Gardeners Supply Plant Care & Gardening Advice/Tips/Secrets @ HortChat.com®

The deer have nibbled off many of the branches of two Rose of Sharon bushes. Can I trim the branches now to make it look better or should I wait? Some of the branches were eaten almost to the ground and I am afraid that it will look bad as well as take away from branches that will grow.

Late winter before bud break is a good time to prune your Rose of Sharon, Althea (Hibiscus syriacus) . They are moderate growers but will fill in nicely after the severe pruning by deer. Cut out any dead branches and try to even out all the stems so you don’t have an odd shaped shrub.   They bloom on the current seasons growth  (new growth), therefore should reward you with lots of flowers  in late summer.

My lucky bamboo has a gel like substance in the roots and I am wondering if  I should rinse it out or leave it there?

The jelly-like substance is a polyacrylamide, white crystal granules that swell up like a sponge and  holds up to 200 times its weight in water. It is not harmful to the roots.  In fact, it reduces the need for watering as it slowly releases the absorbed water over an extended period of time. Once all the moisture is gone, the gel shrinks back to its original size and will need to be rehydrated.  This polymer will not harm the plant, perhaps save you some watering time. You can leave it or rinse  off the slippery gel.  Lucky bamboo stalks are often shipped in this polymer to maintain moisture on the roots.

I received a potted Calla lily as a gift and don’t know anything about it.  I would like some information on how to care for it.

A potted Calla lily will usually bloom for 4-6 weeks. They do well in bright filtered light in the winter months and partial shade in the summer and prefer temperatures of 70-85F in summer and 60-75F in the winter/spring. Cooler temperatures will help keep the plant and flowers longer. Keep the soil evenly moist but not soggy. Wet soil can lead to a fungus rot that affects the roots and rhizome.  It is important  to allow the water to drain from the bottom of the pot.  During active growth and blooming  feed your Calla every 2-3 weeks with a well-balanced fertilizer.

When the plant  stops blooming and the leaves start to yellow and die back, reduce watering and let the soil dry. Clip off all brown foliage and store the tuber in a cool (42-45F)  spot for a resting period of 2-3 months and as long as 8-10 months.   This period is important for tuber renewal. Calla tubers can also be stored in paper bag or cardboard box in slightly moistened peat, perlite or vermiculite.  In late winter/spring, replant the tuber in pots of fresh, loose soil.  Colored callas planted in the spring will bloom in summer and then go dormant in the fall.
If you live in zone 8-10  Calla lily can also be planted outdoors and left year round.  In cooler climates they need to be dug up before frost.

How to prevent weeds in the bushes and flowed beds and evergreen beds? Is early spring the best to apply or is that too late? Where do you get this post emergent herbicide and what it is? I have a huge 3 acres to maintain.

I am also interested to get some information about growing green tree farm. As I mentioned on the top I have 3 acres of property which is some area is trees but I want to get rid of them and clean and raise a green tree farm either christmas trees or pine trees or any green trees that doesnt require maintenance and also looks cleaner. How much it costs and where and when do I start? Can I do that? Please advise.
thank you for your help pl.

The center of my African Violets are leaved very tightly and not blooming. They look like healthy plants otherwise. I have tried to thin the packed leaves but it doesn’t help.
What do I do now?

First check for cyclamen mites a serious pest of African violets. These tiny arachnids like to hide in the growing center of the plant causing leaves to curl up and dry, grow tight center leaves, deform, twist and stunt the leaves-giving them a grayish or discolored appearance. They feed by sucking on plant sap and inject toxins that disrupt normal growth. If you take a magnifying glass and look in the crown or creases of the leaves you may see small eight legged creatures.  Cyclamen mites thrive in high humid (80-90%) and warm temperatures in the 60’s. 
To treat for cyclamen mite: Isolate the plant from all others to prevent infesting other plants. An old -fashioned treatment is to plunge the plant in a pot of 115 degree water bath for 15 minutes-which should kill the mites but not the plant. After treatment, place the plant in another area so that it doesn’t get re-infested.  Another method is to spray the plant with Neem (check label directions before spraying) or treat with a miticide labeled for indoor use such as Avid, Akari or Bonide Mite-X.  Once you get rid of the mites and removing the dried distorted leaves from the center,  it may take some time for the plant to return to a normal growing pattern.

The second possibility is that the African violet is getting either too much light or too much fertilizer causing the leaves to form a tight compact rosette in the center of the plant.

Do you know of a home remedy for fungus on a bamboo plant?
It would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Kathy Fink

I recently moved to Jacksonville, Florida and we planted a pair of bougainvilleas 20 months ago. They seemed to thrive last year even through the winter and are now about 5-6 feet tall. Then last week we had a rare freeze where the temperature dropped to approximately 20 degrees F. Now the plants have lost all their leaves. Is there any hope the the plants will survive and is there anything I can do to help at this point? We also had some injury to our mature hibiscus plants. Any help would be appreciated.

Bougainvilleas can recover from some frost damage as long as the roots were not frozen. Not much you can do at this point but wait and see .  Wait until all danger of  frost has passed in your area.  See if some of the damaged branches recover.  They may surprise you and resprout with new growth in the spring. Prune your bougainvillea in early spring,  if you prune too early and get hit by another frost any new growth will be especially sensitive to frost. You can prune the plant by 1/2 or cut away and trim thin and leggy growth in the spring and begin fertilizing monthly once it starts growing. If another frost is eminent cover your plant with a blanket.  Hibiscus are treated the same way.  Hopefully, your plants will recover and return twice as beautiful.