The Garden Plot

Adrian Higgins (The Washington Post)

Got a chronic case of green thumb? Like getting your hands dirty? Adrian Higgins, garden editor for The Post's Home section, is here to help. Higgins is a firm believer in "tough plants for tough times" -- the varieties that combine good looks with stiff resistance to disease and pests. He currently rules over a garden filled with spring bulbs, daffodils, ornamental onions, perennials, asters, yarrows, hostas and day lilies. Higgins, an avid organic gardener who believes chemicals are a last resort, also tends his own herb and vegetable gardens where he grows peas, garlic onions, lettuce, rhubarbs, radishes, carrots and more.

Higgins is the author of two books, "The Secret Gardens of Georgetown: Behind the Walls of Washington's Most Historic Neighborhood" and "The Washington Post Garden Book: The Ultimate Guide to Gardening in Greater Washington and the Mid-Atlantic Region."

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

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Arlington, Va.: Submitting early because of a meeting. The nerve of some people calling a meeting during your chat. Philistines!

Question: I have a large grouping of liatris that I would like to break into two smaller groups of liatris. When would be a good time to do that? After they blossom? In the fall? Now?

Thanks.

Adrian Higgins: Now would be a good time, you will see the young top growth emerging. Simply lift, divide and replant, being careful not to damage young leaves or roots. Liatris should seed itself in good soil, so look for seedings too to move about the place.

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Annandale, Va.: Hi,

We have a problem with chipmunks destroying our garden. We've tried sprinkling hot pepper flakes, spraying with bleach, and a few other "natural" remedies, but nothing seems to work. Meanwhile, we have holes all over the garden. Is there any other humane way to encourage these little visitors relocate?

Thanks!

Adrian Higgins: I suppose there are traps for them. I live with a few, but probably no more than three or four. If you have a lot I can see it would be a problem. You need some sort Of predator, hawks of various stripe, a fox, maybe. You would need a pretty quick cat or dog to devour them. I wouldn't recommend trying to poison or gas them. Perhaps if you fill in their holes repeatedly they will get the message and move on.

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Arlington, Va.: What is the proper care and maintenance of Cheddar Pinks? I purchased several a few years ago, but struggle to keep them looking nice. When in bloom they quickly flop and now are getting quite woody as well. Should the be frequently sheared? staked? Or should I simply give up and replace with blue fescue grass? Thanks!

Adrian Higgins: Some dianthus do much better than others in our climate, and there are various types. Generally the smaller, rock garden varieties tend to do better after flowering than the long ones in my experience. They need well drained soil. Definitely cut back the flowers after blooming and go easy on any fertilizing.

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Arlington, Va.: I am in the process of having my yard regraded and I am concerned because the landscapers have buried the bottom of a mature tree in dirt. What is the proper course when regrading around existing trees? Thanks.

Adrian Higgins: You want to avoid piling anything more than three, four, or six inches max over the established root zone of a tree. I don't know exactly what was done to yours or why, but if you are concerned that there is too much soil now above portions of the root zone, I would rake some back or consider vertical mulching, in which you drill holes with an auger and backfill the holes either with mulch or gravel. This will alleviate some of the root compaction and allow air and water to the roots.

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Norfolk, Va.: My wife grew up in the South, so naturally is enamored of lilacs. I grew up in the north, so naturally am enamored of gardenias. We're trying to decide what to plant.

I'm considering giving in to her desires on this one, but I've heard that lilacs don't do well down here. Do you have any thoughts on that?

Thanks.

Adrian Higgins: Amusing. Most lilacs don't do well below the Mason Dixon line. Some are better for Southern climes, including Palibin and Miss Kim. I believe plant breeders are working on trying to produce more heat tolerant lilacs, and they certainly are needed.

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Alexandria/Mt. Vernon, Va.: Hi Adrian,

This is our first spring in a house with a yard and I would like to create our first vegetable garden out of a plot that is currently grassy. As a real beginner, I wonder if you have any advice, particularly how to handle the existing grass, what type of sun is best (AM, PM), good vegetables for beginners, and anything else that might help us have a successful first go.

Thanks for any advice you can offer!

Adrian Higgins: My advice in a nutshell.

1) Hurry, the planting season is upon us.
2) Keep it small and manageable until you feel confident with your abilities.
3) Separate paths from garden beds, and don't use grass paths.
4) Raise beds using boards on edge, pegged.
5) Buy lots of bags of compost and peat moss and backfill your plot.
6) Plant easy, fun things like tomatoes, basil, beans, peppers. In August, sow lots of leafy green vegetables for the fall, including lettuce, salad mix, spinach and carrots.

