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Q - Mike of Oconomowoc
Hi Melinda, I live in Oconomowoc. In the back half of our backyard we have a wild field area. Over the years we have had wild flowers fill in along with ones that we planted. We look forward to seeing different kinds come up throughout the season. This year a strange plant (weed?) has started to take over. They are now about 3 to 5 feet high towering over the wild flowers. Some are starting to product little yellow flowers which don't even look attractive. I'm afraid they will take over the wild flowers because they cannot get much light, and we cannot even see the wild flowers anymore. I would appreciate whatever you can do.
A – Melinda Myers
Weeds in a wildflower garden can be difficult to control. Any product that kills weeds or their seeds can do the same to the wildflowers. Pulling may be your best, environmentally friendly option. I have had success using Fiskars Uproot™ weeder. It reaches into the soil and pulls up the weeds – no bending required so you can pull quite a few weeds in a short period.
Spot treating the weeds with Roundup, Finale or other total vegetation killer is most effective on rhizomatous perennial weeds like quack grass. These products kill the top and roots though several applications may be needed for difficult weeds. If you pursue this option be careful not to get any of the chemical on your good plants. One gardener shared the “Tongs of Death”. He and his neighbor attach sponges to long handled tongs. They dip the sponges in the ready to apply mix of total vegetation killer. They grab the stem and leaves of the weed and pull. This applies the product just where it is needed. Be sure to label and store all sprayers, tongs and sponges used for applying Roundup to avoid harming good plants and people. Q - Garol of Bucyrus
While gardening recently in my mulch I saw some growths that had popped up in several places. The outside was shaped like a lobster claw and soft like a baby bird but red like a lobster claw. Inside was an egg shaped thing the size of a walnut with a slimy fluid around it. The tip of each of these things is gooey and black but the rest is pinkish red. I have pictures if you would like to see what I am describing. What are they? A – Melinda Myers
Sounds like what many call lobster mushrooms. These unusual growths occur when a fungus called orange mushroom pimple infects a common white mushroom. The infecting mushroom causes a change in color and often a change of shape in the white mushroom. Many gardeners enjoy the colorful display while others rake away the mushrooms to prevent kids and pets from eating them. These mushrooms do not harm nearby plants and gardens. They are the visible reproductive part of the soil fungi feeding on decaying wood. The mushrooms usually appear after a period of wet weather. Once the wood decomposes the food source is gone and the fungi and mushrooms disappear. Q - Stacy of Greendale
I need your help with a gardening dilemma. Where I have my veggies growing, I have this weed that is trying to completely cover the ground. It lies flat on the soil and has thick almost succulent leaves. What is this stuff? Is it going to destroy my vegetable garden or should I get out there and stay on top of it, weeding it out as much as I can? I've already weeded it out once, but it's fast-growing stuff A – Melinda Myers
Sounds like purslane has invaded your garden. This weed thrives in hot dry conditions and as you discovered reproduces quickly and in large numbers. The Hmong, Latino and other cultures steam and eat it. I hear it tastes like spinach. I choose to pull it out of the garden. Pulling or cultivating is the safest method of control. Mulching the soil (spreading a layer of shredded leaves or evergreen needles over the soil surface will slow down seed sprouting. Q - Leona of Germantown
Have you heard of an annual called kiss me over the garden gate? Do you have a picture of it? I am trying it and need to know the proper care. Thank you. A – Melinda Myers
“Kiss me over the Garden Gate,” botanically known as Polygonum orientale or Persicaria orientale, is an old fashioned annual whose large six foot stature is sure to get passer-bys attention. The rose to purple flowers appear in late summer, have a light fragrance, and make great cut fresh or dried flowers. The plant does best in full sun and moist soils. It can reseed and is considered invasive in Tennessee. See the University of Wisconsin Herbarium website at http://www.botany.wisc.edu/herbarium/ for a picture and www.plants.usda.gov for information on this and other plants invasive nature Q - Georgia of Traverse City
The previous owners of my house planted bamboo. It is like an alien creature and I cannot seem to destroy it. It has now crawled about 60 feet underground and come up in the neighbor's yard. They are not happy nor am I! It also came up through the asphalt in my drive! Any suggestions on how to kill this overly invasive plant??? We need help. A – Melinda Myers
Georgia, only a few bamboos survive in colder climates. The Yellow Groove bamboo is the most common hardy bamboo and the colder winters usually keep it under control. When I have northern gardeners complain about bamboo I usually recommend they check out the Japanese knotweed often called Mexican bamboo (Polygonum cuspidatum). This weed, like bamboo, has an aggressive underground rhizome that makes it difficult to control. The top of the plant has hollow zig-zag stems with triangular shaped leaves. The white flowers may remind you of lilac blooms and the mass of seeds contribute to its spread. Whether bamboo or Japanese knotweed you have a difficult weed to control. Dig up and destroy as much of the rhizome as possible. Do NOT compost or you will spread the problem around your garden. As new sprouts appear spray or wipe on a total vegetation killer such as Roundup or Finale. Protect nearby garden plants and lawn grass to prevent these chemicals from damaging them. Repeat applications will be needed and it may take several years to get this under control. Q - Jana
hi melinda, i have this orange brown things on my cedar trees will they hurt the trees? my husband said they are seeds. please let me know. thanks take care. A – Melinda Myers
I’m going to make a few assumptions Jana. If these are not the case you may need to send me some more information. The plant gardeners often call cedar is a type of juniper (Juniperus virginiana). These are rather prickly and some people develop a non harmful rash when working around these plants. Some types of junipers along with apples, hawthorns and quince are host for a disease called rust. In late spring after a warm day the round galls on the cedar produce orange gelatinous spurs. These release fungal spores that infect the alternate host of apple, crabapple, hawthorn or quince. These trees develop rusty spots on the leaves and fruits. In late summer the leaves and infected fruit produce small orange spurs and release fungal spores to infect the cedars. As you can see both hosts are needed for the disease to continue. Unfortunately the spores can spread for hundreds of yards and even a mile or more. Fortunately your cedar will be fine. The disease is mostly cosmetic. Severely infected apples, hawthorns and quince can lose quite a few of their leaves. Most gardeners live with the damage. Fungicides can be used as a preventative to break the cycle. Timing, adequate coverage, and treatment of all nearby apples, hawthorns and quince limit its effectiveness. For pictures of symptoms on both the cedar and the other hosts visit The Ohio State University webpage http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/3000/3055.html.
