| The Garden Plot
Hosted by Adrian Higgins
Washington Post Garden Editor
Thursday, May 29, 2003; 11 a.m. ET 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." The transcript follows 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.
Arlington, Va.: Hello Adrian:
Every weekend for over a month now has been rainy and inhospitable to plant our garden. For us Monday through Friday office folks we have no choice but to try to get it in this weekend, but is it really too late to plant tomatoes and pepper plants and the seeds for bush beans, corn, squash, radishes and various perennial flowers?
What about my knee-high daylily plants -- Is it too late to divide and replant those? Thanks for you help. Adrian Higgins: Radishes are sown in early spring to grow through the season. You could try now but they don't like the heat of summer and tend to not bulb up well and bolt the top growth. The other veggies require warm soil to germinate and grow well. In addition to all the rain we have had, it has been cold, this has meant that the soil temperatures are about five degrees below where they should be. Bottom line: You have plenty of time to grow the other plants. Stick them in now, once the weather heats up quickly in June, as it will, they will take off. It is not the time to divide daylilies, they are getting ready to bloom. Wait until September.
Cube Station Zebra: Yo, I thought you were gonna do something about this rain and the occasional lack thereof? (joke) I had an extra tomato plant or two and nowhere to grow except a container. I'm guessing width may be more important than depth -- do you think 12" diameter is sufficient? Thank you! Adrian Higgins: Love the dateline: I think 12 inches is pushing it, the roots won't get large enough to support the top growth unless you assiduously train the stem and pinch out all side shoots as they emerge. If you can, go for an 18 inch container, which is also better at retaining moisture. The beauty of tomato vines is that you can plant them deeper each time you repot them. The roots form anywhere the stem touches soil.
Alexandria, Va.: Good morning and thank you for taking our questions. How can you tell whether a shrub is heading for the graveyard or can be saved? We have two Azaleas and another mystery shrub that bloomed a tiny bit and have a few green leaves clinging to them, but are mostly brittle brown twigs. Do we cut all the dead stuff off and hope it rejuvenates or just pluck the whole thing out of the ground? Thanks for any help you can provide. Adrian Higgins: The only hope in saving the patient is to know what the disease is. Are the roots diseased or rotting from lack of drainage? I would lift the shrubs, examine the soil for proper drainage, and replant them in new locations if necessary. Azaleas benefit from afternoon shade, moist soil, but good drainage. Cut out all the old dead wood.
Washington, D.C.: I have old fashioned Four O'Clocks that attract Japanese beetles. The leaves also get white spots. The Four O'Clocks are beautiful and fragrant even with the spots and beetle holes. How can I keep the beetles and the spots away? Adrian Higgins: White spots might be where slugs are feeding. Controlling beetles once they appear as adults is difficult. Some people use lures, but unless they are placed around the neighborhood and far from favored plants, you may be attracting more than you otherwise would have. You can hand pick the beetles and dump them in a jar of bleach solution. The grubs are treated in a number of different ways, chemically with insecticides, often containing imidacloprid, or by using a bacterium called milky spore. Another biological control comes in the form of little nematodes, called eel worms in England, that can be purchased from suppliers such as Gardens Alive.
Manassas, Va.: We have been waiting about a month to till a plot in our yard for our veggie garden but with rain every weekend, have been unable to get out and get the ground up. How long should we wait before the ground is dry enough to till? Adrian Higgins: You need to wait until the soil is no longer waterlogged. Damp is OK, but not squishy.
College Park, Md.: I bought some cayenne pepper plants over the weekend, and they are bent parallel to the ground but then straighten up in the last two inches or so. Do I need to stake them, or will they be ok on their own? When I grew them in a window box before, the plants were very tall and straight, so I'm a little concerned for these plants. Finally, how much space should be between bush green bean plants? Thanks so much for your help -- I'm a first time gardener and appreciate any help I can get! Adrian Higgins: Again, it's early for peppers, they may be stretching from the rain and shade. The first thing you should do is put them in a very sunny site, and then cut back the plants by half. They should straighten themselves. Peppers don't normally need staking, especially at the beginning of the growing season. I plant (or thin) my bush beans to six to eight inches between plants.