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Bowling Green, Ohio: I have two beautiful Japanese maple trees (about 6-7 feet tall, weeping) near my back porch that need to be trimmed because some of the branches are now up against (or under the roof of) my porch. How and when is the best way to trim these trees?

Adrian Higgins: A gentle trimming in leaf is good now, at the start of the season. Your maples probably will benefit from an annual pruning regime while dormant in winter, preferably by someone versed in pruning ornamental trees.

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Lorton, Va.: Hi Adrian,

Cicada question!

Is now a really terrible time to lay down sod, with the arrival of the cicadas? Do they do any damage to tender grass roots, etc?

Thanks so much!

Adrian Higgins: This is the one moment in their 17 life span where they don't trouble roots. I would be much more concerned about the sod taking and surviving going in to the summer than any fears about the cicadas, which will actually benefit the turf by aerating it as they emerge.

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Silver Spring, Md.: Hi!
What ideas to you have to prevent or get rid of clover in my sunny front lawn?

Also, what ideas to you have to successfully grow grass in my shady back lawn?

Many thanks!

Adrian Higgins: There are herbicides for clover, though I don't know if they are available to homeowners or only to licensed professionals. If you sprinkle limestone one them, this seems to keep them in check. I have learned to live with them.

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Arlington, Va.: Is it too late to plant Phlox now?

Adrian Higgins: It's not too late to plant anything, but you may miss its flowering cycle. If you mean garden phlox, no it's certainly not too late.

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Kensington, Md.: A pox on you, you chippie-killer! Those things are cute, especially when they stuff their cheeks with nuts.

Adrian Higgins: Don't be like that. I love them. (Grilled).

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Arlington, Va.: I realize much has been written about the upcoming cicada invasion, but I've not read anything about how quickly the nymphs begin to fly after they emerge from the soil. Do they shed their shells immediately and fly, or does it take a couple of days? Just curious...

Adrian Higgins: Apparently (I forgot to observe this last time) they emerge, molt, and then wait for their wings to fill out. But they also wait a few days for the whole apparatus to toughen up before they start flying around and having fun.

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Bethesda, Md.: Could you please recommend a good time to plant Provence lavender? Thanks.

Adrian Higgins: Now would be a good time, in advance of bloom.

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Lake Ridge, Va.: Hi Adrian,
Please help. This year we decided to try our hand at growing bell peppers in a large planter.I bought Miracle-Gro potting soil, stupidly did not read the back of the bag, and have only just now seen (in the instructions) that I should not have planted edibles in 100 percent Miracle-Gro soil. The plants are almost three inches high by now. Do I need to chuck the whole thing? Could we get ill from eating these peppers? I checked their Web site and couldn't find an answer.
Thanks.

Adrian Higgins: Why would you not be allowed to eat them growing in Miracle Gro? Fertilizer in a soil mix won't render plants inedible but if the soil mix contains a systemic insectide or fungicide or anything ending in ..cide, I would start with fresh plants in fresh soil.

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McLean, Va.: We got a horrible hail storm yesterday and now the leaves on my hostas are all torn and leaning to the ground. Should I cut them back to the ground or just hope they stand up again? Thank you.

Adrian Higgins: What a shame. Alas, with hostas they don't come back after the first flush. They may become more presentable in a week or two, don't rush to trim them. I would cut off any torn pieces but leave the rest alone. At least the leaves will be feeding the plants and you could use the damage as an excuse in August to lift and divide the plants.

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Reston, Va.: Adrian --

The soil under a 20-year-old cherry tree is pretty poor. There are some significant plantings of hosta, fern, wildflowers under it, however, so I don't want to till amendments in. Would it help if I mixed clay cutter and composted manure and spread it over the area?

Adrian Higgins: Yes, I think an annual top dressing of compost would be a great way to sustain both the tree and the plants beneath it. Also, keep the area weeded and keep any lawn herbicides or fungicides well away from the root zone.

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Rockville, Md.: We have strawberries growing all over our lawn. Short of ripping them up indiviually, any ideas on how to get rid of them?

Adrian Higgins: Actually, the plant is more easily pulled than you image. Follow the runners back to a central stem and gently pull it, it should yield in moist soil. It doesn't take long to remove a fair few this way.

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Takoma Park, Md.: Monster rockets of new bamboo are shooting up in a back yard where I am trying to contain them. These poles increase in length at least a foot overnight, and are more massive in diameter (3" easily) than the current stand of bamboo (which is almost two stories tall). Right now (and although it makes me feel like a castrating female), I am cutting the new rockets off at ground level and pouring round-up into the remaining cup. Don't think it helps because new ones shoot up the next day. Plus, I ran out of the liquid after the first 50.

