Q I have five blue-berry plants that have 4- to 5-foot canes. When do I prune them?
A Blueberry plants should be pruned in the winter while they are dormant. After the second growing season, remove a portion of the canes and fruiting twigs to shape the plant and reduce the excess flower buds. Remove any low sprawling or weak branches and cut back any excessively tall canes. Old canes or shoots lose fruitfulness over time, so, starting about the fifth year, remove one of the largest, oldest canes for every six canes on the plant, in addition to any other required pruning. Older blueberry plantings should contain more or less equal numbers of 1-, 2-, 3-, 4- and 5-year-old canes to keep them producing at a peak rate.
Q My bell peppers (in pots) have had a large brown spot on the bottom. The tops are fine to eat and OK. What is causing this?
A Peppers can suffer from blossom end rot, just like tomatoes, although we don't see it as often. Blossom end rot is a calcium deficiency caused by fluctuating water levels, which we have seen. Try to keep the pots evenly watered and just cut off the damage until it clears up.
Q My mom says that you are the gardening guru, and I was hoping you might be able to help me with an okra plant. The plant's doing very well, large and with big leaves, but when the flowers fall off of the emerging pods, the pods inevitably dry out and die within a few days. I'm watering it every day to two days, depending on how hot it gets; and it gets sun from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. or so. I live in Massachusetts, but I've grown okra without trouble up here before. Any ideas?
A Typically, when the blooms fall off and the pods don't form, it is a pollination problem. How cool is it where you live this summer, or how hot? Temperatures below 55 degrees or above 95 can limit pollination, as can too much nitrogen fertilizer.
Q I have watched mysterious flowers appear randomly in yards every summer. They are usually orange, but this year I saw pink ones in a neighbor's yard. I would like to have some and wonder if they can be bought somewhere. They resemble a lily.
A Without a picture, I think you are talking about Lycoris -- common names are surprise lilies and naked lady. While we do not have a common orange variety, the pink ones (Lycoris squamigera) are quite common and look just like a lily without foliage. The foliage emerges in late winter/early spring and lives for a couple of months, then dies back. The naked flower stem appears with the blooms weeks later. The red variety, Lycoris radiata, has foliage in the fall and winter that dies back in the spring. It remains dormant until the naked flower stem surprises you with red flowers in the fall. They are available at some Arkansas Master Gardeners plant sales in the spring or via catalogs.
Q Can you tell me what is wrong with this ligustrum? I have six of these in different locations, and they all have it.
A Your ligustrum has a great case of a leaf-spotting disease called cercospera. This late in the year I don't think a spray program will be very effective. If foliage falls this late in the year rake it up and dispose of it. Next spring, you may want to lightly prune and then spray with a general fungicide such as Daconil.
Janet B. Carson is a horticulture specialist for the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. Write to her at 2301 S. University Ave., Little Rock, Ark. 72204 or email her at
HomeStyle on 09/16/2017