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Something Bugging Your Marigolds?

                                                                            

TheGardenLady received this question from Joyce.

I love marigolds but am unable to keep them healthy. I have had the same problem in the past and gave up on them for a while. Now several years later the problem still persists. The foliage looks fine but the flowers and buds (all stages) are full of worms. They are about 1/8-1/4 inch size, vary from brown to beige in color and leave behind a sawdust-like residue on the flower. They burrow into the seed pod and even flowers that look unaffected have the critters inside. None of my other annuals are affected. They are all grown in containers on a balcony. Any thoughts and any treatment suggested would be welcome.

Marigolds, Latin name Tagetes, are usually one of the easiest annual flowers to raise because they have so few pest problems. In fact, they are often used to prevent problems for other plants because they get rid of nematodes in the soil. They are used as companion plants.   See here.  

But like most plants, Marigolds like to have their environment just as it was in their place of origin. Marigolds, in spite of some of their names, originated in Mexico and Central America. There they had lots of sun and not too rich soil. Marigolds, if raised in an area where they do not get the conditions they want are more susceptible to problems.  See here.

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Veggie Garden Help

                                                                            

TheGardenLady received this question from Carrie.

This is the second year that I have tried to grow a veggie garden in south east Washington.  The location is the previous owners’ garden location.  I know I have plenty of water and fertilizer but my plants still insist on being small and not very impressive.  I’m running out of ideas.  How can I improve my garden?

The first thing you must do to help answer your gardening problem is to get a soil test. This will give you the most important answer to what is causing problems in your veggie garden. Every good gardener or farmer has his soil tested every few years. And even if someone had success with their garden, soil needs amendments every few years to bring it up to its optimum level.

How do you get a soil test? The easiest answer is to go to your local Master Gardener Office (some of the phone numbers can be found here or at your state agricultural extension office-call them and they will probably tell you to go to the Master Gardener Office which is really part of the state agricultural extension- and buy a soil testing kit. This kit will cost you just a few dollars- in TheGardenLady’s state the kit cost less than $15.  The people selling you the kit will tell you how to use the kit plus the instructions are in the kit for you to review when you get home and are doing the work.

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Tip: A Great Nursery to Buy Perennial Plants and Herbs

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.

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Hosta Flowers

                                                                        

TheGardenLady received this question from Anne.

My row of hostas is at the edge of a wooded area and don’t seem to have many flowers.  We live in the Midwest and I am wondering when flowering should occur and how to promote flowers.

Though Hostas like to be in shade, just like most flowering plants, with more light and even some sun, hostas will bloom more. If you know the type of hosta you have, you might check on its flowering ability. It is a possibility that your hostas don’t flower very much. There are many hostas out there yet much work is being done on hybridizing newer and better hostas. One of the improvements being worked on is better flowering.  See here.

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Create a Moss Garden

                                                                     

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.

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Mother-in-Law Plant

                                                                        

TheGardenLady received this question from Beverly.

I have a mother-in-law plant that has funny looking flowers that came up. It is sweet smelling. But it attracts wasps!! i have never heard or seen one bloom. Can you tell me where I can see a picture of the flower ?

Congratulations on your Sansevieria’s (mother-in-law’s tongue plant’s) blooming. You are treating your plant well to have it bloom.  A website that shows the flower is this.

The flower has so much nectar and sweetness, I would imagine that it would attract bees or wasps. I kept my plant indoors when it was in bloom so that my house benefited from the fragrance and no insect came near the flower.

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Caring for Marigolds

                                                                          

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.

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Rhododendron Blues

                                                                     

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? 

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.

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Hostas

                                                                        

TheGardenLady received this question from Kevin:

I have a very small front area,very small,2’x25′ with very little sun.  I was thinking about some kind of ornamental grass for height and some other colorful flowers. Any ideas?

For a shaded, narrow, long garden, foliage interest might be what you are looking for. Hostas are definitely a plus for any shade garden.  Hostas have many leaf sizes. They are designated as tiny, dwarf, small, medium, large and giant. The leaves have a broad range of different green  colors-some of the leaves are yellowish and blueish as well as dark or light green or white with green, etc.- to make an interesting cool color palette. Many hostas send up flowers that are butterfly attractants and are fragrant. The hostas used to be considered in the lily family because of the flowers.  Check out the Hosta Library site for all the different hostas.  Or look at another Hosta website.

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Romeo and Juliet Pansies

                                                                        

TheGardenLady received this queston from Samantha.

How do you grow (Romeo & Juliet mixed color) pansies? Are they a shade pansy?

Plant these fragrant pansies in the  Autumn/Winter.  They like cool weather to bloom. They hate hot weather.  In cool weather they will give you two seasons of bloom – first in the fall and then again in late winter.

They have high Frost tolerance- +++ (high)

Position them in full sun to part shade

Usage: Ideal for bedding, borders, rockeries and containers

Available as: seedlings

A good link that tells about planting Romeo and Juliet pansy seeds is this.