IN THE GARDEN

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette snails illustration.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette snails illustration.

Q We have something growing in our front yard, and it is spreading. It just started this summer, and we have no idea what it is. Right now, it is mostly around the part of the yard that is nearest the shrub bed. Can you tell what it is? And if so, how do we get rid of it? I'm afraid it is going to take over our whole yard if we don't get it stopped. We have a service that sprayed for weeds, but that didn't kill whatever this is.

A The weed in question is a tough one to kill -- Virginia buttonweed. It is one of the most common weeds of Southern lawns and one of the hardest to kill. It's a warm-season perennial that begins growing in the spring and continues to grow through the summer. It is often worse in moist areas. If left uncontrolled, it can produce a dense, matted growth that chokes out the lawn grass. Virginia buttonweed is not readily controlled by most lawn weed killers. It is one of the most difficult broadleaf lawn weeds to keep in check. A lawn weed killer with several active ingredients that contains carfentrazone should work, such as Ferti-lome Weed Free Zone and Weed B Gon Max for Southern Lawns, but it is too hot to use these products now. You could try spot-spraying just the weeds, but avoid getting it on the grass -- it can burn it in this heat. These herbicides are best applied in spring when temperatures don't exceed 85. Besides spot spraying, I would try to limit the buttonweed's spread by pulling it up.

Q Five weeks ago, we planted five sedums alongside the driveway, 18 inches apart, in a mix of compost and soil. They were watered in, and then watered every other day for 10 days. We had two heavy rains during the period. The smaller green leaves on one plant began to shrivel or wither a few days ago. We removed it and replanted it in a pot. Now the second plant is beginning to wither, and the first one appears nearly dead. What should I do?

A Sedums like it dry. I have a feeling they are getting too much moisture. Plants can wilt when overwatered, just as they can when under-watered. How is the drainage in the bed where they are planted? What do the roots look like on the plant you repotted? If they are brown and slimy, they are not healthy and should be removed.

Q Our large, 30-year-old photinias have black spots and are losing their leaves, and it is affecting all four plants. Will they come back, or are they gone? Is there anything we can do? They were pruned in December. I always thought photinias shouldn't be pruned after August. Is that right?

A This is a common disease on photinias called entomosporium leaf spot, and it is very similar to black spot on roses. This disease does not kill the plants in one season, but if left untreated, over time it will lead to death. In the years before death, it leads to some ugly looking plants with diseased leaves that fall off, giving you some unattractive hedges. December is not an optimal time to prune, but I don't think that caused the disease. (I find early to midspring to be the best time to shear hedges so they will bounce back.) You have some options. One is to replace the photinias with some other shrub. Another option is to do nothing and wait to see what happens next spring. A third option is to spray with a fungicide. Fungicides won't do much this late in the season but next spring, you could spray before new growth and then spray again four weeks later. See what happens. For complete disease suppression, a more regular spray schedule is needed, but I think it is unproductive to spray a hedge constantly.

DEAR READERS: A reader who has been having a terrible time with snails remembered one of her father's tricks to kill them: a bowl full of beer. The bowl was full of dead snails the next day.

Slugs and snails have been prolific this year with the frequent rains. Beer attracts them, traps them, and then they drown. Change out the container when it's full of dead pests and replenish the beer. By gradually moving the beer farther from your plants, you'll draw the slugs and snails away from them.

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

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HomeStyle on 08/01/2015

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