Neil Sperry's Mailbag

DEAR NEIL: Can I root roses from cuttings?

Yes, so long as you are not violating plant patent laws for a new variety.

Antique roses are all started from cuttings. Details on rooting cuttings are the same as those mentioned in the previous question.

DEAR NEIL: We recently moved into a house with four large cedar trees. Nothing is growing beneath them. I'd like to put a border in under them and cover the ground with rocks. Would that hurt the trees?

It would not hurt the trees. If you have a source for that much attractive stone go for it. Bark mulch might be easier and less expensive. It would also look more natural.

DEAR NEIL: Why do crape myrtles fail to flower or bloom sparingly?

It can be due to excessive shade. Some people still insist of topping their crape myrtles each winter and that will slow their summer flowering for many weeks - to say nothing of what it does to the plants' natural form. They flower best when they are growing vigorously, so adding a high-nitrogen plant food is always helpful. Protect older varieties from powdery mildew.

DEAR NEIL: Our bluebonnet patch has been doing very well. Now, however, clover seems to be overtaking it. What should we do the balance of the summer to be certain we have good bluebonnets next year?

Your bluebonnets, as you no doubt have noted, have gone to seed. Now that the plants are completely browned and out of the picture you can apply a broadleafed weedkiller spray to the clover.

Use a pump sprayer and mix in one drop of liquid dishwashing detergent with each tank of spray to help it hold onto the waxy leaves. The clover will die away within a couple of weeks. Do not use this near desirable non-grassy plants, however, and do not use that sprayer for insecticides in the future. Mark it for use with herbicides only.


DEAR NEIL: We are having a terrible time with webworms. What is the best way to eliminate them?

Use a long-handled pole pruner to remove the webs when they are quitesmall.

If they have engulfed entire branches use a hook to break them open. Sprays are not efficient. They are more cosmetic than harmful.


DEAR NEIL: What would cause big juniper trees to die? It appears to start on one side, but neighbors have lost entire trees.

It could be spider mites. Thump some of the declining twigs over white paper to see if you see nearly microscopic mites moving about. Kelthane is the best miticide. It could also be leftover damage from the several years of intense drought, and junipers will also brown and die when they shade one another. If those don't hit it you might want to hire an arborist for an on-site visit.


DEAR NEIL: What are the variegated red and tan gumball-looking things that are falling from our red oak? They're about an inch in diameter.

Those are insect galls. There actually are many hundreds of types of galls on oaks. This particular one has been fairly common this year. The good news is that it causes no harm to the plant nor is there anything you can do to control it anyway.


DEAR NEIL: Will plants like fig ivy and English ivy growing up tree trunks harm the trees?

Both of those are clinging vines. They gain nothing from the trees other than support so they are of no concern. The only possible problems would be if English ivy were to form a canopy over the tree's branches and shade them excessively. Fig ivy will never get that large. Were you to have an ice storm and the ivy leaves get coated in ice the additional weight might break branches. Again, that's only an issue with English ivy.


DEAR NEIL: I have just moved here from New Orleans and a lemon tree was left behind at our new home. Is there any way to identify the type of lemon? They are small and are remaining green. I assume they will turn yellow.

Meyer lemons are the most common container variety. They eventually get quite large and, of course, turn yellow as they mature. It's not possible to identify yours, however, just from the description. For the record, fruit size depends on numbers produced (the greater the number the smaller the fruit will usually be).


DEAR NEIL: We have a lot of shade from 40-foot oaks we planted ourselves many years ago. We have Asian jasmine groundcover beneath them in part of the area. We now need additional groundcover as there is almost no sunlight.

We have used Round Up to control bermudagrass in the bed in the past. It did no harm to the jasmine or the trees. Are there other groundcovers that will also accept the weedkiller spray?

Not that I have seen. Stick with the jasmine in areas where you need a low groundcover. Better yet, use Round Up to kill weeds before you till the soil, then plant a really strong groundcover such as mondograss. Weeds will seldom invade it, plus it makes a really nice contrast with the jasmine.


Dear Neil: We have several rose bushes. They have almost no leaves. I thought it might have been the rain but someone reminded me they were the same last year in the dry weather. What causes it?

This question keeps coming up. We'll give a short version this time. It's black spot, a fungal leaf spot that disfigures roses in spring, early summer and fall. Apply a labeled fungicide weekly during those times. Trim the plants to restore their form.

DEAR NEIL: I have two Roma tomato plants. The fruit is not ripening. What can I do to speed it along?

Ripening of fruit simply takes time whether it's tomatoes, peaches or bluebonnet seeds. There is nothing you can do to hurry it. Cloudy weather of early summer slowed it down a lot. Just be patient.

DEAR NEIL: I have a lovely cypress tree near a brick gazebo. It's been there about 10 years and is now putting up knees all over the yard. One is even pushing against the gazebo. Is there a way out of the problem? If I cut the tree will the knees develop into additional trees? How do I get rid of them?

You could cut an 18-inch-deep trench between the tree's trunk and the gazebo, then install a pond liner/root barrier to prevent additional problems around the gazebo. Of course, that does not eliminate the rest of the knees in other parts of your yard. You can remove them with a long-handled axe if you wish, or you could replace the tree with some other quality species.

DEAR NEIL: What time of year is proper for pruning lower limbs off a Bradford pear? Do we need to use sealant?

Prune at any season. Each cut should be virtually flush with the trunk. No sealant is needed.

DEAR NEIL: We have a 5-year-old lilac that has not bloomed. Could it be because of too much shade?

Shade certainly could be a factor, but lilacs are also very poorly adapted to Texas. Anyone who has seen or grown them in the Midwest or Northwest will be sorely disappointed by them here. They bloom sparsely and the flower heads, if and when they do bloom, are rarely larger than golf balls.

Texas is simply 15 or 20 degrees too warm for them at all seasons.

Neil Sperry
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