Horticulture Guy

Question: I’d like to ask you a question. Recently I ordered garden seeds from a licensed nursery in another state. These seeds came shipped in clear cellophane with no directions or instructions of any kind such as sun, shade, when to plant ,etc, etc. I complained and they said tough - no refunds. What I’d like to know is what is required in packaging to ship seeds across state lines? Don’t packets have to contain certain specific information? How do I file a complaint against this dealer? I’d appreciate any help you could offer. Bob - new castle, indiana

Answer: I believe there are minimum standards like name of plant, year it was packaged. If you would like to pursue this further I wood contact the USDA’s (United State’s Department of Agriculture’s) Seed Regulatory and Testing Branch:
Write to: Seed Regulatory and Testing Branch
801 Summit Crossing Place, Suite C
Gastonia, North Carolina 28054-2193
email: seed.ams@usda.gov
or call: Phone: 704-810-8870
FAX: 704-852-4189 (Lab), 4109(Chief)

-- HG

Question: I’m trying to identify a flower. We live in Athens, Georgia (she’s about 20 minutes outside of Athens.) and this is something that has been in my friends yard since she moved into the house, and until this year she’s been pulling them up because she thought they were clover. Looks like 2 flowers put together, totally different parts of them. Front part is white w/yellow stamens and back part is purple and looks almost lily-ish.She hadn’t gotten to it this year, and they bloomed. Here’s the link for the pictures… Thanks, Wendy R.
Answer: That is a type of columbine (Aquilegia) a garden perennial. The darker colored part are the sepals and the white the petals. There are many types of columbines. Some produce flowers in a single color or like the one your friend has are bicolored.

-- HG

I am heading up the the Northwest Flower and Garden Show  Saturday February 23rd to the DIY (Do-it-yourself) Stage to demonstrate making a simple batbox.  I always enjoy seeing if I can build something in less than an 3/4 of an hour in front of hundreds of people.  I especially like to challenge all my battery operated equipment to function properly and test my memory to see if I can remember to bring all the supplies and tools I need! For those of you who come to the show here are some links for you about bats and building bat boxes:

Bats Northwest

Bat Conservation International

Rocket Box Plans

-- HG

Q. Interested in advice on planting mophead hydrangea in my zone 6
location. The area I am planting receives sun from 12N on. Soil is
clay & will slopes away from plants. I am asking before I buy as I
need approximately 15 bushes to fill in space & don’t want to make
the investment if it is a losing battle. Please advise, if possible. Tonya Amber - Vanderbilt, Pa
A. The mopheads fall under Hydrangea macrophylla and from what I can tell your location is just a little too cold for regular blooming as the plants may freeze to the ground in many years in the west of Pennsylvania. This would kill off the flower buds. You would have beautiful plants but not any blooms. If you are interested in having a hydrangea you may want to try the Peegee Hydrangea (H. paniculata ‘Grandiflora’) which would handle your winters a little better. Be sure to add some organic matter (like compost) to the soil before planting to help enrich and aerate your clay soil.

-- HG

My alma matter Rutgers has done some interesting research on how domesticated flowers have a positive emotional effect on us. A 2005 article published in in Evolutionary Psychology Confirming what most of us gardeners know intuitively. The information is being used to promote cut flower and pot flower giving by the Society of American Florists but I want to make sure you are growing some flowers in your garden this year. I always try to incorporate fragrant flowers like the warm cinnamon scents of carnations, or the hints of vanilla in heliotrope or the powdery or the wide ranging scents of different varieties of sweet peas . If you are interested in and like scientific reading check out the article:
An Environment Approach to Positive Emotion: Flowers

-- HG

Q. Happy New Year,I have a potted Ficus tree outdoors. It is extremely healthy but I now see that the roots have gone through the pot and into the ground.Can I cut the roots off at the bottom of the pot? or will this kill the tree? Sandy in Florida

-- HG