be all right to prune it now?
I do have a basement where I could store it. Could you advise me as to the procedure for this, if that is an option?
AI hope it is inside now.
My normal recommendation is to prune as little as possible, since it will die back some while it is stored indoors. But prune it enough to make it movable and easy to store. You do not need to water it much if at all while it is in the basement.
The key is to prevent it from freezing. Next spring when you move it back outside, cut it way back, start watering and it should begin to sprout.
HomeStyle, Pages 37 on 11/07/2009
Print Headline: In the garden
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