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
My first guest would be the old fashioned Gardenias. they are very fragrant and blooming great this year
Break them off at the base of the flower stem after the color fades on the blooms.
I would prune it as soon as possible. But if you plan to take it down more than a third, I suggest you do it over several years. If you just want to take a couple of feet off of it and reshape it, I think it is ok to do that now. Fertilize following severe pruning to encourage new growth.
Sulfur certainly works, but a little goes a long way. If you only need a slight adjustment, use a ferilier that only puts nitrogen into the soil around the plants. Over time this will very, very slowly help. If you want to use sulfur, I suggest you buy the product that turns hyrangeas blue, and apply according to their directions.
Good to know and thanks for offering it
I am afraid that I do not have a magic cure. Aeration in spring helps, as well as an early application of nitrogen to the lawn can also help, but do not apply before green-up. Nothing beats having a healthy, active, growing lawn with the controls you have in place.
My friend, the late Weesie Smith’s started blooming in early summer, and if we pinched off the old spent flowers, they bloomed all summer.
I really like them planted in a mass in part shade in the garden. While they will do okay in a container, they have a root structure that is going to fill the pot quickly, so it will take a lot of watering this summer. Either planted in the garden or growing in a large container is okay.
see answer below
It depends on how high you want the screen. One of my favorite 20 plus foot screens is Nellie R. Stevens holly. They grow very well in the Birmingham metro area. For screens larger than 30 feet, you will need a small evergreen tree. Those not sensitive to drought are not common in our area, so you might want to try cryptomeria, but they will require water.
Many nurseries are limited by space and what is available from their wholesalers. Gardenias are not as popular as they use to be in the past. Check this spring at larger garden centers like Hanna’s, and they may have several types.
Each time after they finish blooming, so that could be up to 3 times a year depending on the selection.
Since they bloom on the new wood each year, prune before they leaf out.
First, you are not alone in losing cypress. One of the things that needs to be decided is how fast you want a six foot hedge. I really like dwarf Burford holly, and mine came through the drought with limited watering. If you put out a good 3 gallon plant, five feet on center, expect 5-7 years to achieve what you described. Quicker growing shrubs include Mary Neil holly, ‘Bright ‘n’ Tight’ cherry laurel (short lived 10-15 years), Japanese boxwood, and Fortune’s osmanthus. But all of these will have to be kept at six feet once they achieve that height.
About the only thing I am using on spring weeds is a herbicide containing 2-4-D. Make sure the product you buy is cleared for your specific type of grass and apply according to label directions. That should clean it up, except for Poa annua (common name annual bluegrass), which it does not control. If the Poa annua is sparse, you might want to hand pull it.
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.