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I bought the most beautiful Bougainvillea hanging basket but cannot get it to
rebloom very well. I water and fertilize regularly and it gets plenty of sun.
Does it need to be repotted or is there a trick to making them bloom better?
If your Bougainvillea basket is hanging in full sun, it sounds like you may be
giving it too much TLC or applying a fertilizer with too much nitrogen.
Bougainvillea responds much better to abuse than the average summer heat-lover.
They like to be root-bound, so don
’t be anxious about repotting it. Most nursery professionals would tell you to
use a Bougainvillea or Hibiscus fertilizer to make your basket bloom. While I
recommend these products for normal use, there is a method I have used for
several years that has never failed to produce an abundance of colorful bracts.
Start by purchasing a high-phosphorous water-soluble fertilizer. These
typically have an analysis of 12-55-6 or 9-59-8. Withhold water until the
Bougainvillea gets significantly wilted, but not to the point that the leaves
dry out and become crisp. This may only take a couple of days in our summer
heat. When the plant is heavily wilted, water using the label recommended rate
of high-phosphorous fertilizer solution. Repeat this process two more times.
After the third stress-and-fertilize cycle, begin watering with clear water at
normal intervals. Every other day is probably often enough. Just make sure your
watering frequency allows the soil to dry from the previous irrigation before
watering again. Within a couple of weeks your basket will have more color than
when you bought it. Then you can begin using a Bougainvillea-specific
fertilizer every 3-4 weeks. Shape as needed because Bougainvillea blooms on new
growth. Bougainvillea planted in the landscape should not be pruned or
fertilized late in the growing season to help harden-off the plant before
winter.
I really like the look of Canna Lilies, but find them to be invasive. Can you
suggest a way to keep them confined to where I plant them?
Unfortunately, the only way to keep Cannas from spreading beyond your desired
location is to dig and divide them. But there are a couple of things you can do
to make this task easier. If you want to plant Cannas in a single spot in your
flower bed this is a good opportunity to recycle a used nursery pot. I have
taken a large nursery pot, buried it in my landscape where I wanted my Cannas,
then filled the pot with soil and planted the Cannas in the center of the
buried pot. When I saw the expanded clump of Cannas pushing heavily on all
sides of the buried pot, I knew it was time to dig and divide. The buried pot
kept the Cannas from multiplying beyond what I could control. I have also used
them in a linear pattern by using a buried length of metal landscape edging on
both sides of my planting, connecting at the ends. Over time you may get some
“escapes” that grow under the edging or the edging may weaken with age, but it keeps them
in check for a few years and makes digging and dividing easier.
With the drought we had this summer, the only thing in my landscape that thrived
was nutgrass. I tried pulling it at first but it has continued to spread. How
do I get this out of my lawn without killing my grass?
A wise woman who taught me much in my horticultural life once told me the only
way to get rid of nutgrass was to call your real estate agent and move. With
the housing market being what it is, thankfully there are now more
cost-effective means of control. While commonly called nutgrass, nutsedge is
the more precise term. Good cultural practices are the best means of
controlling nutsedge in turf. Regular watering, fertilization and preemergent
herbicide applications, along with proper mowing height, all help establish
healthy turf, which makes it difficult for nutsedge to compete in the lawn.
Although commercially available preemergent herbicides are not labeled for
control of nutsedge, they control other weed species that compete for the water
and nutrients available for your lawn. Nutsedge will inevitably find a spot or
two in your yard where it can grow, flourishing under adverse conditions.
Trying to pull up nutsedge often breaks it off at soil level, leaving the
tubers and rhizomes of the root system intact to multiply and return. It can be
dug up to ensure the entire removal of the weed, but this is far more time and
labor intensive than using a simple chemical control. The best and easiest way
to control nutsedge is by using a herbicide called SedgeHammer
TM. SedgeHammer will not hurt your lawn if used according to label specifications
and provides excellent control. After applying SedgeHammer (along with a
surfactant), it takes about 10-14 days before the weed will turn yellow
—so be patient. Complete kill can take 3-4 weeks. Evaluate the need for a second
application when you can clearly see the yellowing or browning from the first
application. If you have new patches of healthy nutsedge, a second application
will usually be all you need for complete control in otherwise healthy turf.
I decided to grow tomatoes for the first time this year. I have two plants in
large pots that have continued to produce, even through the summer heat. It
does not seem to be killing the plants but many of the leaves have squiggly
lines on them. What is causing this?
Vegetable leafminers are the larvae from a species of fly that feed on the
tissue between the upper and lower leaf surface of tomatoes and other
vegetables. When the eggs hatch, the larvae
“mine” snake-like feeding tunnels through the leaf which are narrow at the egg end and
widen as the larvae develop. These pests usually do not cause more than
aesthetic damage, but heavy infestations can cause numerous leaves to die which
can slow plant growth and yield or may cause sunscald on the fruit. The damage
to the leaf tissue also creates a potential entry point for bacterial or fungal
disease pathogens. Whenever possible, I try to avoid pesticide applications on
edibles by picking off the affected leaves. When infestations reach levels
where this is no longer practical, organic insecticides containing neem oil or
Spinosad are an effective control, and most are safe to apply up to the day of
harvest. For best results, spray every 2 weeks rotating between neem oil and
Spinosad. This rotation may be used preventatively and will also help control
worms, thrips and other vegetable pests.
I have Sago Palms that look sick. The fronds are yellowing and they have white
flakes on the leaves that look like drops of paint. Is this some kind of
disease and how do I cure it?
It sounds like you’ve got cycad scale. This is becoming more prevalent and has led to quarantines
in Texas nurseries in recent years. This is a sucking insect that can do
significant damage to your Sago Palm if not caught and controlled quickly.
Environmentally friendly products like Ultra-Fine Oil
TM or Bonide All Seasons Horticultural OilTM can be used to control scale but should not be used when temperatures will reach
90 degrees or higher. Since we are in the heat of summer, I recommend using a
liquid drench insecticide containing the active ingredient Imidicloprid. These
products are usually labeled as tree and shrub insecticides and are mixed with
water then poured around the base of the plant. This method only requires one
application and provides excellent season-long control. If you prefer a spray
application, using any liquid insecticide containing Acephate, Acetamiprid,
Imidicloprid or Malathion will prove effective in one or two applications.
