I’m excited about a major change in the newsletter this week.

From feedback I get, and given it is spring, I think it’s important to increase the space devoted to questions. So from now on, there will be added emphasis on answering questions and providing extra information on them.

The problem with this is increasing the questions makes the newsletter really, really long. The solution to this is to eliminate the article.

But I’m not forgetting the articles.

Instead of including an article here – I’m going to give you the urls of all the articles I wrote in the past week. I usually write 8-12 new articles – at least one for every website. So if you are a perennials fan – you’ll get a link to a perennial article. Water gardeners will see a link to water – rose gardeners to roses etc. etc. You can read what you want and ignore the rest.

There will be an article for almost everyone each week and more choice as well.

The bonus to this is that I can make the answers a little more detailed as well.

This isn’t carved in stone but given gardening season is almost upon us, I’m going to focus on answering a few more questions in print.

New Articles for You

Veronica is a delightful blue-flowering perennial if you get the right variety. Here’s some options.

Here’s a list of the can’t kill perennials.

Controling chinch bugs in your lawn need not be a major undertaking. Most of the time you don’t have to do anything.

Blanketweed is the same thing as string algae and this article is specific about controlling it in your pond.

Growing scented geraniums is pretty easy and some of these plants have excellent fragrance. Here’s how to grow them and a review of a few I’ve grown.

Cabbage loopers can skeletonize cabbage pretty quickly and they’re the “surprises” in broccoli. Here’s how to control them organically.

Winterizing evergreen shrubs isn’t all the tricky and it’s still possible to protect some of your plants with at least one of these techniques. Note I don’t like burlap for evergreens – but you’ll see that if you click on this page. :-)

I forgot to plant my bulbs is going to be a refrain from some gardeners this spring. Here’s the options on what to do with those bulbs.

And finally this week, here’s an article on pruning climbing roses Note that I drew the diagrammes myself – I make a better writer and gardener than an artist. :-) It was an experiment in drawing and uploading those drawings and now that I’ve figured out the system, I’ll be uploading other diagrammes to explain stuff. If you have suggestions for pages that require diagrammes, do send them along.

Want to ask a question? Click here to ask a gardening question.www.gardening-tips-perennials.com/askagardeningquestion.html

Your Questions Answered

You mentioned that in your path construction you dig out 8" and then lay your gravel. Does that keep the weeds out? I have gravel paths in my gardens but I am always battling the weeds. Someone suggested laying carpet under the gravel covering to stop weed growth. Which way will work the best?

A: Boy, I wish it did keep the weeks out. I too battle weeds but I confess I cheat a little. I actually encourage plants to grow in the gravel and consider it part of my garden. I’ll direct sow some annuals such as alyssum and perennials such as the short columbines and Campanula (bellflowers) to grow directly into the gravel. These plants grow very well here.

But so do the dandelions and other plant pests.

Having said that, if you use stone dust, wet it thoroughly and then compact it, you’ll find the weeds will be greatly restricted but the drainage will be decent.

My problem is drainage. I really need to get some dry footing at the entranceway – this little thaw this past week gave me a small hint of what spring will be like. Can you say “Wear your wellies?”

Carpet and weed fabrics etc will stop plants from coming up through the gravel. They will not stop air-blown seeds nor creeping grass rhizomes from invading. I tried the landscape fabric but wound up digging it all up again.

*** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** *** * **

We live around the Houston area and here is my dilemma living in a apartment my whole life and now having our first home.

I have never grown a flower bed and we bought a house that has a area with flat brown big tan rocks(stacked about 1-2 inches high) around it filled with dirt and i want to grow flowers that will last the whole year. Can you tell me what to do or what books to read or where to start learning things as I have no clue how to even start growing things.

thanks for your time

A: You’re not alone in this. Every time a person gets themselves a house for the first time – they look at this bit of earth and say, “Now What!”. I do the same thing (although on a different scale) when I look at my new place.

Texas is hot. Start with stuff like annual geraniums that will take this heat. Feed them - see the www.beginner-gardening.com and www.organic-gardening-tips.com websites for hints and tips on feeding and soil building.

You won’t get a perennial plant to bloom all year – they’ll require rest and recuperation. (On the other hand, silk flowers do well all year!) :-)

Start with annuals as they’ll bloom the longest (geraniums are an ideal beginner plant). Plant a rose bush or two (read www.learn-rose-gardening.com for details)

But the deal is simple – start with the easy stuff – feed and water it well. Read all you can – and then start adding plants as you go. I’m still doing this after all these years.

*** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** *** * **

I bought tulip bulbs but this fall was unable to plant them before we had a freeze. How (or can) I store them and will they be OK to plant in spring or whenever?

A: Check out the website at http://www.flower-garden-bulbs.com/forgot-to-plant.html There’s the options all laid out for you.

*** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** *** * **

What is the best way to go about redoing an old perennial garden.

The difficult part is that I am not 100% sure of all the plant names and their growing habits.

Hopefully you can give me a little guidance with this problem.

Do You Want to Grow Lavender?

A: Ah, renovating a perennial garden when you don’t know what you’ve got can be a bit of an adventure.

There are several things you can do. The first is to start with the soil. Start adding as much compost as you can. Use compost tea to get your soil alive and kick-started. As soon as spring hits, then your work on the soil starts as well.

Now the interesting thing is that you already have a garden with plants but I’m going to assume they’re overgrown and weedy.

