QI have a weed I call oxalis with small pink flowers that is taking over my front beds.
I have tried several bottles of an herbicidec alled Over the Top. It barely fazes it. I am desperate for help in getting rid of it. What can I do?
A Oxalis or wood sorrel is a tough weed, since it has a small, bulblike structure underground that multiplies quite readily.
I can’t believe Over the Top does anything to oxalis, since it is a grass-specific herbicide. The only thing it will kill is grassy weeds, and oxalis is a broadleaf weed.
The tough part is that your broadleaf weed is growing around a bunch of broadleaf shrubs and flowers,so anything that will kill the oxalis will also kill or damage the desirable vegetation. If you can spot spray and only get the herbicide on the oxalis, you can use a formulation of Roundup to kill the oxalis, but it typically takes more than one application. Be careful not to spray on a windy day, and protect your desirable plants.
Q This vine has come up the last two years in the middle of my hosta. Is it poisonous?How do I get rid of it without harming my hosta?
AThe vine is Virginia creeper, a native with nice fall foliage. It is often mistaken for poison ivy when it is young and has only three leaflets. As it matures, it gets five leaflets. It is not poisonous, but can get a little happy if left in flower beds. Hand-pulling it out of your hosta beds is the best bet, since anything that would kill it would also kill your hostas.
Q We planted this Natchez crape myrtle tree in the fall of 2009.
It didn’t have many blooms the first couple of seasons.
This year it came to a beautiful full bloom. The blooms, however, lasted only a couple of weeks and then all the blooms turned brown at once.
I have never seen this happen to a crape. The tree description said it would have 110 days of continuous blooms. Do you have any idea what went wrong with it? The leaves look good with no signs of bugs or damage but the flowers are now brown.
A I don’t know why all of the flowers went at once, since normally they open and finish at different times. Crape myrtles do set seeds, which slows down the process of setting more flowers. Deadhead - clip off the spent blooms - and you should see a resurgence of flowers. Look closely at the plants to see if any aphids are present or there are signs of powdery mildew, even though that variety should be resistant to the mildew.
Q My daughter has been looking for a bush that blooms about the same time azaleas bloom but has orange flowers. Do you know what it could be?
A My guess would be a deciduous azalea.
There are several great varieties that have stunning orange blooms.
There are Exbury and Mollis hybrids that have great shades of yellow and orange flowers. The summer-blooming pomegranate (Punica granatum) is another orange flowering shrub for our gardens, but blooms quite a bit after the azaleas.
Q Is it too late to trim azaleas and the Grancy graybeard tree? If it is not, let me know the time limit.
A Yes, it is too late to prune any plant that blooms in the spring.
I already have flower buds that have set or are setting on dogwoods, deciduous azaleas and tulip magnolia.
Pruning now will limit the flowering of spring-blooming trees and shrubs next year.
The best time to prune spring-blooming plants is immediately after flowering, but no later than mid-June.
Janet 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, Pages 31 on 07/27/2013