Germantown, Md.: A few questions: Where is the best placement and conditions for a Lilac bush to be planted? On a silly whim, I just ordered an olive tree from a catalog. I realize I'll have to keep it in doors. What light conditions are necessary and how big of a pot should I put it in (it's coming in a 1-gallon container)? Also, any special soil conditions for it? I've seen a beautiful ground cover that was blooming in late March/early April (don't know if it still is). Mostly shiny, green small leaves with a profusion of small bluish/purplish 5-pointed flowers. Any idea what it was? It was growing well in partial shade. Thanks! Adrian Higgins: Olive trees grow in hot, dry, well drained and generally poor soil in Mediterranean countries. They need lots of light and may well develop fungal diseases in the high humidity of our region. If it survives, I would lift it from its pot every second spring, examine the roots for constriction, and repot in a larger container if necessary.
Lilacs like a sunny site, well drained soil and a place where they can get some air circulation. Unlike the olive, they love to spend the winters outdoors, the colder the better.
Tomato Lady Waiting Breathlessly: A few weeks ago, you promised to answer "very soon" my question about whether to cut back unruly tomato plants or to let them wind around a trellis. When exactly should I look for your thoughts on that? My husband is chomping at the bit to buy that trellis, although our tomato plants are doing nothing but turning yellow these days. Adrian Higgins: I think the admonition was in advance of the column in last week's Home section by Barbara Damrosch on training tomato vines, which is either up a vertical string or with heavy duty wire mesh (the sort used to reinforce concrete) wrapped in a cylinder around each plant.
Harford County, Md.: Last spring I planted a lovely double-pink weeping cherry tree from a reputable garden center in my front yard (full sun). The drought only seemed to affect it slightly. This spring we enjoyed abundant flowers that lasted a seemingly long time (several weeks). However, the tree is not producing any leaves (only a few here and there). Other trees of this type in my neighborhood are filled with leaves. Should I cut back my branches to encourage new growth? Thanks. Adrian Higgins: Don't cut it back, it's not a perennial. Often young trees don't put on a lot of top growth until the roots have a year or two to establish. Be patient, but make sure too that it is not planted in standing water, which is a no no for cherries.
Vienna, Va.: Hi. I have a question about last weeks garden tip about cutting back certain perennials. I am very new to yard work and appreciate your help. I have planted some Black Eyed Susans this year and they look tall and healthy. Should I cut them back? Thanks a million. Adrian Higgins: They will certainly be bushier and later flowering if you do that. It is not one that I generally cut back because it does bloom earlier than some of the other candidates. As an experiment, cut some back and leave others and see which you prefer in terms of habit and bloom period.
Takoma Park, Md.: When can peony plants be moved? I have a peony that was planted over a decade ago by the former owner of the house in a spot that has since become very shady. The poor thing seems to be stretching to get to some sun and only produces one flower. Adrian Higgins: I think if you are very c areful not to damage roots and prepared to dig a large rootball that you could do it now. Make sure that the crown of the plant is set an inch or two below the soil surface. Enrich the soil of the new site.
Leda, Horticulture:
Japanese beetles. OK, this works for me. Hand pick them (I use a soapy water solution, Ivory soap). Then, after I have a handful or so of the little weezils, I pitch the whole mess in a blender, add a touch of oil, and WHIIRRR. Then spray or paint around. The idea is that the beetles release a fear phermone. Dunno if it's true, but it works for me for up to a week. Even if it doesn't work, there's a sick satisfaction in whirring the little buggers. Adrian Higgins: Sounds good. Just don't ask me around for a smoothie.
Alexandria, Va.: I have a bunch of "baby" Hellebores -- they are practically growing on top of each other. Is this a survival of the fittest situation where I let them duke it out or should I separate them by transplanting? I thought I had read that hellebores don't like to be transplanted but I would like to keep as many of them as possible -- it's a wonderful plant. Adrian Higgins: If you mean seedlings, you should dig them up very tenderly and replant them where they will have enough elbow room to grow. I would use them to form a shady groundcover.
Herndon, Va.: Should weeds be composted or thrown out? My wife says the weeds seeds remain but I think a "hot" compost pile should take care of those also. Adrian Higgins: I do not add them to the compost pile.
