Q. How does one remove a prickle bush without danger to oneself?
A. Safe removal of prickly characters is easy as long as you give them a little respect in the form of protective long pants, a long-sleeved shirt and leather gloves.
Find the side of the bush with the fewest branches. Spread a tarp near the bush. Using long-handled loppers to cut and then grab them, remove branches and put them on the tarp. Continue until you have cleared an open area large enough to let you get close to the base.
Scope out a handhold and prune as necessary to give yourself access. Trim any threatening lower branches, then saw the bush down, as close to the ground as possible.
If the area will be mowed, you're done. Just gather the edges of the tarp together and haul the former bush to a place where it can be burned (or decay naturally without hurting anyone).
Otherwise, it's time for the digging fork. Remove the roots as completely as possible and be vigilant for sprouts.
Palm can be saved
Q. I have had a palm since college, about 25 years. This year the lower fronds have dried up and died. The tops are still sprouting. Is it possible to remove the top and root it?
A. Palms cannot be rooted from cuttings like other plants.
Before you try to rehabilitate the palm, find out what caused its decline so you can avoid these conditions in the future. Palms need relatively high humidity, moderate temperatures and adequate light to grow well. A short period of time in an arid atmosphere, overwatering, lack of water or a drastic reduction in sunlight could cause the fronds to die.
You might get the palm growing again by repotting it in fresh soil and placing it outdoors under the shade of a tree for the summer. Given such care, the tree may produce new stems from the rhizomes that are present in most species of palms grown as house plants. If you see fresh growth, you can remove the old, disfigured stem.
Get rid of wild garlic
Q. I planted chives in an herb garden two years ago. They have spread, not just in the herb garden but to other ornamental beds. I sprayed the greens with Roundup and rubbed them with gasoline. Neither has worked. What would you suggest?
A. Chives spread slowly by seed, and the resulting seedlings are easily pulled. The plant you are fighting most likely is wild garlic, which is a weed. Wild garlic plants look a lot like chives but have a pungent garlic odor when bruised. The weeds may lie as deep as 1 foot in the soil. The bulbs go dormant in summer and foliage appears in the autumn. The leaves continue to grow through the spring.
Don't use gasoline as a weedkiller. It is smelly, dangerous and ineffective. Roundup, or any other herbicide containing glyphosate, is effective, but timing and application technique are critical. The best time for treatment is in April and May when the foliage is fully grown and actively pumping carbohydrates into the tiny bulbs deep in the soil. The foliage is very waxy, and must be bruised first to allow any herbicide to penetrate. You can use a leaf rake or your (gloved) hand to do the job. To prevent injury to other plants, wipe the herbicide on the garlic, don't spray.
It is also possible to eradicate wild garlic by digging the clumps out of the soil. This is best done when the soil is moist. Inevitably, you will miss some of the small bulbs, so plan on checking the beds every spring and fall to remove stragglers.
Fungus turns azaleas black
Q. I have some lovely azaleas, but two old ones seem to be turning black. Can you suggest a remedy?
A. Your azaleas are turning black because of a fungus called sooty mold growing on honeydew excreted by insects feeding on the shrubs. The culprit, most likely, is an insect called the azalea bark scale. Look closely near the juncture of the branches and you may see small white fuzzy bumps.
Spraying with the wrong pesticide at the wrong time may actually make it worse, because you will be killing the scale's natural predators and parasites. One of the most effective pesticides for this particular insect is imidacloprid, which is found in the Bayer Advanced line of lawn products.
Cutting plants need sun
Q. I have a small garden space with about four hours of sun per day. I want to grow annuals for cutting. Any suggestions?
A. Cutting gardens are best placed in full sun. A mere four hours of sun is not enough for most plants that are good for cutting.
It is possible to grow a few plants for cutting in your garden such as the old-fashioned, annual touch-me-not (Impatiens balsamina). Consider shade-tolerant perennials such as variegated Solomon's seal and large flowered Honeybell hostas. Hosta leaves make a bold statement in the vase as well.
