Ask the Gardner

[GrnBay007]

Lil fvcker is the nickname I give to any of the boys that come sniffin around my girls. I've got a few devices in mind for those pesky varmits too.

LOL! Well my son got some little love note from a girl at school this week. I don't know what you boys were doing when you were in 4th grade but I was still enjoying my barbies. So far he has shown no interest in them unless they play sports during recess.....I like it that way.

[MJZiggy]

I have tulips that need dividing. Anyone have any idea when I'm supposed to do that?

[Little Whiskey]

Anyone have a sure-fire way to get a mole out of your yard?

I've asked politely and he won't leave.

I'll give you the redneck way. I've never attempted this but my grandpa swears by it. besides, afterwards you will have a nice pet for your kids.

fill a milk jug up with water and dump it down the mole hole. the mole will think his house is being flooded and will run upstream. and eventually up into the milk jug. simply turn the jug over and you have caught your mole and have a pet at the same time!!!

[Sparkey]

I have tulips that need dividing. Anyone have any idea when I'm supposed to do that?

For spring flowering bulbs like daffodils and tulips, the best division time would be about six weeks after they flower in spring. At this time they (and most other Dutch bulbs) can be carefully dug and then divided and replanted immediately or stored until fall. If you choose to store them, be sure to dry the bulbs in a warm dark place until soil and dead roots can be brushed off by hand. Discard any small bulbs in the clumps, and save only the largest ones. Bulbs can be placed in mesh sacks or paper bags that are left open, and hung in a cool dark, dry place until September, when they can be replanted. Check stored bulbs periodically for disease. Mark your calendar for replanting, lest you forget you have them tucked away. This gives you time to get a soil test and prepare a new planting bed.

[MJZiggy]

Thanks Sparkey!!

Hey, is that 6 weeks from the beginning of bloom or the end? Even if the foliage has not died back yet? Last year those puppies had leaves all summer.

[Sparkey]

Thanks Sparkey!!

Hey, is that 6 weeks from the beginning of bloom or the end? Even if the foliage has not died back yet? Last year those puppies had leaves all summer.

After they are done blooming.

You can also wait till the foilage dies off, and then dig them up, split them and replant them in Sept. Depends on how many other plants will be uprooted working on the tulips.

[Little Whiskey]

http://www.stretcher.com/stories/00/000508q.cfm

Article on nematodes as a grub control.

zig, this kinda sounds like the "little old lady who swallowed a fly" not sure if i want to bring in man eating tigers to kill off the grubs. would the posion from the store work okay?? how long befor i can let JR play on the lawn after i spread the stuff??

[Iron Mike]

I have tulips that need dividing. Anyone have any idea when I'm supposed to do that?

Here's what to do after you divide them:

STORAGE:
Keep the stems/leaves on the bulbs until the foliage has completely dried out
Recycled mesh potato or onion bags are ideal for storing separated bulbs
Store bulbs in a cool/dry place
Basements are ideal
Garages will work
Let the bulbs “breathe”
Spread the bulbs out while the foliage is drying
Don’t store in confined containers
Separate bulbs from each other as much as possible
Once dried, remove the foliage and discard
PLANTING
Bulbs can be planted in the summer or fall
If planted in the summer, plant in beds which are not watered
For best results, plant bulbs in loose, relatively dry, well-drained beds
Dig holes 4”-6” deep
Remember: Plant bulbs with their “tips” up (flat roots go on the bottom)
To ensure a great bloom next year, use flower bulb food (available at any garden department)

[MJZiggy]

My santolina has doubled in size in the last month and is beautiful. It has a ton of flower buds on it and I had no idea it even bloomed. Anyone know what color santolina blooms? I have it in a bed with hot pink annual dianthus that didn't bother to die after last season and a new lantana plant. Also, when does butterfly bush bloom? And can creeping thyme handle foot traffic?

[Deputy Nutz]

Anyone have a sure-fire way to get a mole out of your yard?

I've asked politely and he won't leave.

I would use a 12 gauge shotgun. But thats just me.


Also you can catch them by sitting on one of their holes for a half a day with your pants down. Sooner or later they will come up for air and then you got a Richard Gere thing going on!

[Sparkey]

My santolina has doubled in size in the last month and is beautiful. It has a ton of flower buds on it and I had no idea it even bloomed. Anyone know what color santolina blooms? I have it in a bed with hot pink annual dianthus that didn't bother to die after last season and a new lantana plant. Also, when does butterfly bush bloom? And can creeping thyme handle foot traffic?

Santolina (aka Lavender Cotton) should have small, round yellow flowers. They grow best in dry areas that get ALOT of direct sunlight.



BTW, if any cares, last night in the back yard I saw:

2 Baltimore Orioles at the feeder
1 Green/Bronze colored Hummingbird
1 Male Cardinal
1 Indigo Bunting
a bunch of wrens & 1 Grackle

And if the neighbors cat comes past again, he will get a load of #8 from a .410 is his butt!!

[MJZiggy]

Thanks Sparkey. I had no idea when I bought these little 2-inch tall starters that they would be evergreen and turn into these massive plants. I must be giving them something they like.

That's a nice assortment of birds. Are you Midwest? Aren't there repellant sprays you can use for cats? (other than the spray you were referring to)

[Little Whiskey]

please nutz refrain from posting what you saw in your backyard!!

[MJZiggy]

I am deeming this the year of giant plants that were supposed to die. Now I've come to realize that what's growing in the big pot on my front walk is last year's mums. I don't even think they bloomed last year, but now they are a foot tall and choking out my carnations. I wonder what else is going to pop up out there that was supposed to die off. Anyone else have surprises growing?

[Murphy37]

Anyone have a sure-fire way to get a mole out of your yard?

I've asked politely and he won't leave.

I would use a 12 gauge shotgun. But thats just me.


Also you can catch them by sitting on one of their holes for a half a day with your pants down. Sooner or later they will come up for air and then you got a Richard Gere thing going on!

This works, but be careful. Two of those little basterds crawled up there, and now I got a family of em' gettin bigger by the day. Sure it tickled real good at first, but now it's down right painful. I'm gonna go eat some Mexican food and drink 42 beers to try and flush them out.