Local Weather Forecast
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Complete Forecast for  Jul 05 2008

DEAR NEIL: I have tried for several years to find a white-flowering Datura that opens each night. Nurseries have not been able to help me. Is it sold in nurseries, or where might I find it?

You’re talking about the native pasture plant called jimsonweed (Datura stramonium). You’ll also see it listed as “angel’s trumpet.” You’ll find seed sources via a Web search, and native plant nurseries sometimes offer small plants in 1-gallon pots. It requires full or nearly full sunlight, and it can become rather weedy if it’s allowed to stay in beds until frost.

It reseeds freely, so expect plenty of new plants in future years. For the record, the plant is toxic to both humans and livestock. Many of our other favorite plants are, too, but you do need to be forewarned if young children frequent the area.

DEAR NEIL: We removed overgrown crape myrtles in our beds, and now their root sprouts are coming up everywhere. We don’t want to damage adjacent plants. What can we do to get rid of the crape myrtles permanently?

Use a sharpshooter spade to remove them manually. You won’t have to do it more than one season. If the other plants would allow, you could also place a roll-type mulch over them. Cover it with bark mulch to make the bed look more attractive.

DEAR NEIL: What can we use to eliminate dollarweed in our bermuda lawn?

Apply a broadleafed weedkiller containing 2,4-D. Add one or two drops of a liquid dishwashing detergent to help the spray stay in place on the extremely glossy leaf surfaces. It will take 10 to 15 days to show effect, and you may have to treat a second time 4 to 6 weeks later.

DEAR NEIL: Fungicide did not help with moss in my yard. What would?

Hot, dry weather. It’s not far away. Be patient. Moss has been a common visitor all across Texas this spring due to all the moisture the past many months. Moss is an indication of high humidity, wet soil (or bricks, stones, etc.), shade and cool weather.

DEAR NEIL: Armadillos are tearing up our yard and beds already. Do we need to treat for grubs? What would help?

Armadillos plow through garden and lawn soils whether grubs are present or not. It’s best to try to trap them. I use humane traps, and I try to find their homes to determine where to position the traps. I use a 20-foot-long piece of chicken wire on either side of each trap to create a sort of funnel. The armadillos encounter the wire and bounce along it until they enter the trap. I take them 10 or 12 miles away and release them in a river bottom where they won’t harm anyone’s crops or landscape.

DEAR NEIL: What options do I have in removing thatch that has built up in my 419 bermuda lawn? I don’t want to ruin the grass by ripping it up.

Use a core aerator (available from rental yards). It will pull plugs of thatch and topsoil onto the top of the soil. The air and moisture that will then be able to penetrate into the grass will help break the thatch down.

Mark and avoid sprinkler heads in the process.

DEAR NEIL: I saw your note on pruning hydrangeas, but how do I do it? Do I cut the limbs back all the way to the ground, or do I just remove the tops?

Trim them as gently as you can. Your main goal will be to remove the spent heads and to even up the heights of the stalks. Otherwise, little pruning is needed.

DEAR NEIL: Last year I planted several crape myrtle seeds. Now they are growing. How can I ensure that these plantlets will grow into trees and not shrubs?

All crape myrtles are shrubs. Some grow taller than others, but all will produce multiple trunks and generous side branching. The tree-form crape myrtles you see have all been trained into those shapes by repeated pruning to removed unwanted branches and trunks.

DEAR NEIL: Can I trim a Texas mountain laurel that grew lanky due to excessive shading? I have pruned the trees that were casting the shade.

Yes, you can reshape the plant as needed, although the best time to do major pruning would be in very late winter, before the new spring growth. Do whatever trimming you feel you can do now. Watch the trees, too. They will probably grow right back where they were before.

DEAR NEIL: How can I get rid of monkeygrass that is taking over its bed around my shrubs?

You could probably kill it with a weedkiller, but then you’d have to look at the stubble for years. You’d be far better off to give it to someone who needs a great shade-tolerant groundcover. If there is any way for you to install 4-inch edging to its full depth, it will prevent the spread of the monkeygrass where you don’t want it.

Have a question you’d like Neil to consider? Mail it to him in care of this newspaper or e-mail him at mailbag@sperrygardens.com. Neil regrets that he cannot reply to questions individually.