Annapolis, Md.: Thanks for taking my question. I planted tomato plants two weeks ago and have had nothing but rain since. Anything that I can do to help my plants through this over-abundance of rain? I usually Miracle Gro them, but haven't been able since the MG would just run off. Thanks. Adrian Higgins: Again, tomatoes are off to a very slow start due to the cold wet spring. I have not planted mine yet for that reason. Just keep an eye on them, the rain may encourage a petal blight and it will be important to pick off any yellow leaves and bag them. And mulch the plant bed to prevent blight spores from splashing on to the plant during a rain storm.
Herbville: My balcony smells wonderful, but I'm not sure the best way to harvest my treasures. Cilantro: pull the whole plant or leave a leaf on each stem? Basil: I know that pulling leaves will make it bushier, how tall should I let it grow before starting to make it bushy? I've bought organic plants, but the store doesn't sell organic soil -- is there such a thing? Where can I get a small quantity? Thanks! Adrian Higgins: Scissors. Snip a few stalks as you need them. Do not pull the whole plant. The leaves will grow back. Any standard soil mix should be organic, the only soil that should not be is a sterile mix you use for starting seeds or soil mixes that have chemical fertilizer as additives.
Arlington, Va.: I love the look of tall, spiky larkspur, delphinium, and foxgloves. I understand that delphinium do not like our hot and humid summers. When is a good time to plant this type of flower? Is it better to buy seed or plants? Thanks! Adrian Higgins: Don't try delphiniums in Washington, you're setting yourself up for disappointment. If you want a spiky perennial, consider verbascum, acanthus, red hot poker or liatris.
Shaw, Washington, D.C.: Hello, Is it too early to plant lettuce seeds? I planted several, but they've barely popped out of the soil after four weeks. Is it too cold? Thanks Adrian Higgins: This is great weather for lettuce seeds. However, if the soil is not well drained and nicely amended, you are planting seeds in cold wet clay, an environment conducive to sluggish germination and growth.
Springfield, Va.: How far down can I prune a forsythia hedge that has become an unmanagable 8 - 9 feet high? It is about 25-feet long and runs along my back yard fence. Adrian Higgins: You may want to consider chopping it all back to the ground and letting it resprout. It may take a couple of years to bloom decently but it will spring back smaller.
Alexandria, Va.: Eeeeek! I had standing pools of water in several of my garden beds during all the rain. They're gone now. Except in one spot, I don't think they lasted for more than a few hours (maybe a day, though?). I really worked on amending the soil in these areas and I'm bummed I didn't do a good enough job (I have heavy clay soil). Please, please, please, tell me this is a result of the unusual amount of rain we've had and not poor handiwork. Adrian Higgins: This has been an extraordinarily wet spring so some sogginess is permitted. Give the soil a few days to dry out and then poke around to see if things have drained. Don't walk on the soil. I would urge people to stay away from plant beds until we have had a few drying days.
Re: The Olive Tree: So what you're saying is that my visions of pressing my own olive oil won't happen? Darn, another business idea dashed on the cliffs of reality. Adrian Higgins: Yeah, but you would have to wait 80 years anyway to get a good crop. As a consolation, treat yourself to a large can of the best stuff.
Birdland, Md.: I have a shady spot under my kitchen window where I have placed bird feeders. They are very popular; the problem is, the birds are very messy which leads to lots of seed spouts under the feeders. Short of putting down slate which would eliminate the seed from sprouting, is there any dense ground cover that I could plant which wouldn't allow the spouting to occur. I've seen ground cover that is marketed as "Footables" or something to that effect that states that you can walk on it and not harm it. Do you think something like that would work? Any other ideas? Adrian Higgins: Maybe some liriope, it tends to knit together.
Clarksburg, Md. - Home of... something: Adrian, I'm rehabilitating a garden that was planted in clay without anything added to improve the soil. Azaleas were planted four years ago, but haven't grown hardly at all. I'm going to dump several inches of compost into the soil and use a rototiller to break up the ground, but I'd like to save the bushes that are there. I'll be doing the work this weekend, if it matters. Also, I want to plant a row of rhododendrons along a fence on a hill, full sun, but on the other side are a row of evergreen trees. Can they live together in peace and harmony? Lastly, the cats use the recently spread compost as their outhouse. Are my plants in any danger? Adrian Higgins: Rhododendrons like their faces in the sun but their feet in the shade, in draining but moisture retentive acidic soil. Azaleas are easily dug and replanted. I would wait a while before working the soil. In the current soggy state, you will damage its structure with a rototiller and your feet. Don't underestimate the amount of organic material old clay will eat up.
