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In the Garden with Janet B. Carson
June 27, 2009
Does it injure the crepe myrtles to cut the suckers that grow around the base of
the plant? Ours are just coming into bloom, but whoever pruned them before we
bought the house had let a lot grow out at ground level. We have just moved back
to Arkansas. Is there an office in the area that we could come by and pick up
info about the local growing tips? We live in Little Rock.
It does not hurt to remove the suckers at the base of the crape myrtle; in
fact, it is advisable to do so. We would not recommend trying to use an
herbicide to kill them, since many are attached to the mother plant, but
clipping them at the soil line is a great idea. If allowed to grow, they
would give your tree a more bushy look and take away from its appearance.
Some varieties of crape myrtles are more prone to suckers than others, but
just pay attention. As to a local source of information, every county has a
local county extension office where publications are available - in Pulaski
County it is at 2901 W. Roosevelt. The county offices are also where you can
take soil samples, and plant samples to be diagnosed. If you are just
looking for printed information, there is plenty of that at our home and
garden website at
http://www.arhomeandgarden.org/ or go to our main web page
www.uaex.edu and select
publications and you can print your own publications at home.
After 10 years of trying I sprouted a pear tree from seed of the old tree on our
old home place. When we transplanted it 4 years ago it was 3 feet tall. The next
year it sent up two shoots from the base of the trunk. Now we have 3 trunks, and
they are around 10 feet tall. I don't care what it looks like. I just want some
of those great pears we used to get. I'm attaching 3 pictures of the tree.
Should I trim the lower branches? Should I cut 2 of the trunks? When can we
expect pears? Please advise.
First of all, growing a pear from seed does not guarantee that you will have
pears that are the same as the tree they came from. They do not breed true
from seed. You may like the resulting pears, they may be better or worse, or
very similar, but you won't know until they begin to fruit - which can take
from five to 10 years from seed. You also should have removed the two extra
sprouts early on. Now, they are so close together and their canopies are
very intertwined, but you have to remove two of them, or eventually they
will all be damaged with no room for the trunks to expand. You will probably
have to do some corrective pruning to reshape the trees after the removal of
the extra two. If you still have access to your old favorite pear tree, take
cuttings and either try rooting the tree from cuttings or grafting next
April on to the existing tree. Vegetative propagation - cuttings, grafting,
layering, etc, (versus seed propagation which is sexual propagation) will
give you the exact same product as its parentage.
I live in Little Rock and I have some hostas in a flower bed that were doing
great until my neighbor had a tree remove from his yard. Now the hostas are
getting direct afternoon sun and are getting burned. I have another flower bed
that gets filtered sun. Can I move the plants now? I am concerned that the
plants may become damaged or killed when it get really hot later in the summer.
Also in the shaded flower bed are some daylilies that I feel could use more sun,
can I move them now, to replace the hostas? If I can't move the plants now
when should I move them?
While we normally advise moving hostas either spring or fall, allowing them
to grow all season in full sun, could lead to their death, so by all means
move them now. They are going to wilt horribly for a week or two while they
re-establish themselves. Water well, but don't drown them. Try moving them
early in the day and make sure you get them in the ground as quickly as
possible. As hot and dry as it is, we don't want to damage them any more
than they already are. I would hold off on moving the daylilies - as they
are blooming now - dig and divide them this fall. Add some temporary
seasonal color - many annuals and summer blooming tropicals are available
now that thrive in full sun.
If you would like to see all of the Q& A's that Janet writes
they are archived in the
Reference Desk
section.
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