The second step therefore is to eliminate the weeds. You’ll recognize grass I suspect and those have to go now. First thing in the spring, dig up any grass you can. Pull it up by the roots or use a shovel on it. There will be grass invading the perennial plants. Dig up those plants, remove the grass from around the roots and replant the plants immediately. You’ll likely find yourself removing grass from the garden all summer. Keep at it.

Then I’d mulch. I’d put a 2-4 inch layer of mulch down to stop fresh seed from germinating. This will stop the annual weeds (or most of them anyway)

Once you have the grass under control, you’re likely looking at some serious growth on the part of the perennials. And some of those plants will likely be weeds that you don’t recognize. Grow them.

Once you identify that an individual plant is a weed – dig it out and dig out all the others like it. By the way, don’t feel badly about this, I’ve grown many plants for a while before I figured out that they were a weed - or not what I thought they were - or they were simply mislabeled in the nursery or… (I once grew a common lawn weed in the greenhouse for six months as it was supposed to be a rare plant – I guess the rare plant didn’t germinate and the lawn weed did. I thought it looked suspicious but I wasn’t about to toss it out until I was sure. When it flowered – it got to visit the compost pile. But I spend 6 months growing it. )

In this way, you’ll have good soil and you’ll figure out which are weeds and which are plants you like.

In the fall, you can dig up all the plants. Divide and keep the ones you like and toss away any you don’t like. Double dig the garden and add lots of compost. Replant and wait for a gorgeous garden in the following spring.

*** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** *** * **

Whiteflies abound on my virginia creeper - this is the third summer I have battled and it seems, LOST the fight. The poor plant started to look semi-dead in early August. I am ready to pull it out and replace with hops or other fast growing vine. Will the whiteflies be a problem with the hops? Do they live in the soil underneath the plant? Should I dig it all out too? HELP

and....Thank you very much. Leslie-Ann @Whitefly Central

A: The key to controlling whiteflies is constant and consistent attention. Repeated applications of organic controls is necessary (and chemical controls for that matter).

Whiteflies will indeed be a problem with hops or any other plant you put there if you don’t change the growing conditions.

If this were my plant, I’d get out the compost – heavily apply it to the base of the plant. I’d start spraying early in the season with insecticidal soap plus one other organic spray (such as neem) in rotation (one – this week – the other next week). And I’d knock those whiteflies right back.

The trick is to create a non-stressed garden condition so the whitefly are not attracted to the plant (remember that insects are attracted to weak and struggling plants). But control them regularly in the meantime.

Watch the newsletter for a full article on whiteflies on the organic-gardening-tips.com website.

*** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** *** * **

I have a flowering crabapple that I planted last year just after it bloomed.It was about 9 feet tall. I planted it on a bit of a slope at the edge of my septic bed(not close enough to get to the tiles!) I amended the soil with peat moss, compost, and manure,and added several handfulls of bonemeal. I watered it regularly if no rain but it didn't need a lot as it rained a fair bit last year. It did okay (not great) last year and survived the winter. This year the top three feet had no leaves at all except one branch at the top about 8 inches long looked okay. I finally decided to cut off the dead top which i cut at an angle. Not long after I cut off the top the next few branches at the top died off. The other day I was pulling weeds at the base of the tree and the roots of the dandilions were covered with aphids!! Could they also be on the roots of the tree? If that is what is happening how do I get rid of aphids in the ground?? Please help. Thanks

A: OK – I suspect the pruning didn’t have a darn thing to do with the next few branches dying. You didn’t say what those branches looked like – but if they look like a blowtorch has hit them, you might have fireblight. If this is the case, nothing is going to help this tree.

If you were simply moving a large tree and the top is dying back, the likelihood is you didn’t give it enough water or there was a lot of root damage in the transplanting.

(I’m assuming a container grown plant rather than a spring dug plant – if spring dug it shouldn’t have been sold after leafing out/blooming as the roots wouldn’t have been established enough to survive).

Folks are continuously surprised about how much water a tree really needs to thrive. Unsuspecting gardeners are seldom in the ball park when it comes to giving a tree enough water.

Re the aphids. They are not killing your tree and you don’t have to worry about them. I’ve often seen them on dandelion roots – no big deal. Let them eat the dandelions! :-)

*** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** *** * **

Just bought a bleeding heart and read your planting guide but does it matter what side ofa building (N,S.E.W)it is on as long as it is in the shade, and what about the heat 100f days

A: Ah, a Texas gardener. You know gardening in the heat is really tough on tender woodlanders even though you give them shade. So, let me point out that shade is going to be critical for this plant in a hot climate. And past that point, I’m no expert on Southern gardening. If any reader is in the real South and grows this plant, let me know and I’ll pass it along.

*** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** *** * **

I have a lawn...full of weeds at the back but kind of nice in the front. The front yard has mostly kentucky blue grass. I was at a friend's a couple of weeks ago and he had nice, beautiful perennial rye grass throughout his lawn. I've read many good things abt this grass. Is it ok for me to sow rye grass seeds in the front yard? Will it blend in nicely with the existing kbg? I look forward to your reply. Thank you.

Want a Better Lawn than the Neighbors?

A: You won’t be able to tell the lawn grasses apart unless you’re an expert on your hands and knees. I’ve been a fan of perennial rye grass for some time because it’s a tough grass and takes foot traffic well, it is easy to establish and it established faster with competition (overseeding into an existing lawn is easier with perennial ryegrass) than any other grass.

Follow the directions on the beginner gardening lawn directions (and buy the ebook on Organic Lawns) :-) to get a lawn you can be proud of.

*** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** *** * **