Q I would like to establish a row of milkweed plants at my home along a tree line. I have access to 12 to 14 wild milkweeds on some property in south Arkansas that are in danger of being destroyed. Is it possible to move them? If so, when should I do it and how? I also would be interested in buying new plants or seeds.
A Milkweed plants are often sold at local nurseries and garden centers, but are probably more readily available earlier in the season. That is not to say you can't still buy them, but they won't be as easy to find now. Milkweed plants are notoriously difficult to transplant since they do form a fairly strong taproot, which is what makes them so drought tolerant. That being said, if the plants are going to be destroyed anyway, give it a shot. This fall as it cools off, try to dig up the plants, getting as much of the root system as you can. Replant as quickly as possible in their new location and see what happens. They also should be loaded with seedpods. Milkweeds form a canoe-shaped pod that is loaded with tiny seeds with fine hairs. Harvest mature seedpods and scatter the seeds into prepared soil this fall. There are numerous species. The orange flowered butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) is the most common, but there are also white, pink and yellow flowering forms, and all are good for the butterflies, so plant a combination.
Q Our home in west Little Rock appears to be the only one with sick crape myrtles. In the early spring I noticed the bark on them turning dark. Small white spots began to appear and I realized we had bark scale. I did some research and discovered it came in from Texas. You wrote about it in an earlier column but, unfortunately, I missed it. We are planning to replace them with Japanese maples but we want to plant at least one crape myrtle but I'm afraid it, too, will become sick. Should the soil be replaced as well?
A You are not the only one in west Little Rock with this problem, and just recently, we have been getting a lot of calls with the same concern. Crape myrtle bark scale was discovered more than a year ago, and the first place it was spotted in Arkansas was in west Little Rock. Since then, we have seen cases from Little Rock to Texarkana. The scale is white and felt-covered and the honeydew the insects transmit can cause a black sooty mold to accompany the white scale. One suggestion is, if it is in a limited area, get out there with a soft brush and use warm soapy water to clean the stems. Then follow up with a systemic insecticide containing imidacloprid and/or this fall, thoroughly spray with a dormant oil after all the leaves and flowers are off. If the damage is on a few limited branches, they can be cut out and destroyed. When putting it out to dispose of, bag the cuttings, and put it in the trash not to be composted. Bagging can prevent the scale flying around and getting to other crape myrtles. Here is a link to our fact sheet on this problem: tinyurl.com/qcs9g8e. Since the problem is new to us, we don't have any hard data as to which varieties seem to be more susceptible to scale than others, but I don't think you should give up on crape myrtles. Replacing the soil is not necessary.
Q I cook a lot at my suburban home and generate a lot of vegetable trash, i.e., potato peels, celery and onion trimmings, fruit pits, melon rinds, etc. I've deposited the residue in a backyard compost bin for years, with no problems. This year, though, I suspect rats have been eating from the bin. It's a problem, even with the bin relegated to a far corner of my yard. Now the rats are venturing onto my deck. How do I compost without attracting neighborhood vermin?
A Rats are everywhere and not something anyone relishes having in their yard or compost pile, but it does happen. There are several helpful hints to prevent rats from coming into the compost pile. You may want to have an open pile for yard waste only, and then construct a closed bin to use with your vegetable and food scraps, in addition to some yard waste. Burying the food scraps will also help. Make sure you add no meat or dairy products to the pile. Hopefully a closed bin will correct this issue.
Q We live in Cabot and unfortunately the city has scheduled for mid-October a much needed drainage project to prevent flooding that will affect the north side of our home and flower beds. There are several large hostas and a few small ones and a bed of cannas (that need to be separated anyway). We hope to save them and need to transplant soon. Would creating new beds and moving them in the next four to six weeks be worth the effort? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
A Early to mid-October would be an ideal time to move hostas -- that is the appropriate time to dig and divide. If you have to do it earlier in September, try to wait until it stays cool for a bit. They should do fine. For the cannas, you have two options. You can lift and store them for the winter and replant outside next spring. Folks who live farther north have to do this every year for cannas, since they are not that cold tolerant. If you want to replant them immediately, just make sure you add a little extra mulch after a killing frost, since they won't have a strong root system re-established to help them get through the winter.
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 08/29/2015