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A few passing clouds. Low 71F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.
Leave these seedlings at base of plum tree.
Red oak with dead limbs.
Leave these seedlings at base of plum tree.
Red oak with dead limbs.
Dear Neil: My daylily isn’t blooming this year and its leaves are covered with these little pests. What are they and are they the reason for the non-flowering?
Answer: These are aphids. They’re very common on daylilies early in the growing season. They normally are relatively harmless, but when they are present in numbers like this they probably will drag your plants down. You can control them with almost any general-purpose organic or inorganic insecticide. You can also get rid of many of them simply by washing them off with a hard stream of water. Their populations will wane as temperatures rise.
Dear Neil: These plants have come up at the base of a plum tree I planted recently. I don’t know what they are, but I’m wondering if I can leave them there.
Answer: It looks like old garden soil has been reused somehow. You have a cucurbit (squash or gourd) and several tomato plants growing at the base of your plum tree. They will compete unfavorably for water and nutrients and starve your plum tree. If this were my garden, I would certainly take them out right away.
Dear Neil: What can we use to control burweed? It is really bad, and the controls the local folks recommended last week haven’t worked.
Answer: Lawn burweed is a winter annual that germinates in the fall, grows in the winter and starts producing the painful burs in the spring. The plants will die now that temperatures are getting to 90F, but the burs will remain for some time thereafter. Your best means of dealing with it would be to apply a broadleaf weed killer in late fall, over the winter or by very early spring (early March). There is nothing that’s going to make it disappear at this time. If you want to read a very good description of it, Google “lawn burweed Clemson University.”
Dear Neil: I have heard some negative comments about buckeye plants. Would you recommend a buckeye planted some distance from my foundation as an accent shrub/tree?
Answer: As a Native Texan who got his two horticulture degrees from Ohio State, I’m now being asked to comment on buckeyes. That’s ironic. In all honesty, the true buckeye (Aesculus glabra) is not an especially great landscape tree. It’s not recommended for general use, even in Ohio. In Texas we have Mexican buckeye. It’s not a true buckeye, but in a different genus entirely (Ungnadia speciosa). From its pink flower clusters in spring on through the growing season it’s an attractive small tree or large shrub. I spent parts of several summers as a youngster working alongside my dad as he conducted experiments for Texas A&M on controlling it in the Hill Country where it is poisonous to livestock (although it is seldom browsed). And now here I am writing about it. Depending on where you are and what conditions you have, it might be a good choice. Probably better than the other buckeye.
Dear Neil: I have a saw palmetto that lost most of its leaves in the cold of February 2021. I trimmed them off and it put on new growth, but this past winter that growth also froze. It is now putting out new leaves again. Should I trim off the old, yellowed stems?
Answer: If you are talking about the petioles (the “stems” of the leaves), then absolutely do trim the yellow ones off. They contribute nothing to the vigor of the plant. It sounds like it’s going to do just fine. Now that it is warmer you could apply an all-nitrogen lawn fertilizer.
Dear Neil: I planted this red oak tree 12 years ago. It has grown nicely and has been very healthy. However, this year I have noticed a few small branches near the top that look dead. Should I remove them? I don’t want to lose the tree.
Answer: Thank you for the excellent photographs. I looked at all three. I believe this is minor damage to the one impacted branch and its twigs. It might have been gnawing damage done by a squirrel, or it could have been some other minor problem. I would keep a close eye on it and if you see any evidence of it spreading I would have a certified arborist look at the tree immediately. Otherwise, I would use a long-handled pole pruner to remove the dead branch next winter. By cutting just a little beyond the point dieback you should be able to see what the problem has been.
Dear Neil: My banana tree survived the cold of 2021, but it has not come back after this winter. The crown of the plant is mushy. Should I wait any longer?
Answer: If it has not come back by now it is not going to. It was probably weakened enough by last year’s cold that it just couldn’t make it through two successive brutal winters. It’s time to buy another one.
Dear Neil: These mushrooms are growing against my plumbago. I take them out and they come right back. My husband thinks they are coming out of the soil. Are they harmful? What can I do to stop them? My other plumbago in a separate pot does not have them.
Answer: It’s not what you want me to write, but they make a lovely invader. Your husband is correct. They are a saprophytic fungus, meaning that they are living off the decaying organic matter of the potting soil. If you remove them, more will just fill the space. Other than blocking water from getting into the potting soil, they should do no harm to your plant. However, if you want to eliminate them, an application of dusting sulfur just to the mushrooms would probably be the easiest way.
— Have a question for Neil? Mail it to him in care of this newspaper or e-mail him at mailbag@sperrygardens.com. Neil regrets that he cannot reply to questions individually.