QUESTION: When and how should I prune my gardenias?
ANSWER: Most gardenias need little pruning. On old, unproductive branches and weak stems should be removed 6 to 8 inches from above the ground. This will encourage new basal growth. Do this in early spring before growth begins. During bloom thin out weak stems that have not produced flowers and that have few or small leaves. On leggy plants (those with weak, spindly growth) lightly cut back branches to encourage side-shoot formation and growth. Continue these practices each year until the entire plant is young and vigorous again. Source: Sunset Pruning Handbook. 1991. Sunset Publishing Corporation, Menlo Park, CA. Page 62.
QUESTION: I have seeded some broccoli and cabbage in peat pots. They have germinated but are tall and very weak at the base, so weak in fact that some are starting to fall over. What am I doing wrong?
ANSWER: Most plants when they germinate and emerge from the soil need light to grow. When the light supply is limited the plants become etiolated; a term meaning plants stretch for light. Remember the beans that you or your children germinated in the dark? Oh you never have seen them? Well plant some bean seeds in a cup and keep them moist and in the dark and you will see etiolation. Broccoli and cabbage are members of the Brassica plant family and are very prone to etiolation. What you need to do is place them in nearly full sunlight or place them under a fluorescent light that is only several inches from the plant leaves. I have found it easiest to hang lights from light weight chains, then place the chains over hooks screwed into the ceiling or shelves. This allows for gradual raising of the lights as the plants grow.
QUESTION: When should I dethatch my lawn?
ANSWER: It depends on the type of lawn you have. Dethatching is done with either a machine rented from a rental shop or with specialized rakes that give the user a very good workout! Dethatching is done to remove excessive buildup of plant materials that lies just beneath or just on top of the soil. The former are rhizomes and the later stolons. Stolons are stems that "creep" on top of the soil and rhizomes are underground stems. Both serve as sites from where new grass plants are formed. Dethatching is not for the removal of built-up grass leaf blades in the sod. These normally decompose naturally. Fescue type lawns do not have rhizomes or stolons and are never dethatched. Bluegrass has only rhizomes. These are cool-season plants and grow best with cool temperatures. Bermuda grass can spread by means of seeds, rhizomes and stolons and is a warm-season grass, growing best in warm weather. Dethatching is a damaging procedure and should be done only when plants are vigorously growing and have plenty of time to recover from the damage caused by the machine or rake. Therefore, dethatch Bermuda grass lawns about a month after it is growing well, normally the end of May or June. Bluegrass is rarely in need of dethatching but if needed, it should be done in later September or October. Fescues never need to be dethatched because they do not produce stolons or rhizomes.