Q. Are Oakleaf hydrangeas always brittle? I have had two episodes of severe breakage, once when the entire plant broke off at the soil line as I was planting it, and I am not a careless or inexperienced gardener. Please give me a description of the durability of this shrub. Otherwise it sounds like a…
Category: Gardening Q & A
Here you will find answers to questions from gardeners around the country. Some answers pertain to all but others are more regional so have a look at them all. You will also see that the Gardening Q & A is broken down into the following regions so please use the drop-down Categories menu to the right to see specific regions :
Apple Maggot Redux
Q. As you suggested in The News Tribune in February, instead of spraying my apple tree for apple maggot this year, I ordered and used nematodes. What a beautiful LOOKING crop of apples I have, but have not been able to salvage even one apple from the apple maggot (compared to only 5 apples infected…
Coffee Grounds and Rhodie disease
Q. Dear Peter, 1. the local Starbucks store saves coffee grounds for gardeners like us. I know that Blueberries and Roses like acidic soil. What other fruits, vegetables and flowers thrive in soil made acidic with coffee grounds? 2. One of our Rhodies died due to a disease of some sort. Is it a bad…
Soil building compost
Q. Peter, we live at Harvest Gate in Puyallup in the Summit area where the underlying soil is clay and very rocky. I believe you recommended as an excellent soil builder a compost mixture that will sit over the winter months. My question: when, how much and is there a product that you could recommend?…
Christmas cactus rarely blooming?
Q. We have a Christmas cactus that continues to grow but rarely blooms. We have it in a garden window but it is still quite shaded. Do I need to put it in a dark room and water it for a certain period to get it to bloom? Gerri Wilson – Bonney Lake, WA A….