How to stay ecologically correct yet control the invasion?

Adrian Higgins: The better but harder course is to dig out the runners. But it is possible to cut off the emerging shoots on a regular basis and hold back the beast. Curiously the new shoots are much fleshier and, as you say, fatter than the established woody ones.

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Not Enough Room in the Garden for Me and Peter Rabbit: Greetings and Happy Spring!

I am a semi-novice gardener with a 10x10 foot garden plot. Turned my winter rye over and prepared the soil last weekend. Getting ready to plant starter plants and seeds of herbs, flowers, and vegetables. Should I stagger my planting, or put everything out at once? Is it too early or too late to plant anything now?

I don't use chemicals and cultivate good companion plants to attract good bugs to beat up the bad guys. I have a huge problem with rabbits. There's a family of them that live in and around my yard. A chicken wire fence around the garden is reasonably effective, but the rabbits are chowing down on other plants in the yard--new berry bushes and strawberries. I know it's the rabbits, because I and others have seen them in the act. I can't put chicken wire around everything. Can you give me rabbit eradication advice? In the past I've caught them and taken them to parks. That's not working this year. It seems that I need to trap and dispose of the current residents. Can you please advise me?

Adrian Higgins: For your first question, I would set tomatoes and cucumbers now and when you harvest them in late August, immediately put in salad greens, turnips and carrots for a fall crop.

As for the rabbits, do you need to replace some of the fencing? As with the chipmunks, you need some predators. You may want to consider getting a terrier. Just don't re read Watership Down anytime soon.

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Washington, D.C.: What happens if I never divide my hostas?

Adrian Higgins: Eventually they will die off in the middle and the plant crowns will form a ring. In time, the vigor and flowering of the plant will diminish as each little clump competes with its neighbor for space, nutrients and moisture.

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Arlington, Va.: What are the best gardening gloves you have found? The cloth ones get wet, the leather ones are usually too thick, the cheapo sort-of-waterproof ones are almost single use. As I type this, I wonder if standard dish washing gloves might be the best.

Adrian Higgins: There is a brand called Foxglove which the ladies go barmy for, apparently. It is synthentic but has the feel and durability of thin suede. I use he-man buckskin gloves in keeping with my macho image.

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Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C.: I have been looking for an interesting watering can for my mother. Maybe something older, or handpainted. Any suggestions on garden stores that might carry something other than the most basic watering cans? Thanks!

Adrian Higgins: Very interesting question. I would go to any antique district, some towns specialize in their antique conglomerations, and see if you can find any among the salvaged iron railing and farm hardware.

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Silver Spring, Md.: Hello Adrian,

Recently I had an old oak stump located in a flower bed ground up and the resulting mulch left behind. I spread out most of the mulch in the yard, but I still have 6-12" of it remaining at the original location. Is it reasonable to make it into usable garden soil over the course of the year (adding organic waste, grass clippings, etc) Should I add anything else (lime, etc)? Thanks

Adrian Higgins: All those things would be good. Raw mulch tends to draw nitrogen from the soil and from plants as it rots, so using it first in a compost pile would be best. Or use it on a woodchip path, if you have one.

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Arlington, Va.: We have a clump of hosta lillies growing along a fence that need to be separated and spread out. They aren't yet blooming, is it OK to dig them up and move them now, or should we wait (We just moved in and I didn't even know they were there!).

Adrian Higgins: Unless they are obviously crowded, I wouldn't do anything until Septmber.

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Annandale, Va.: Last June I brought back a small woodland plant from a trip to Vermont, thinking that it might do well in my yard and be a source of pleasant vacation memories. It did okay in a flowerpot, died back over the winter, and now appears to have self-seeded very vigorously over a larger area of the yard than I would have anticipated. The plant has a reddish, hairy stalk; lacy leaves (like a fern or rose geranium) that grow in groups of five (the way poison ivy leaves grow in groups of three); and bell-shaped flowers, rose-pink with darker veining, that are about 1/2" long and tend to grow in pairs. The tallest plant is now about 11" tall.

Any idea what this is? I am wondering whether it's going to turn out to be very invasive, so that maybe I should get rid of it before it's too late.

Thanks!

Adrian Higgins: It wouldn't be a fern, if it flowers. I don't know, it might be a columbine or a hardy geranium. It is key to know what you are planting beforehand so that you don't waste time putting in something that will not grow here or, conversely, will become invasive.

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Alexandria, Va.: Would you provide me with a short list of flowering perennials which don't attract bees? I'm allergic to bees, so I'm trying to avoid plants that bees love. I already know about azaleas, petunias, and pansies. Non-bee-attracting annuals would be fine, too. I have a container to be filled which I want to put on my deck. Thanks!

