IN THE GARDEN: Netting or scare devices best options to protect tomatoes from predation

Q: I love your column and have read it for years. I hope you can help me. I have [sent photos] of the front and back of one of my tomatoes. As you can see, something seems to be eating it. I have looked for hornworms and have not seen any. My plant is growing in a container and had been doing very well until this horror! Thank you for your help.

A: From the size of the holes I suspect a bird or squirrel, probably a bird. Since you have the plants on the deck, you can cover with black plastic bird netting, or try scare devices. I know one gardener who hung red plastic Christmas ornaments in his tomato plants before the tomatoes started ripening. The birds didn't like his "tomatoes" and stayed away from the real ones. I also bought some individual net bags last year that can be placed around the fruit until you harvest. It wouldn't be practical on a large-scale operation, but it would work for some on the deck. Good luck.

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Q: These leaf clusters on my azaleas are stunted and deformed. You thought it was chemical, and I found out it was some Roundup drift from when I sprayed the beds. Have I killed the plants, or is there anything I can do to aid in their recovery?

A: Water, water, water is the only solution. Give it time to bounce back, and perhaps next spring, a little corrective pruning might be in order (after any blooms). That could help thicken up some bare spots. Avoid any more herbicides near the plants.


Q: I have a lovely Japanese maple I planted in my garden about 20 years ago. It has always been healthy, but this summer it is dropping so many seeds I am worried it might be dying, although it seems healthy otherwise. What do you think is happening?

A: While Japanese maple seeds typically mature from late summer to early fall, as long as the leaf canopy is fine and not dropping, I would not be too concerned. We have had intense heat and strange weather conditions. Premature leaf drop is one way that trees try to conserve energy. Some fruiting trees shed leaves to protect the fruits, while others drop fruit first, to protect the leaves. In my opinion, the leaves are more important, since they manufacture food to sustain the tree. Keep watering and watch the tree next spring. From the pictures, I think the tree looks fine.

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Q: We bought these plants in spring of '21 at the Compton Gardens plant sale here in Bentonville. I think they are spotted bee balm? We grew them in containers last summer, and they formed a ball of greenery (about basketball sized) and shot up flower stems with stacked flowers 3 to 4 feet tall. The bees and hummingbirds and butterflies wore them out. In early fall we laid out a pollinator bed and transplanted them and two butterfly bushes into it. As you can see in the pictures, they've taken over the bed and grown into balls of greenery 3 to 4 feet in every direction, but no blooms. Is this normal? Will they eventually flower? We really didn't expect or plan for them to get this wide. My wife wanted to set pots of annuals among the perennials in the bed but there isn't much room. Suggestions? If they look a little wilted it's just the time of afternoon when I took the pictures. This heat has been a challenge lately.

A: Spotted bee balm (Monarda punctata) is a great plant for bees and butterflies when in bloom. Like all monardas, it is a member of the mint family, and so it has the ability to spread. In a container, the root system is limited, so the top growth is limited, and the mature plant will typically be smaller than one planted in the ground. Sometimes, when given room to grow, they get into a vegetative growth mode and only begin to bloom once they stop putting on new growth. As long as they have plenty of sun, they should start blooming eventually. Don't over-fertilize or they will continue to grow. Normally, they begin to bloom from mid-summer through fall. If you want a smaller mature plant, consider growing these in pots in the garden and put the annuals in the ground around them.

Retired after 38 years with the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, Janet Carson ranks among Arkansas' best known horticulture experts. Her blog is at arkansasonline.com/planitjanet. Write to her at P.O. Box 2221, Little Rock, AR 72203 or email jcarson@arkansasonline.com

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