Q: When looking at my garden, I find a lot of it is covered with a fine green moss. I don't want to scratch too much and dig up any plants which may not have sprouted yet. Would you try to scrape it off now or wait for warmer weather? Is this a sign of soil needing treatment?
A: Moss is generally a sign of acid soil. Have you ever seen moss growing in your garden at this time of year before? Sometimes acid rain (and that includes snow) that has fallen over the winter collects various pollutants from the atmosphere that acidify the soil, and in the early spring you will have a flush of moss growing in the thin top layer of soil. This may disappear, as you suspected, when you cultivate the soil. If not, it may be time to do a soil analysis. There are many garden plants that won't do their best if the soil is too acidic, and soil changes through the years.
Q: My domesticated bamboo has aphids. I don't have any rubbing alcohol, so I'm dabbing the leaves with Grey Goose Vodka. Is that OK?
A: Was your Grey Goose vodka Orange or Lemon? Whatever! Grey Goose vodka is 80 proof or 40 percent alcohol. Rubbing alcohol can be 90 percent alcohol, so any flavor of Grey Goose will certainly work to kill aphids.
But with all bug killers that contain alcohol, we strongly suggest applying, then rinsing thoroughly with water within 20 minutes of application, particularly if you need to use it on one of your new thin-leafed plants like the dracaena (corn plant), aglaoneme (Chinese evergreen) or the bamboo. Do not use on fuzzy leafed plants, like African violets.
But what a waste of vodka! In the future, it might be just as effective to use a soap spray (then wash) or a plain cold water rinse (put the plant in the shower or do it in the kitchen sink with a hand sprayer). Do either of these sprays repeatedly with some water force. The soap and/or chill of the water will dislodge the pests.
Q: My daughter brought me a succulent as a small single plant last fall; no tag, no name, no instructions. It wintered over in the greenhouse and evidently liked the light and temperature combo very much. It put out long stems which flopped over and became runners with hair roots on the ground side. It put forth the little four-petaled yellow flowers in profusion and they have been in bloom continuously for over three weeks now. Other vertical stems have started and even though I have transplanted into a low flat dish, I fear the plant will soon outgrow this dish and need splitting. It looks like it would be perfect for our rock garden, but I don't know if is winter hardy. Can you help identify the plant and define the normal environment?
A: You're going to love this! The plant is one of a group of succulents, which are commonly called "Mother of Millions" (or more conservatively by some sources, "Mother of Thousands or Hundreds").
The sunny greenhouse was ideal for the winter, although the plants are more commonly grown as a windowsill houseplant. Beware of mildew in ultra-high humidity locations. It's a fairly bug-free plant, although mealy bugs are sometimes a problem indoors.
It does propagate easily. One of the joys of the plant, and the source of its name, is the ability to grow millions (OK, hundreds of plants) all from the notches on the leaf. When I was a kid (decades ago!) I would buy a large leaf at the flower show each year. They were sold in a little plastic bag for about $1. The directions said it was a magical plant — just pin it to a curtain or lay it on the windowsill and the tiny plants would grow (but they never told you what to do with all the plants!).
No, you probably won't be able to grow it outdoors through a frigid New England winter, however you may have some luck growing it as an annual each spring/summer, then discarding it, and propagating more plants indoors the next winter. Or you could grow it in large, flat pots, (the roots are shallow) as a container plant and move them inside, too. Keep them watered but not soggy and provide good air circulation to prevent mildew on foliage.
Q: I have hydrangeas that get growth on the dead wood. My landscapers broke off the wood with no new growth on them. Is this the right thing to do? I don't know what kind they are but they do have buds on last year's wood, very brown, dry dead looking stalks. They broke off any branches without buds. I don't think this is right, do you? I think our landscaper should stick to cutting grass.
A: All hydrangeas have buds on the live wood at this time of the year. It's very hard to determine this early whether they are flowers or foliage. If he broke off only non-budded, dry stems, he probably did no harm, but maybe you might ask him to do it next year in late summer. I think you'd feel better, although some stems might still die over the winter and need pruning.
You didn't say what kind of hydrangeas you are growing but most varieties set their buds the previous late summer/fall and bloom on last year's wood. So any of last year's wood would contain flower buds and by pruning now, you will be sacrificing this year's flowers.
Your landscaper's may have broken off wood purposely; maybe it was completely dead. Ask him, but this is not the time for deliberate pruning. Do it right after the shrubs bloom. And since the buds are already there on last year's branches, keep your fingers crossed that unusually cold weather doesn't freeze the buds as it has in the past few previous winters.
This Week's Dirt
A reader recently admitted to me that she fooled all her neighbors last year by attaching some beautiful blue artificial hydrangeas to her frost-nipped, non-blooming bushes! I then had to admit to her that I, too, had given into artificial flowers on my agapanthus, which are supposed to bloom in pots on my front steps each May and June.
I called it a little "honest deception." And I further confessed that I used to tie red balls on my neighbor's tomato plants so he might get all excited when he looked out the window on an early June day and think he had the first tomato in the neighborhood!
Who says that gardening is all work and no play? Gardeners can have a sense of humor as well as green thumbs!
><p>
North Shore Gardener by Barbara Barger of Beverly is a regular feature of the Home North section. Reach Barbara by e-mail at nsgardener@comcast.net or write to her c/o Essex County Newspapers, 32 Dunham Road, Beverly, MA 01915. Her Web site is www.nsgardener.com
