Q Our little tree is an orphan (no one knows where it came from). It is about 5 years old and now about 10 feet tall with branches extended up. A prominent feature is the distinctively green limbs, not the trunk. The tree is in bloom again with the flying leaf pods, as I call them.
A Your tree is a red maple. The flying leaf pods are not the flowers but the resulting seeds. They are called winged achene, or samara. Common names for them are little helicopters and whirlybirds. All members of the maple family produce samaras. The fall color on a red maple can be bright red or gold or orange -- even brown, depending on the genetic makeup.
Q I have a question regarding our squash plants -- all blooms being male. This is the fourth year that all the blooms seem to be male. Why are we so unlucky to get plants that only make male blooms? Is there something that we can do to possibly get a female bloom, or do we just need to pull up?
A First, are you positive they are all male blooms, or could you have both sexes of flower but no bees to pollinate them? This happened to me last year, and so I played the part of the honeybee. If you are sure you have no female blooms -- with a small squash behind the flower instead of a straight stalk -- then my question is how much sunlight are they getting? The first blooms are always male, but if the plants get six to eight hours of sunlight, they should start producing female blooms very soon after males. There is no such thing as a male squash plant.
Q I had a bumper crop of asparagus from my 4-year-old asparagus plants this spring. Lots of asparagus, but now the ferns are taking over the garden. If I prune the ferns back, will it damage the plants or next year's harvest?
A The foliage on asparagus is what generates the energy to produce asparagus for the next season. If you prune it back too much, you are going to reduce food production, and it will affect your crop next year. A benefit of the foliage is that it also shades the soil beneath it, which cuts back on weeds -- especially grass -- and the shade helps to moderate the soil temperature and moisture levels. Try to keep your asparagus bed to itself; don't plant other things too closely. Enjoy the foliage. Plant flowers in front of it to help mask it if it really is getting to be too much.
Q We would like to know what plant/flower this is. It is growing outside of my mother-in-law's nursing home. The plant is very pretty and the foliage has a rubbery feeling.
A The plant in question is a great heat-loving perennial commonly called red hot poker or torch lily (Kniphofia uvaria). The foliage is somewhat grasslike, and the spikes of blooms can range in color from reds and yellows to orange -- looking like a torch or a red-hot poker. There are compact varieties and large ones. They thrive in full sun and dry conditions and bloom for a relatively long time.
Q We are seeing so much clover this year in our yard and around town in other yards. Is there an explanation for this, or am I just noticing it more? How and when do you try to get rid of it?
A I think we are seeing more weeds in general in our lawns since many did suffer a bit of winter damage. When the lawn is not thick and dense, the weeds creep in. Fertilize the lawn to thicken it up and that should help with your weeds. Broad-leaf weed killers will help to control it but should not be applied when it is hot outside. Water and fertilize, mow and then see what is left when fall rolls around.
Janet B. Carson is a horticulture specialist for the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. Write to her at 2301 S. University Ave., Little Rock, Ark. 72204 or email her at
jcarson@arkansasonline.com
HomeStyle on 07/05/2014