Adrian Higgins: I think I would need to know what sort of bees you are allergic to. I would probably avoid raspberries, which draw yellowjackets (which are wasps, not bees) or abelias, which do tend to draw various species of true bee. Lantana draws butterflies and skippers but not too many bees, I think.

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Luckettts, Va.: Great bunny reference to Watership Down! Loved that book! Also the Duncton Wood series. I have found that you just have to co-exist with the rabbits and chipmunks and moles and strawberries, unless you don't mind seeing the remnants of the "atrocities" committed by your predator dog or cat. Just plant more than you think you need!

Adrian Higgins: A wise observation.

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Herndon, Va.: Re the watering can question: There's always E-Bay, Architectural and Garden Section, Garden sub section.

Adrian Higgins: I should have thought of that. We are now children of the cyberspace.

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Arlington, Va.: That hail yesterday was awful. Not only were my hostas hit, but the hail also ripped the lotus and waterlilies in my pond to shreds. What shall I do? Will they die... shoot up new leaves?

Adrian Higgins: Both should be all right. The damaged leaves will be replaced with others. If it were June and the hail had damaged the later aerial leaves of the lotus, that would have been worse. They don't regrow in a season.

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Bamboo-zled Silver Spring, Md.: Love these chats, Adrian. We have lived in our house for two years. When we moved in, there was lovely, tall bamboo at the back property line that never caused any problems (in terms of spreading). Two weekends ago, to tidy the garden, my husband cut down some of the bamboo that had fallen over winter -- fallen due to height/wind. Monday morning when we were on the back patio we noticed about 25 1-foot to 2.5 feet bamboo shoots spread throughout the lower back of the garden -- some were as far as six feet or so away from the adult bamboo. I swear that they weren't there on Sunday. What happened? We never had any problems before. Is it just a coincidence that we chopped some of it down and this happened. What should we do to remedy the situation? I tore down the new shoots. It's creepy, it's like the bamboo is seeking revenge!

Adrian Higgins: The new shoots would have arrived whether you cut down some or not. They erupt from underground rhizomes that can travel several feet from the main stand. Again the only cure is to dig them out and then dig a trench and put in some barrier to your property. I wonder if it would work if you were to dig a trench down to 18 inches or more and then backfill it with concrete mix. Of course it would be hell if you had to remove it later.

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Linden, Va.: The Morels are coming, the Morels are coming, I feel like Paul Revere, the Morels are coming. A good sign, the really cold weather is finally past, I mean only a month ago I had flurries! And just last week the water in my bird bath had a thin frozen layer. Still too cool for tomatoes however, but the cool weather crops are flourishing. Thought you'd like a report from the beautiful Valley.

Adrian Higgins: Thanks for the report.

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Chevy Chase, Md.: My three-year-old has expressed interest in planting a vegetable garden -- so cute! But we are planning major landscaping next month, and I would have to do the planting in containers. Will this work? Are tomatoes and peppers worth trying? Have you had any success with orange peppers (his favorites)? Thanks!

Adrian Higgins: Hot peppers in pots would be good. Make sure the container is big enough that it doesn't dry out. A half whiskey barrel would be good. "Mommy, Why does this pot smell like Johnny's grandpa?"

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Re: chipmunk control: You could go outside and scream Alvin! Kidding!

We used a product we got at the hardware store that looked like firecrackers and released smoke into their holes. It worked for a few months.

Adrian Higgins: Great, thanks.

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Alexandria, Va.: Adrian -
My husband and I just took down six very large cedars (plus some small pin oaks) that were along our driveway planted there by the previous owner. We would like to plant something else there to add a barrier between us and our neighbor's house. The area is on the North side of the house and gets some morning light. We were talking about planting spirea there but I don't know if that would be a good site for them. I would really love to hear your opinion on our choice and any suggestions.

Thanks so much!
-- a loyal reader

Adrian Higgins: Spirea would be quite flimsy in comparison to the screen you removed. I would consider something upright and evergreen, maybe some osmanthus or holly varieties.

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Leonardtown, Md.: I was dismayed last summer to see the Japanese Beetles almost totally destroy many ornamental plants and shrubs in my yard. The plants seem to have recovered this year, but is there anything I can do to control the attacks by these voracious eaters? I would rather remove these beautiful plants than have thousands of those pests crawling on them and slowly destroying them.

Adrian Higgins: Net your most precious ornamental plants if you can. I wonder if a preventative foliar spraying of Neem oil or of a fish emulsion would be enough to cut down on damage. My be worth doing an experiment. Make sure your sprayer has not been used for herbicide first, though. Well, thanks for all your questions. See you next week.

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