Q When is a good time to plant blueberry bushes? We thought we might plant a few on the side of the house. There isn't room for more than three. Are miniature ones available?
A You can plant blueberries whenever you can find the varieties you want -- they are quite hardy. There are many varieties. Some need two different varieties for cross-pollination, while some of the more compact "patio" forms are self-fruitful. "Bountiful Blue," "Jelly Bean," "Pink Lemonade" and "Blueberry Glaze" are all self-fruitful plants that are used as edible ornamentals.
Q I have some crape myrtles on the south side of the house that have developed a sticky coating on the leaves. Is it a fungus, and what should I do with it? Other crape myrtles out in the open don't seem to have the substance.
A There are two possible causes for the sticky substance. One is aphids -- small insects that feed on the crape myrtle or overhanging trees. They give off a very sticky substance called honeydew. It can coat the leaves. Once it is present, a black sooty mold can form on the honeydew. The other honeydew-causing insect is relatively new to us -- crape myrtle scale. This insect attacks the leaves, stems and trunk of the plant, looking like a coating of salt and pepper on the wood. If there are enough of them, they, too, can give off the sticky honeydew and often the trunks turn black from the amount of sooty mold on the honeydew. Check your plants to see which insect is causing the problem. If you aren't sure, take a sample in to your local county extension office. Aphids this late in the season are more a nuisance than a threat to the plant. Scale insects are more of an issue, since they will overwinter and multiply on the plant, which can lead to severe problems.
Q My family heirloom hibiscus is dropping seeds now, and I would like to know how to start plants from seeds. Any information that can help me would certainly be appreciated.
A Save the seeds for later planting. You have two options. One is to start the seeds indoors, using artificial light in January or February. Hibiscus are related to okra, and like okra seeds, hibiscus seeds benefit from soaking overnight in warm water before planting. It will take warm soil conditions to get them to sprout, but you should have a healthy small plant to move outdoors in the late spring or early summer. The second option is to wait until all frost has passed and plant directly where you want them to grow outdoors. Planting a seedling versus a seed gives you a chance of having a bloom the first year. If grown from seed in the garden, the plants will usually have only foliage during Year One and blooms Year 2 and onward.
Q A bush appears to be growing out of a stump left from an ice-storm-damaged dogwood tree. New dogwood limbs are behind this bush. Is the bush worth leaving alone or is it just a large weed?
A From the picture you sent me, I would say they are all dogwood sprouts. If they are coming from the stump, I would guess they are all spouts of the tree, attached at the same juncture and not seedlings. You could choose the strongest and straightest and retrain it into a tree by cutting out the rest; or you could let them all live and create a large dogwood bush, not a tree. If you layered some of these seedlings in the ground, by bending them to the soil, covering the trunk in dirt and weighting it down, they could root and give you some additional trees.
Q We have some boxwood bushes that have grown large, about 4 feet tall and about 3 feet across. We would like to trim them back to about 2 feet high. Can this be done and will bushes grow back next spring? I realize they will be pretty ugly after trimming them, because all the green will be across the front and back.
A I would strongly encourage you to wait until next year to prune. Prune in late February through early April so that the plants will fill back in quickly. Not only would pruned boxwoods look horrendous all fall and winter, but they would have no protection should we have another cold winter.
DEAR READERS: I will speak about "Over-wintering Tropical and Semi-hardy Plants" to the Flower Garden & Nature Society of Northwest Arkansas on Sept. 20, a Saturday, in the Student Center of Northwest Technical Institute. The institute is at 709 S. Old Missouri Road in Springdale. The meeting is free and open to everyone. Social time begins at 9:30 a.m.; the meeting begins at 10.
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 09/13/2014