If you have a question about gardening in the Birmingham area, ask John. John Floyd has been gardening–and learning about gardening–for more than 30 years. In addition to his day-to-day experience in the garden, John has degrees in horticulture, plant taxonomy, and plant physiology from Auburn and Clemson Universities and was Editor-in-Chief of Southern Living.
If you need to include a photo, you can email your question to BirminghamGardeningToday@gmail.com
Crazy weather year!
I am having some unique issues this year too. Keep the faith, we all might have a great fall garden
Both apples and peaches in our area are tough to grow at home because they need to be on a regular pesticide program to produce good fruit. As for your area check with your local county extension agent for specifics on what you need to do to have successful peaches and apples in your area
First, are the heavily mulched with pinestraw and are the junipers planted pretty dense. Now of course turf laid as sod around the rocks would work if they are in full sun which I assume they are since Shore Juniper thrives in sun. Another ground cover Asian Jasmine that if planted four to six inches apart and mulched heavily with pinestraw might do the trick. Also you might terrace the area to help with your slope.
Never had a scale problem with it so I don’t do anything but prune as needed
Hard to find in local nurseries. Try Plant Delights. They have a web site.
You got troubles and the dead areas should be cut out immediately. Also purchase Bayer 3-in-1 pesticide. Lowes, Home Depot and Walmart all carry this product and apply according to label directions and hope we can control it before it spreads to other parts of the plant
I use dipel but sevin will also work
Probably in this heat, too little water. Once the leaves look wilted they generally will drop but that does not mean the plant is dead. If the Camellia has been in the pot a long time take a sharp instrument about the size of a pencil and punch holes in the soil in several places. Water well. Also if the drainage hole is stopped up it could be too much water. Check that and if that is the case use something to unstop it.
hello
Yes, the volunteer group at the Japanese
garden does that type of work. Mike Rushing in our group will do it for you professionally if you need him- john
Seems to me with all that foliage color you are going to need some nice green foliaged plant that blooms when the abelia is not in bloom. What about Dwarf Gardenia, Rosemary, Yewtopia(if partial shade) or Gumpo Azalea.
It should work but most folks recommend round-up or a good brush killer like brush-b-gone- john
Apparently it is not available in the market place unless it is old stock(which is fine to use). Most folks are replacing it with horticultural oil spray. It will take several applications to control scale if that is the problem.
The only control that I know of is to cut them off. I would recommend that you cut them off and discard in a trash can not the compost pile.
My maple tree has splits in the bark. Should I be doing something.
If the bark is splitting no worry. If the trunk or limbs are splitting send me images of the problem or have a professional give you an opnion.
Greetings John, My beautiful Peace lillies have an infestation of a scaly type of insect…aphids…I attempted to eradicate them by cleansing the stems and leaves with a damp paper towel and then followed up with a banana peel. As a deterrent, I would break off pieces of the peel and place around the top of the dirt. This seemed to work for a little while, but then I notice some of the leaves begin to grow limp and then turn yellow and I just cut them off. I would appreciate any suggestion and I really prefer the “Natural” remedy, but am open to whatever help you can offer. Thank you.
Safer’s Insecticidal Soap should work. It is safe and organic. Follow label directions carefully.
Thanks, John. Looks like I need to do a little butt gardening.
I thhugot finding this would be so arduous but it’s a breeze!
thank you for replying re: fertilizing my various hydrangea types. I’m going to purchase the 15-0-15 you suggested and I plan to put some, dry, around the base of each plant. Some are very mature–the latest additions were planted in October, 2014. OK to treat all one time either now or very early summer? Thanks again.
absolutely
Got it! Happy Summer! n
So happy to discover this website!
We try to put up something new everyday. Thanks-john
I transplanted some daffodils several years ago from my family home in Grove Hill, AL. The blooms do not seem as bright and yellow as they did in their previous environment. Is there a food they need to be more colorful and not so pale yellow? The foliage looks great; only the flowers are not as bright.
It might be several things, but usually the depth of color is pretty constant. Once they finish blooming, I would give them a bit of fertilizer. There are products especially for bulbs, but an all-purpose fertilizer like 15-0-15 (which is what most of us need to use in this area) can be sprinkled throughout the foliage. Also, if the bulbs you dug were in a sunny spot, and yours are in shade, that might affect the color somewhat. Other than that, I really do not have any ideas. Let’s hope next year the color will be brighter and clearer.