Alexandria, Va.: I've got a (?)fungal(?) growth on one of my Azaleas. It sort of looks like a hunk of yellow candle wax is clumped on the ends of a branch. It's pretty heavy so it weights this branch down a little. Should I do anything about it? Or live and let live? Thanks! Adrian Higgins: Snip it off and bag it, being careful not to disperse any spores.
Arlington, Va.: Do you know of an organic way to get rid of pill bugs? They have been eating my Foxgloves for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Thanks! Adrian Higgins: Possibly neem oil or insecticidal soap, or handpicking.
Arlington, Va.: Can you help with a lawn question? My front yard is flat and then proceeds gently downhill toward the sidewalk. In the last several years there have been mushrooms? Toadstools? Growing in an expanding area (now about six feet square)as the lawn heads down to the sidewalk. They are taking over and grow back when I try to remove them. What can I do? Adrian Higgins: Fungi in a way suggest health and the absence of fungicides. They come back because they are only the fruiting bodies or a much larger organism living beneath the ground. They also tend to grow where old tree roots are rotting quietly beneath the soil. Just be diligent about picking and bagging them.
Charlottesville, Va.: Good morning! I'm trying to start an herb garden in containers, and while all the herbs with songs named after them are doing really well (parsley, sage, etc.), my two basil plants are suffering. They both have long brown spots and stem damage on one side right where the stem meets the dirt. One seems to be growing, the other does not. Should I wait until it gets consistently warmer to see if they take off, or will they need to be replaced? Adrian Higgins: Sounds as if they might be getting a crown rot disease ferom all the rain. I would lift them and keep them in a pot until the soil dries. If they don't get better, ditch them and plant anew in a couple of weeks.
Leesburg, Va.: Please help diagnose my sick black cherry tree! It was tall, thin, and healthy until a storm came and broke it in half about three years ago. Each spring it shows a lot of new shoots and growth on it, but about two weeks after the lush green appears, every single leaf on the tree promptly shrivels up and falls off. I can't seem to find any evidence on the tree that I can blame for the problem. Any ideas? Adrian Higgins: This is something of a weed tree, and if it is ugly and ailing I wouldn't be averse myself to pulling it and planting something else. I don't know what the ailment is, it might be fire blight, the solution for which is simply cutting out the affected branches, dipping the pruners in a sterilizing bath of bleach between snips.
Washington, D.C.: I planted some spinach seeds in two long planters on my balcony several weeks ago. The planters are now thick with about inch tall greens. If I don't thin these plants, will their quality be curtailed drastically? Will only their size be affected? Adrian Higgins: They will grow into each other and be forever destined to be weak and spindly. Be ruthless, thin them to about three inches apart, and thin again if necessary.
Keystone Heights, Fla.: I have Chestnut trees that are three and four years old. They are not producing nuts. I have fertilized and water the trees. Can you tell me what else I need to do? Adrian Higgins: Chestnuts do not have male and female trees, I think, the pistillate and staminate blooms are on the same tree. However, the planting of many trees does allow cross pollination which always improves fruit set. Your trees also are still young and may not be of bearing age.
Alexandria, Va.: Hey, Mr. Higgins, how are you doing today? I want to start a compost pile this year. I have one bag of grass clippings and I can collect more over the summer. Will the grass clippings be my source of nitrogen? If, so what do I balance this with? What I mean is, what goes in a compost pile? Adrian Higgins: A balancing ingredient would be leaves, most of which have disappeared if they were raked last fall. You can go to the city of alexandria's leaf mulch yard on Eisenhower Avenue and help yourself to bags of shredded leaf mulch to add to your pile.
Springfield, Va.: In the fall of 2001, I planted numerous Allium Globemaster bulbs. Last spring I was treated to a spectacular show. This year I haven't seen a single bloom. Should I have dug these bulbs up for the winter? Can I only expect one year of bloom? Adrian Higgins: I too have found alliums to be short lived, especially the larger flowering ones such as Schubertii and giganteum.
Washington, D.C.: I have beautiful peonies that I would like to bring into the house, but are there any tricks for getting rid of the ants? Adrian Higgins: I wonder if you were to put out a capful of honey or sugar water the day before to lure them away. Anyway friends, another great hour has come to a close. In a month we will be looking back on the soggy spring with affection as we wrestle with hoses.
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