Q - Katrina of Brookfield
We have a very well established, and nicely shaped evergreen hedge. It has red berries in the late fall. We keep it pruned to the original rectangular shape it was in when we bought the house (about 4.5' high by 6' deep and 20' long. I want to make it about 6 inches shorter than it is now. The established wood is very thick and hard to cut. 1st, will I kill it if I try to make it shorter? 2nd, if not, what time of year should this be done? 3rd, how would I go about cutting through the old wood? A – Melinda Myers
Your evergreen hedge Katrina, is a Yew (Taxus). You can prune these evergreens drastically without killing them, however, you want to do it when it is best for the plant. Drastic pruning this time of year will leave those old, woody stems bare throughout the summer. Bare stems, although not deadly, will look unsightly and have less leaves (needles) to produce energy to help the plant recover from the pruning. I recommend doing this type of pruning in early spring. The plant will have all season to grow new needles and fill in the bare spots. Use a sharp hand saw or loppers to prune through the thick wood. Make cuts where stems join other stems, above the node (where needles were attached) where stems join the main trunk. These wounds will close quicker for less stress on the plant. For more pruning and gardening information tune into my podcasts linked from my home page on this website or through I-tunes. Q - Gary
Hi Melinda. Our daughter-in-law gave us a bare root money plant which has thrived over the last 3 years. We just moved it away from a window and placed it away from direct sunlight. It has shot up 3 feet and now leans precariously. Can I cut the shoot down without worry? Ideally, where should we place it? A – Melinda Myers
Is this an indoor or an outdoor plant, Gary? If outdoors your money plant, botanically known as Lunaria annua, is an old time favorite of many gardeners. This biennial produces leaves the first season and pink or purple flowers in late spring the second year. As you know the flowers turn to attractive seedpods that resemble coins. Surround these often floppy plants with supportive neighboring plants or attractive stakes if you want a more upright look. Otherwise keep things casual and allow the plants to flower and form seedpods. Q - Barb
Hi, Melinda, I have 3 tansy (?) plants in my garden that my son put in. They get way too big for the area, but I hate to dig them out. If I keep clipping them to keep them short, will they still bloom? Also I cannot access my account on your website, because I can't remember my user name. Can you help? A – Melinda Myers
Tansy tolerates a wide variety of conditions but does a little too well in fertile soils. Do not fertilize this plant unless it shows signs of nutrient deficiency. Compost or other organic matter is usually enough for this plant. Reducing soil fertility will help reduce the size and slow the spread of tansy. Pruning back in late spring may also help. Pruning later in the season can delay or even eliminate bloom.
Regular digging and dividing will also help keep the plant size in check. Since these plants are rather assertive and invasive in some areas, you may want to compost the extra plants and reuse them in the garden that way. Q - Pat of Pleasent Prarie
At the base of our crabapple tree are a number of new growth shoots. We have cut them to ground level periodically, but they continue to sprout new shoots. What can we do to prevent this? A – Melinda Myers
Crabapple along with ornamental cherry and plum trees have a tendency to produce stems (suckers) at the base. These suckers are connected to the tree, therefore, herbicides cannot be used without harming the tree. I have received mixed reports on chemicals labeled for controlling tree sprouts. I often find the suckers sprouting up elsewhere around the tree. I choose to keep the suckering down by pruning them off as they appear. Use a sharp hand pruner and prune just below the soil. I purchased a small root pruning saw used strictly for this purpose. That way I do not dull the blade of saws used for above ground pruning. Check out my Month-by Month Gardening books for more details on this and other pruning tasks. Q - Barb of Greenwood
I planted my hostas and now need to smother grass around them with newspaper mulch. (The lazy way!) Will the hostas be able to spread and come up through the paper? A – Melinda Myers
Your hostas and the grass will find its way through the mulch. The beauty of using newspaper is it breaks down quickly adding organic matter to the soil. Covering it with another type of organic mulch will provide more long term benefits. Unfortunately perennial grasses will grow through the mulch. Physically remove the grass then apply the mulch. See my answer to Mike on controlling weeds in the wildflower garden for tips on alternatives to digging
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