Recent Q&As
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Q&A – When is the best time to prune figs?
Question:
When is the best time to prune a fig tree? Answer: The best time to prune figs is after the last frost, but before there is new growth. Retired UT Extension Agent Mike Dennison says if in doubt, err on the side of later. The cold weather may kill tissue so you want to wait until you can see what is dead and what survived the winter. Related Resources: Home Garden Figs Figs in the Home Planting |
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Q&A – Should I avoid wood chip mulching to reduce fungus on my raspberry/blackberry hybrid?
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I've gotten orange rust fungus under the leaves of my purple raspberry/blackberry hybrid. Should I avoid wood chip mulching as that would promote the fungus on my raspberry/blackberry hybrid? Answer: The fallen leaves are what will harbor the fungus not the mulch. University of Memphis Director of Landscaping, Joellen Dimond recommends picking up the leaves and disposing of them when they fall. Retired UT Extension Agent Mike Dennison agrees and gives some information on what fungicide to use if this problem happens every year. Related Resources: Orange rust on raspberry Orange Rust of Brambles |
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Q&A – What tore up my grass?
Question:
Something or someone attacked our backyard grass this weekend. Nothing else back there is disturbed, but it looks like someone took a shovel and scraped up pieces of the sod. I do not see any deep holes or claw marks. I saw some similar images on-line that indicate raccoons. Hopefully it was raccoons or squirrels, just having a crazy night. Our cat has been acting strange the past couple of days. She was so glad when we finally let her show us. I suspect human activity, but my husband thinks it is a varmint. Answer: This was an armadillo. Armadillos feed on insects and grub worms which live just underground. Retired UT Extension Agent Mike Dennison talks about armadillos and gives options to get id of them. Mike referenced an extension publication that can be found here Related Resources: Nine-Banded Armadillo Controlling Armadillo Damage in Alabama |
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Q&A - Why are the leaves of my rubber tree plant curling?
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Why are the leaves of my rubber tree plant curling under? Answer: This could be insect damage or environmental stress. University of Memphis Director of Landscaping, Joellen Dimond says it could also be because of uneven moisture in the soil. She recommends keeping the plant on the dry side of moist. They don’t require a lot of water. Related Resources: Rubber Plant Ficus elastica |
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Q&A – What kind of tree is this? -A: Sumac
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This tree was in the backyard, when we moved in. Can you please tell me what it is. Should we keep it? Answer: UT Extension Horticulture Specialist Carol Reese identifies this as a smooth sumac. She says that sumac will form a colony if you don’t keep up with it and remove the root suckers. An individual plant could grow to about 20’. If it is a female it will have clusters of red berries in the fall which provide the main source of winter food to bluebirds. Related Resources: Plant of the Week: Sumac, Smooth Smooth Sumac Sumac |
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Q&A – I have a strange bloom on my tomato plant. What is it?
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I have a tomato plant in full sun in a container. Today, I noticed a peculiar bloom on it. It looked like a sunflower with a number of regular tomato blooms surrounding it. Is this normal? What type of tomato plant makes this flower? Has it been cross bred with something else? Answer: Many larger fruited tomato varieties will occasionally produce these large blooms – called megablooms. It is where several ovaries have fused together. The large flower will form a very large but misshapen fruit. This happens on tomato varieties like Beefsteak and Big Zac. Related Resources: Tomato Growing Tomatoes in the Home Garden |
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Q&A - Is fall a good time to divide my hostas?
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Is now a good time to divide my hostas? Answer: UT Extension Horticulture Specialist Carol Reese says you can divide a hosta any time of year. They are tough. Fall offers a good time to let their roots get established over the winter. Alabama A&M University Extension Specialist Rudy Pacumbaba recommends pulling them apart instead of cutting the root ball to reduce damage to the plantlets. Related Video: Dividing Hostas Related Resources: Hostas Growing Hostas |
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Q&A – How do I prune my new raspberry plants?
Question:
This past spring I planted some red everbearing raspberry plants. They are primocords so I wanted to know how to prune them later this winter. I don’t want to ruin them as they don’t produce this coming spring. Please advise. Answer: There are two different kinds of raspberry (biennial[primocane/floricane] and everbearing) and each has its own pruning requirements. UT Extension Horticulture Specialist Carol Reese describes how primocane/floricane raspberries work. The plant will send up a primocane that will not bloom or set fruit the first year. The second year the same cane is called a floricane and will bloom and fruit. It will then die and can be removed. While the floricane is fruiting the plant will send up a new primocane for next year. Pruning consists of removing the floricane after it dies. The primocane can also be tipped to increase fruiting the next year. Everbearing raspberries fruit on the first year’s cane and then again on the same cane the next year. Alabama A&M University Extension Specialist Rudy Pacumbaba says the canes will fruit from the top down. In the winter or early spring prune off the part of the cane that has already fruited. The rest of the cane will fruit again the next year. As it is not definitive what kind of raspberry plants these are, do not prune until after next year. That way you can see if they are primocane or everbearing and prune correctly. Related Resources: Pruning and Training Caneberries (Blackberries and Raspberries) Growing Raspberries in the Home Garden |
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Q&A – When is the best time to plant daffodils?
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When is the best time to plant daffodils? Answer: Daffodils should be planted after the ground has cooled. UT Extension Horticulture Specialist Carol Reese says if the bulbs have already gotten a little chill they might immediately come up if planted in warm ground. Alabama A&M University Extension Specialist Rudy Pacumbaba recommends making sure the soil is moist and they are planted right side up. They should be planted in a hole three times as deep as the bulb is tall. They do not require any fertilizer or soil amendments. Related Videos: Planting Bulbs Related Resources: Spring Flowering Bulbs: Daffodils Spring-Flowering Bulbs |