|
Time to answer a few
more of your timely emailed gardening questions…and our first question is
about preparing the flower beds for this year. Our first emailer says they
left the root balls of the flowers planted last year, in the bed. Cut off
the foliage…left the roots. Do the roots need to be removed, or can they
just go ahead and plant around them?
Unless there were
diseases or serious insect problems last year with the plants, feel free to
leave those roots in the ground to break down. Every time you plant in that
bed, you’re adding the potting soil that the flowers were originally grown
in…so you’re adding soil amendments every year. If you leave the roots,
they’re very fleshy and will break down and add organic matter back to the
soil. So it can be a win-win for the planting bed. I suggest you chop them
up with a spade or small tiller, and then you’re ready to plant when the
weather says its time.
Our next emailer says
that as the season is warming, they’re noticing a blue green moss like
substance growing on their trees trunks. They want to know what it is and
how to get rid of it.
This blue green mossy
looking substance is called Lichens…it’s a unique combination of algae and
fungus growing together on the surface of the tree’s bark. It’s not harmful
to the tree, nor does it mean there is a problem with the tree. Just leave
it be…nothing you can do about it…again, it’s called lichens.
And our last email
question, which is really popular right now…is it okay to go ahead and cut
back my roses as needed? Well, there is no rush…feel free to cut back and
clean them up as needed anytime during the first 2-3 weeks of April if you
just can’t wait any longer. Personally, I’ll wait until April 15 or so, and
then cut and clean them up. |
