Q I have a pear tree that is 4 or 5 years old. It came up between two Kieffer pears, but it doesn't look like them. This year the tree had fruit but it was produced in small clusters about the size of grapes. The coloring is like a pear and they taste pear-like. What do you think we have?
A Pears that are grown from seeds can be quite diverse. From the sound of your description, my guess is you have a type of Callery pear -- which is what all of the ornamental "Bradford" pears are. They are pears and they do produce fruit, but the resulting fruits range from the size of a BB up to a small crab apple. I have never thought to taste one, but the birds sure do like them and eat them and drop the seeds, thus spreading them statewide. They have become quite invasive. The Callery pear is a common rootstock for grafting edible and ornamental pears.
Q Is it too late to plant a two-quart rosemary plant? Will it have time to root before it freezes?
A I would plant it ASAP but be prepared to add a little extra mulch around it if we do have extremely cold weather. Right now nurseries are selling many Christmas-tree-shaped rosemary plants. These plants are much happier outdoors than inside, but in the small pots they will not be as winter hardy as if they were in the ground. But even well-established rosemary plants took a hit from the cold in the past two winters, so just be prepared to cover or give them some help with extreme winter weather.
Q I have a clematis vine, and I never know how or when to prune it. Some years it blooms great and other years I get few blooms. Tell me what to do.
A There is no set rule for pruning all clematis plants at the same time. Some varieties are spring-blooming only, while others bloom all summer, and some bloom only in the fall. You need to know when yours blooms normally to know when to prune. For spring bloomers, flower buds are set now and pruning would hurt spring blooms, so wait and prune immediately after bloom. For summer bloomers, prune before new growth begins in late February to early March; for fall bloomers you can prune as needed until mid- to late June. I like to have three vines growing, with one I can prune almost to the ground, one knee-high, and one I let grow so I have a long, tall vine with flowers throughout. Use caution when pruning since these are not flexible vines -- they are quite brittle and can break easily.
Q It is bulb planting time again, and I have a question for you. Last year I planted 36 tulip bulbs in the fall, and this spring none of them came up. Did I get bad bulbs or could they come up this year? Is there something I should do differently to make sure they come up?
A If you had firm, healthy bulbs, they should have come up this spring unless an animal ate them. Squirrels, moles and deer all seem to like tulips -- some eat the bulbs, and some eat the foliage. You might try daffodils, which are poisonous. The critters leave them alone.
Q I have an oak tree that has a mushroom-like growth coming out of the trunk about 10 feet off the ground. I also have some dead limbs on the same side. Could the mushrooms be killing my tree? Is there something I can spray to kill the mushrooms and save the tree? Will this spread to other trees in my yard?
A This mushroom-like growth is typically called a shelf mushroom. It indicates that you have decay inside the tree. The mushroom itself is not killing the tree, but it is an indicator that your tree has some problems. Once a tree is infected, the fungus causing the mushrooms cannot be killed. You need to assess the overall health of the tree. If only a few branches are dead, and the rest of the tree fully leafed out, it could be fine. The internal decay will continue to spread and so, depending on where the tree stands with relation to your home, you may want to have an arborist inspect it to determine if it needs to be removed.
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 11/21/2015