IN THE GARDEN

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette hail illustration.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette hail illustration.

Q I moved to Van Buren 366 days ago. I started tilling my garden in January due to the unusually mild weather. I was able to start planting potatoes in March, and in the first week of April I planted 70 tomato plants, 56 pepper plants, 16 yellow squash plants, four zucchini plants, and the list goes on. Everything was looking great until yesterday. We were hit with a hailstorm the likes of which I have never experienced. My 40-by-75-foot garden looks like a Weed Eater came through and cut some in half and others ... the stem may be all that is left. Will the plants possibly survive? Can I do anything to try and save what is left? What are your recommendations? My thoughts were to wait a week to 10 days and see what the plants look like. If they don't make it, I will replace them.

A Hail can create havoc, and some plants will rebound while others won't. The key is to clean up as much as you can. Broken or jagged branches or stems can be entry point for diseases to hit. Once you have it clean, see what continues to grow and what doesn't. Replanting some things will be inevitable, but some plants are more resilient than others. We missed a late freeze this year, and then you got hail. Gardening isn't for sissies.

Q For 10 years I've tried everything I've read on petal blight on azaleas -- various fungicides, picking off diseased flowers, cleaning out beneath plants and replacing with clean mulch, etc. Nothing has worked. And I hear more and more people in Conway (where I live) complaining about petal blight. Is there anything new out there on this problem?

A Petal blight is typically worse when plants are blooming during warm, rainy or misty weather. All varieties can be attacked. Infected flowers first exhibit small water-soaked spots. The spots enlarge rapidly and become very slimy, causing entire petals to become slimy and limp, usually within two or three days of the initial infection. Infected blooms will turn brown quickly and cling longer on the plant after blooming. The disease forms small, black, fruiting bodies that are typically mature six to eight weeks after the disease hits. Quickly removing any affected blooms can help in disease control. The disease overwinters on spent blooms, and on the mulch under the plants. Replacing the old mulch in the fall with a clean layer can help, but if you have been battling this for 10 years, you also want to do a preventive spray with a fungicide containing chlorothalonil (Daconil) before bud break and once every seven to 10 days during bloom.

Q This spring I have found a bush growing in a fence row here in Berryville I am unfamiliar with. Actually, there are two in different locations, but both are in shaded areas. It has multiple stalks, is approximately 5 feet tall and has blooms very much like a honeysuckle. Can you tell me what it is, how large it might get and how it should be used in the landscape?

A My guess is you have either the white/yellow-flowering Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) or the pink-flowering Tatarian honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica). Both of these plants are highly invasive in Northwest Arkansas. Even though they do have pretty flowers, I would try to get rid of it, not spread it.

Q I live in central Arkansas and have two lilacs that have not bloomed since they were planted several years ago. I dug up small plants surrounding a large shrub in my parents' yard in north central Arkansas and put them in pots until they had grown and developed a good root system. It seems as if they get enough sun. What could be the problem?

A Lilacs can be a bit finicky to grow in the South. They prefer a mild, cool summer, which we typically do not have. Last year was pretty mild until September hit, and then it was dry. The key to success with lilacs in the South is to give them full morning sun and total shade in the afternoon. Add a bit of lime to the planting soil since they like a bit more alkalinity. Water them when it is dry, and fertilize once a year in the spring after they should have bloomed. Try not to do much pruning or moving. I have seen some great lilacs this spring, but more so in the northern tier of our state than in the southern half.

UPDATE: We have had many readers write in with suggestions for the Yellow Rose of Texas question that was asked a few weeks ago. What is more special is that almost all of them offered cuttings or a start of their plant. Aren't gardeners wonderful people?

Here are some of their suggestions: Several believe this yellow rose is commonly sold as "Harrison's Yellow." Others suggested "Oregon Trail rose" or "Cherokee rose." Some people have rose bushes while others have climbers. Some bloom all summer while others bloom only once a year. I received a lot of great rose pictures as well.

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 05/14/2016

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