Category: Tales from the Help Desk

Garden Maintenance / Tales from the Help Desk / Tree Care / Weather / Winter

 by Patsy McGrady

Tales From the Help Desk: Crape Myrtle Bark

Q.  My crape myrtles have splits on the bark.  What is going on? A.  Your crape myrtles appear to have sun scald.  Crape myrtles, Lagerstroemia indica, are considered a relatively problem-free tree. The Clemson Cooperative Extension website cites the most common problems as powdery mildew, Cercospora leaf spot, aphids, Japanese beetles, sooty mold, and the recently recognized crape myrtle bark scale. Clearly, the photo of your tree shows no indications of any of these diseases and insects. Your tree likely...

Flowering Shrubs / Garden Maintenance / Heirloom plants / Landscape Love / Ornamental Shrubs / Rose Care / Tales from the Help Desk

 by Patsy McGrady

Tales From the Help Desk: Rose Rosette Disease

Q.  My Zephirine Drouhin climbing rose looks odd. There are “frilly” growths, and the buds are very small.  Should I be worried? A. The Heirloom Roses website description of Rosa ‘Zephirine Drouhin’ states that it “may be the most consistently blooming, large, flowered climbing rose, with the added benefit that it is thorn-less.” The variety is thought to have originated in France in 1868. Your rose appears to be infected with rose rosette virus (RRV). This is a virus spread...

Garden Maintenance / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Tales from the Help Desk / Tree Care

 by Patsy McGrady

Tales From the Help Desk: Growths on Tree Bark

Q:  Something is growing on the bark of my tree.  Is that a problem? A:  It depends.  If it is flat and looks rather lacy, it’s lichen and does not harm the tree. If the growth on your tree bark is shaped like a shelf and looks like a mushroom, it is a conk. Conks indicate that the tree has internal decay. Lichen is a symbiotic relation between certain types of fungi and algae. They have a very shallow attachment...

Garden Maintenance / Spring / Tales from the Help Desk / Weather / Weeds

 by Patsy McGrady

Tales From the Help Desk: Chickweed

Q:  I usually apply a pre-emergent herbicide in spring to kill chickweed.  Is it OK if I go ahead and apply the pre-emergent now? A. No. The use of a pre-emergent herbicide in winter would be ineffective because the weather is too cold for seeds to germinate. We tend to associate pre-emergents with spring because that is when we apply them to take care of crabgrass and other summer broadleaf weeds. I know for my lawn, applying pre-emergent herbicide is...

Container Gardens / Heirloom plants / Holiday Plants / Tales from the Help Desk / Tropical Houseplants / Watering

 by Patsy McGrady

Tales From the Help Desk : Christmas Cactus

Q.  How do I care for a Christmas cactus so that it blooms well for Christmas? A.  Christmas cactus, Schlumbergera x buckleyi, is native to tropical rain forests.  It should be planted in a soil mix that is high in organic material but drains well.  It likes to be root bound, so don’t feel you have to keep putting it in a larger pot each year. Keep the soil moist from spring through summer but let the soil dry out...

Garden Maintenance / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Propagation / Soil Conservation / Sustainable Gardening / Tales from the Help Desk

 by Patsy McGrady

Tales from the Help Desk, Soil Test Unwrapped!

Written by Patsy McGrady, Master Gardener, Class of 2010 Q. Why should I get a soil test and how do I get one? A. Gardening without a soil test is like cooking without a recipe. Sometimes the results are good, and other times, not so good. A soil test identifies the pH of the soil and states whether the soil needs to have lime added. The report provides the level of various nutrients in the soil, such as phosphorus, potash,...

Birds / Evergreen Shrubs / Flowering Shrubs / Garden Design / Garden Maintenance / Permaculture / Poisonous Plants / Tales from the Help Desk / Wildlife Gardening

 by Patsy McGrady

Tales from the Help Desk, Poisonous Red Berries

Q. I have heard that Nandina is poisonous to birds. My community has planted many Nandina plants. Should we remove these plants to protect birds?  A. It is true that Nandina (Nandina domestica) berries contain cyanide and are, therefore, highly toxic to birds and other animals. However, the only well documented case of birds dying from ingesting Nandina berries occurred in April 2009 when dozens of Cedar Waxwings were found dead in Thomas County, Georgia. The University of Georgia, College...

Birds / Tales from the Help Desk

 by Patsy McGrady

Tales from the Help Desk, Strange Markings

Q. What are the strange marks on my holly tree?  A. Those strange, rectangular shaped bare spots in the bark were made by sapsuckers, a type of woodpecker. While these birds eat insects, fruits, and nuts, they also enjoy tree sap. Here in eastern North America, the most common and destructive of these birds is the American yellow-bellied sapsucker, Sphyrapicus varius. These are migratory birds that feed in Virginia when the sap begins to run in March, and then again...

Carbon Garden / Garden Maintenance / Soil Conservation / Sustainable Gardening / Tales from the Help Desk

 by Patsy McGrady

Tales from the Help Desk, Uninvited Mushrooms

Q. Why are mushrooms in my yard? How can I get rid of them? A. Mushrooms tend to pop up in the fall due to shady, cool, and moist conditions and the availability of organic material in the lawn. The mushroom is the fruit of an underground feeding network (mycelium) of fungal threads (hyphae). Fungi feed on decomposing plant material and make that material accessible to the grass growing in the yard. Mushrooms do not damage the lawn and can...

Tales from the Help Desk

 by Patsy McGrady

Tales from the Help Desk, Mysterious Spots

Q. What is going on with my weeping redbud? Most of the leaves are covered in spots and many have black areas.  A. The spots and blackening areas on your weeping redbud appear to be fungal infections that probably include anthracnose. It is not unusual to see redbud trees (and almost any deciduous tree) in the fall with fungal infections showing up as spots and blackened areas on the leaves. This seems to be especially common on redbud trees. The...