In depth gardening advice from an expert gardener
 
TheGardenLady received an amazing PowerPoint presentation of topiaries, but doesn’t know who created it and would like to give credit for it.   Click this praxim1.pps, hit open and then enjoy.
Does anyone know the location of these topiaries?
Does anyone know other photos of great garden sites?
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TheGardenLady has been writing about a hardinessTemperature Zone Map for use when planning and planting your gardens. For those readers who wonder what TheGardenLady is writing about, let me explain.
There are a number of factors/needs that are involved in growing plants. For example, each plant has its special water needs, special soil needs or special fertilizer needs, etc. to allow it to grow to its optimum best. One of the important factors in raising plants outdoors is the temperature plants need to allow them to metabolize properly.  Plants grow best within a range of temperatures; for some plants the temperature range will be narrow and for others the range can be wider. Plants also differ in their ability to survive frost.
Continue reading “Hardiness Temperature Zones: What Zone Will Make My Plant Happy?”
TheGardenLady received this question from Julia.
How do I prepare my KNOCK-OUT Roses for winter?
KNOCK-OUT Roses were bred to be almost maintenance free. So, if you live in zone 5 or a warmer climate, winter maintenance is minimal.
The KNOCK-OUT rose site says that “Knock-Out Roses were bred with greater cold weather tolerance to relieve the northern gardener of the need to apply and remove winter protection materials and the necessity to replace winter killed plants when protection failed.”
That being said, mulch the roses with leaves or hard wood AFTER the first hard frost – you want the ground to be frozen solid.*  If you want, you can burlap the rose plant. Burlaping will also prevent the deer from eating the rose bushes. If the roses are in pots, the pots should either be buried in the ground or brought into the garage. The pot does not give adequate protection to the roots during the cold, freezing winter.
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TheGardenLady received this question from Dawn:
Someone gave me a mother inlaw plant and said it lives outside and that I couldnt kill it, but it looks like its dying now…will it die in the winter and rebloom in the summer?
Plants that will grow outdoors all year long come from a place that has a similar climate to the one that you live in. Sansevieria comes from Tropical Africa.
Zone 6, where I live, is too cold for the Sansevieria trifasciata (Latin name) or mother-in-law’s tongue plant (one of the common names for this plant) to leave outdoors in the late fall, winter and spring. As tough as the plant is, it cannot tolerate very cold or freezing weather and in colder zones is used primarily as an indoor plant.
Since you do not tell me what temperature zone or area of the country/world you live in, I cannot tell you if the plant can be outdoors over winter in your area. Do you live in a tropical zone?
Besides not being able to live outdoors in cold weather where it will die, Sanseviera cannot tolerate overwatering or it will get root rot and also die. See TheGardenLady.org column Mother-in -Law Plant here.
TheGardenLady received this question from Tamara –
I am looking for a list of plants that love acid soil and are edible – blueberries are one that springs to mind. Are there others? I need a range of shrubs and smaller plants to go as a border. I’m replacing a camellia that is way too big for the space it’s in, and a couple of other plants in the same area that do well but were neglected by the people who lived here before us.
You have requested plants for your garden that needs acid loving plants. The three most popular acid loving shrubs that comes to mind are rhododendrons, azaleas and hollies. There are dwarf hybrid and species rhododendrons and azaleas and also dwarf hollies if you have a small garden. You can even plant rosa rugosa in acid soil. A short list of some acid loving plants are kalmia-mountain laurel, conifers, ferns, hydrangea, magnolias. Not knowing how acid your soil is, included is a list of ph tolerant trees. I do not know where you live, but most of the soil in NJ is slightly acidic and Rutgers has an excellent fact sheet about plants needing acidic soil.
                                                                        
