Falling Berries, Doggy Patches and Heavenly Bamboo: Time for Early Spring Queries

You never mentioned the size of the insect, but from your description, it most likely was a cicada-killer wasp. Each hole in the soil is dug by one wasp that hunts for a cicada to sting and paralyze. It lays its eggs on the cicada and leaves the nest, never to return. They generally move on after a short time, a few years at most. They are beneficial insects because they kill cicadas, which are minor pests.

My hellebores are blooming profusely and look great except for the large, drooping green leaves on the ground. Can I trim them? When? -- Betsy

Wait until flowers are fully open to cut old leaves. Now is the time hellebore leaves can be selectively trimmed. While the flowers are open, you can discern flowers, new growth and leaves that have lost ornamental value. Cut only dead and dying leaves.

My lilac bush is very old, and last year it developed something that looks like dandruff -- small, white and flaky (almost like dust) -- that attaches to its trunks. The leaves on several affected branches died and turned brown but didn't drop. What is this, and how do I treat it? -- Marg P.

You are describing scale insects. An infestation can kill a plant in several seasons. Begin to control them now. Insecticide applications may be warranted. Use an application of horticultural oil, just prior to bud break in early April, while the plant is dormant. It will control scale that over-wintered as insects. It requires a thorough treatment of all aboveground plant parts. Always read and follow labeled instructions.

The young crawlers are most vulnerable after they hatch. An ultrafine horticultural oil can be used to kill them in May as flowers fade, or use a systemic insecticide like Orthene or Isotox. To monitor when the crawlers hatched, use black electrical tape wrapped with sticky side out around several branches in the infested areas. Crawlers will stick to the tape.

Each spring, I find my flower beds completely taken over with a weed that reminds me of baby's breath. It is invasive. What can I do to control it?

-- Perki

If the weeds have white flowers, they could be common chickweed ( Stellaria media). It can grow eight to 12 inches tall; loves cool, moist soil in spring and fall; and has an airy look similar to baby's breath (Gypsophila). Take a two-step approach to eradicating it.

These annual weeds are easy to pull, but for best control, they must be pulled now, before they go to seed. Then treat the soil with a corn gluten meal herbicide, such as Corn Weed Blocker or Weed Ban, in spring and fall. Corn gluten meal is a byproduct of a corn milling process. It's a safe material to use in place of the synthetic pre-emergent weed killers. But corn gluten will also keep ornamental seeds, such as lawn, flowers and vegetables, from germinating, so its application must be carefully timed. Follow all labeled directions.

Joel M. Lerner is president of Environmental Design in Capitol View Park, Md. E-mail or contact him through his Web site, http://www.gardenlerner.com.