Q I have an ugly base to my chimney and would like to cover it with some kind of evergreen. The area is rather shady. The screening plant can't grow wider than two feet. Can you help?
A Dwarf heavenly bamboo would fit the bill and will tolerate the shade. Harbour Dwarf is fairly easy to find and will stay in bounds. A dwarf mountain laurel, such as Tinkerbell, Minuet or Elf, might be good, as would any of the Gumpo series of azaleas. If deer are not a problem in your neighborhood, you could also use a prostrate yew.
Our Japanese apricot tree blooms beautifully in late winter, but early in the summer the leaves begin to curl. By late summer, the whole tree is affected. There is no sign of insects and there is no early leaf drop, although they feel dry to the touch. Any thoughts about this rather unappealing characteristic?
This is just something that Japanese apricots do. Some varieties don't curl as much as others, and clearly breeders could do more to create new varieties with more attractive leaves. There are more than 200 varieties of this plant in Asia, where it is native, but only a handful have been introduced in North America. It is unlikely those numbers will increase, though, because of stricter plant quarantine regulations governing a genus that includes peaches and cherries as well as apricots.
I have observed about a dozen different varieties over many years at the National Arboretum. Bonita is very upright, and its leaves tend not to curl late in the summer. Unfortunately, Peggy Clarke is the only variety you can easily find in any retail or mail-order nursery at this time, and you are stuck with the curling leaves until some of the other cultivars find their way to wholesale and retail nurseries.
Try to overlook the unattractive late-summer foliage. In my estimation, it is a small price to pay for the spectacular late-winter flowers with sumptuous clove fragrance.
My yard has an abundance of old trees as well as clay for soil, making it difficult to grow a nice lawn. By the time the leaves fall it is too late to seed, and if you seed in late September you rake all your seed with the leaves.
Grasses won't thrive in shaded areas where the soil is heavy and competition with tree roots is fierce. If there is enough light for the grass to grow, you may need to lime the soil to improve its fertility. Call your local extension office to get help in testing your soil. A test will tell you how much lime you need to add. Spread the lime in spring and focus on late summer for sowing the grass seed. Choose a fine fescue blend for this shady spot. It is expensive compared with standard tall fescue, but the seeds are smaller so you get the same coverage with a lighter bag.
By sowing as early as the first of September, you will get quick germination and established seedlings before leaf drop in late October. Be sure to rake the leaves every few days while the grass is getting established. Even a short time under a mat of leaves is deadly for young grass seedlings.
If this seems like a lot of work for little return, there are other options. When I moved two years ago, I realized that the Japanese maple that dominates my new front yard would not allow me to grow decent turf without extraordinary work. I chose to eradicate the grass instead, and now I have a carpet of moss that is relatively easy to maintain.
Scott Aker is a horticulturist at the U.S. National Arboretum.
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