Q & A

Dear Rebecca,
I have lilac bushes that haven’t bloomed the last few years. I noticed again this year that there are hardly any buds. What’s going on? We lightly prune them every year to keep in shape but nothing drastic.
-Lisa Martin, Milwaukee, WI

Lisa,
I’m afraid you keep cutting off the blooms! Sounds like you are pruning the wrong time. Spring blooming shrubs like lilacs, azaleas etc., set bloom during the growing season. So if you prune any later than 6 weeks after they bloom, you will cut off next year’s blooms.So this year DON’T prune. Let them bloom next spring and IF you must prune, do it right after the blossoms fade.

Hey Rebecca,

Here’s a great tip my father-in-law taught me. Plant summer bulbs into two-gallon plastic containers instead of directly into the soil and plant the bucket right in the garden. Cover the base with mulch to conceal the top lip of the container. Then when it’s time to dig up your bulbs, they are already self-contained and can be placed, bucket, soil, and all right in the garage throughout the winter.
-Denice Lacher, Anoka, Minnesota

Thanks, Denice, what a great idea! I’ll definitely put this one to the test especially since I damaged many of my bulbs last year as I dug them up.

Dear Rebecca,
We hope to get some pruning done this year. When I was a kid, my father always painted the trees he cut with white paint. Is this necessary? Can I use any kind of paint?
-Bob Jenkins, Salt Lake City, Utah

Dear Bob,
Your dad, my dad, and many others did the same thing years ago because it was believed that paint helped seal the wound preventing insect damage and disease. Times have changed however. Research shows that painting a wound does not prevent decay. In fact in some cases the painting actually created a breeding ground for decay. Trees have the amazing ability to seal their wounds. So if you plan on pruning this season, do it right and the tree will heal itself.

Dear Rebecca,
I’ll be moving within the next few weeks and want to take my tulips and hyacinths with me to replant at my new home. They have already started to come up (just the green tips of the leaves). Can I uproot them or will it damage the bulbs? I want to take these bulbs for sentimental reasons and don’t want to run the risk of damage by uprooting them improperly. Can you give me some advice in this regard?
-Betty Miller, Cherry Hill, Pennsylvania

Dear Betty,
You can transplant them while they are growing or blooming if you do it carefully. Prepare the new planting area ahead of time; dig out the area and amend the soil. Water your bulbs the day before you plan to move them. When you dig them up keep as much of the surrounding soil as possible intact so that you have not only the bulb itself, but also the root system around and beneath it. Replant immediately into the prepared hole and water them. If you have taken enough of the root ball, they won’t even know they’ve been moved.

Dear Rebecca,
My 20-year-old lilac bushes bloom profusely each spring with purple flowers, but last year all the flowers were white. Why? We pruned heavily last year, which is the only thing I did differently from past years.
-Tim Jones, Edina, Minnesota

Dear Tim,
You probably pruned past the bud graft union on the plant and the lilac reverted back to its parentage or native state. To get purple flowered lilacs back, you’ll have to plant a new shrub.

Dear Rebecca,
Our daylilies used to bloom nicely, but last season many of them didn’t bloom at all. What happened?
-Lisa and Tom Higgins, Minneapolis, Minnesota

It sounds like your lilies are feeling a bit overcrowded. Once established, daylilies need dividing every few years. When kept in close quarters too long, their dense fibrous roots form masses and flower production tends to slow down or even stop. You need to dig them up and divide them. Typically they prefer being divided after they have bloomed in late summer, but daylilies are tough plants and will endure a division in early spring.

To divide them this spring, insert a pitchfork deep into the soil around the entire rootball. This will help loosen the soil allowing the roots to be pulled up easier. Continue around the plant until you can pull it up. Then using a sharp spade, cut through the clump to make new divisions. Replant the divisions by digging a hole 18- inches deep and wider than the roots. Create a small mound at the base of the hole. Place the crown on top of the mound and cover with soil that has been mixed with compost and manure. (The crown should end up about one and a half inches below the soil surface.) Each plant should be spaced about two feet apart.

Dear Rebecca,
How can we get rid of moles in our lawn? We have kids and pets and refuse to use any toxic treatment. Is there anything organic that will work?
-Evan Walberg, Houston, Texas

Dear Evan,
Where there are moles, typically there are grubs. Grubs feed on the roots of grass; moles feed on the grubs, both of which can kill your lawn. The key is to tackle the grub issue, which should take care of the moles, but will also prevent the grubs from turning into Japanese Beetles.

I’ve had both and found “Milky Spore” to be quite effective. Milky spore is the common name for spores of the bacterium Bacillus popillae. It doesn’t work all in one season, but when used two to three seasons it can be very effective.

As the grubs ingest the spores, they become infected and die, each releasing one to two billion spores back into the soil. Milky spore disease can suppress the development of large beetle populations.

Since each adult female will lay between 40 and 60 eggs in your lawn before she dies, you can see how fast the population of grubs in your lawn can grow.

Dear Rebecca,
My husband and I are moving into a new home soon. We’ll be doing all the landscaping. As we’ve been shopping for shrubs we notice the same plant in three different sizes. Is one size better than the others?
-Carol Summers, Brookfield, Wisconsin

Dear Carol,
No, the biggest difference in the containers will be the price. Obviously the bigger plants will be most expensive. If you absolutely need that bigger look now, go for the bigger container. But do remember within about three to four years they all will be the same size. So if you can wait, and you’re on a budget, smaller pots are your ticket. It’s important to space smaller plants according to directions. They might look sparse spread out but planting them properly now will save you the headache of digging them out down the road.