In the garden

LITTLE ROCK — QThe tree in this photo is much-loved by people (and bees) in our Heights neighborhood because of its fragrantleaves and flowers. I tell everyone it’s a lavender tree because of the colored blooms which occur each June, but I have never seen lavender grow on trees. A neighbor tells me it was planted in the ’70s, so it has withstood the test of time. But during the lastfew years, in late July, the leaves get a brown appearance, shrivel and about half drop off. Can you tell me what the tree is and how I should care for it?

AThis is a Vitex tree (Vitex agnuscastus), commonly called the chaste tree. From the picture,it looks like your tree would benefit from being thinned a bit at the base to remove some of the excess twigginess. All of the excess canes could be causing some of the decline. Thebest time to prune is in late February before new growth begins. If the leaves start declining again this year, bring some samples in to the local county extension office.

QI have an overgrown clematis vine. DoI cut the vine back at the end of the season?

AIt depends on which clematis you are growing. If you have one that blooms all summer, you prune before growth begins in the spring. If yours only blooms in the spring, allow it to bloom and then prune in late spring. Pruning back in the fall wouldn’t be a great option for either one. Then there is the sweet autumn clematis that blooms late summer through fall, and it typically dies back during the winter.

QI have some petunias planted in urns and a hanging basket.

They all have grown over the edges and are hanging down, which would bebeautiful but they are looking ugly and woody. Is it the hot weather? Should I trim them back, and if so how much?

AIf the hanging baskets aren’t large, this often happens to petunias with hot weather. I think they often do better for home gardeners in the ground. They need a lot of fertilizer in containers to keep full and healthy.

Petunias are heavy feeders in any situation, but we water pots so much that we leach out the nutrition quickly. Weekly applications of a water soluble fertilizer are needed for petunias in pots to look good. Cut them back by half, or if the ends look good, add some more plants to the top of the container to fill in there.

QI have a smoke bush and would like to start a couple more from cuttings. How would I do that?

ATake cuttings now and see what happens. Smoke tree is not the easiest plant to root. We like to take cuttings from woody plants in mid-June through July. The new growth has had a chance to build some stability but isn’t totally woody yet.

Cuttings should be between 3 and 6 inches long.

I would suggest getting a large pot and filling it with fresh, sterile potting soil or peat moss. Take twice as many cuttings as you want to root. Dip the cuttings in a rooting hormone - Rootone, Dip’n Grow or similar product - and then put the cuttings inside the container and put it inside a clear plastic bag. Put the bag in the shade and leave it alone.

The humidity and moisture levels should stay high. After eight weeks, check the cuttings to see if they have rooted. They will need to be kept in the container all winter and planted next spring, butthe plastic bag can come off once they are rooted.

Janet Carson is an extension horticulturist with the University ofArkansas Division of Agriculture. Write to her at P.O. Box 391, Little Rock, Ark. 72203, or e-mail her at

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