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TheGardenLady received this question from John.
I have vinca that I planted about 25 days ago in St.Louis, Mo in a sunny location. The leaves of all 40 vinca plants have turned yellow! What is causing this? I water them daily. Do they need fertilizer? When I planted them, I mulched this bed with cypress mulch.
Vinca plants do not have a lot of problems and love hot weather. They should be planted in well drained soil. Vinca plants do not like a lot of watering. Once established vinca plants need little care beyond watering occasionally. Watering daily is too much.The plants do not want mulch which keeps the ground too moist. Read this about vincas.Â
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The newer varieties of vinca also need a judicious amount of fertlizer.  Read this.
TheGardenLady has been answering questions for months. The strange thing is that TheGardenLady has never received any comments. For example, a comment may have been: “HELP! I find your column interesting reading because you recommend great plants that I would like to grow, but I can’t find them in the stores near me or they are too expensive. What should I do? ”
Well, TheGardenLady would like to address her own “comment” by telling her readers where to buy perennial plants and to pay cheap prices for these plants. The nursery is called Russell Gardens Wholesale Perennials and Herbs at P.O. Box 702 Richboro, PA 18954 – Phone # is 215 322 4799 and Fax # is 215 322 9884 The nursery is located at 600 New Road in Churchville, PA 18966. They are open Mon-Fri from 8am to noon and reopen from 1pm to 5pm. Saturday they are open 8am to noon. Closed Sundays and holidays.
Continue reading “Tip: A Great Nursery to Buy Perennial Plants and Herbs”
                                                                     
TheGardenLady received this question from Greg.
I want to make a decorative bed on the side of my house. This area gets about 2-3 hours of morning sun. There is a lot of moss there and even grass is hard to grow in this area. I am going to put down a foot of fresh topsoil and mulch it. I am thinking of putting in ferns, hosta, burning bush but I need a nice center piece. What will grow there? Maybe a butterfly bush? Any suggestions?
From your email, it sounds like your house blocks the sun, your ground is compacted and moist plus your soil is acidic. This is the ideal environment for mosses. So why fight it? Work with what nature gives you. Create a moss garden. Forget bringing in topsoil and mulch and making hard work for yourself. It is always easiest to go with what you have. This is the idea for Japanese gardens, especially in Kyoto. Look at photos of Japanese gardens and you will see that the more moss the better. Two of the loveliest gardens on the East coast are moss gardens – David Benner’s Moss Garden  in NJ and La Foret in Penna. (This garden may be up for sale since the owner and his wife are elderly) Moss gardens are unique and very calmingly beautiful. Someone visiting David Benner’s Moss Garden felt that she had had an epiphany from the experience.
                                                                          
TheGardenLady received this question from Sammy.
I am trying to grow marigolds on my balcony. They were already partially grown when I got them and were already flowering now they are starting to get lots of flowers and the leaves are starting to fall off. I need some advice on pruning them. Is there anything else I need to do to care for them? Also I kept one of the dead flowers that fell off because I was told they hold the seeds of the plant that I can then replant. Is there anything special I need to do before I plant them.
Some people think that the marigold is the easiest flower to raise. See here.  However, that being said, they do need lots of sunshine – the more the better. Marigolds like continuously warm or hot weather – not cold and hot weather – after all most of the marigolds we have in the US come from Mexico. They like to be watered but don’t like to be over watered – water twice a week in dry times. Too much rain can be bad for them so be sure the pots have good drainage. And though marigolds generally don’t seem to have many problems, they can have problems. See here. Your leaves falling off may be a sign that something is wrong.
                                                                     
TheGardenLady received this question from Abe:
I have this Rhododendron in my front yard that is not blooming, and seems sick, and I don’t know why. My neighbor says that it has a fungus on it. Do you have any ideas about how to cure an unhealthy rhododendron?Â
There are many good sites on the web that talk about typical rhododendron problems. Here’s one good site about rhododendron problems that might be of help.
However the best way to find out what is happening to your rhododendron is to take in a good sized sample of your rhododendron WITH the dying parts of the plant to your local Master Gardener Extension office to have your specific problem identified. The MGs will tell you if your problem is a typical problem and if it is, how to handle it. They will recommend solutions. The MGs prefer a non chemical solution. Without seeing a sample, TheGardenLady can just guess what is wrong.