NEIL SPERRYGardener's Mailbag

Dear Neil: I’m putting a privacy fence around my backyard. I had a chain link fence for years and I just kept the trees and vines trimmed to the ground. How do I get rid of them now so they don’t sprout up again?

A: It sounds like you don’t have access to the stumps and any of the sprout growth, so your only option (not one you’ll want to hear) is to dig the root systems out before you have the new fence constructed. Your other choice is to let them sprout back up again next spring and then treat the new shoots with a broadleafed weedkiller (containing 2, 4-D). If there are any stumps to which you have access, you could always drill holes into them and pour the broadleafed herbicide in at full strength to fill the holes. It’s going to be your best solution in the long run.

SAVING AN OAK

Dear Neil: My son and his wife have just moved into a home where there are four oak trees. Three are doing well, but one has shoots coming up from its base. The top has died off and has been trimmed and painted. Why would this have happened, and can it be saved, or should it be replaced?

A: There very well may have been sunscald to the trunk after this tree was planted. However, since the new shoots are so vigorous, the root system is obviously healthy. Whether they replace it with a new tree or try to save it is certainly their decision. If they decide to try to save it they should trim away all the dead wood at the top by cutting the trunk back just above the strongest, straight shoot that is developing. Remove all the other shoots from its base so that new growth will be forced into the one new trunk. The narrow angle between it and the old trunk will be absorbed by the tree as the trunk thickens. Seal the cut trunk with pruning paint to keep insects and diseases from invading. It should take off yet this fall and especially come spring.

ROOT-BOUND

Dear Neil: Why would one bougainvillea have bloomed well for weeks while another one nearby have done nothing but produce green growth?

A: It could be two different varieties, or there might be a different amount of light getting to them. One may be more root-bound than the other. Being root-bound often favors flower production, especially coming out of the summertime. Avoid nitrogen fertilizer that would promote more leaves and stay the course. Hopefully the second one will kick into bloom soon.

PLANT THESE VITEX

Dear Neil: I have two vitex trees that I started from cuttings. They’re about 2 feet tall in 3-gallon pots. When is the best time to plant them into the yard?

A: It sounds like they’re ready now. All things considered they’ll do better in the ground than they would sitting on top of the ground in pots. If they’re small enough that a big dog or a careless youngster might break them, you may want to put a stake alongside to protect each of them.

KEEPING IT ORGANIC

Dear Neil: During the drought we saved every drop of water from our shower and kitchen sink. We try to have an organic garden. Recently my wife has become concerned about using it on our edible plants because she thinks it might impart a soapy taste to the produce, also because we could no longer be able to claim that our garden is organic due to the trace of soap. Can you settle the deadlock?

A: Without knowing the types of soaps you used and perhaps other facts, it’s difficult to answer your questions about what impact you might have on the organic status of your vegetable garden. The obvious option might be to use this gray water on non-edible crops such as flowers and the rest of your landscape. As for taste, you’re not going to impart a soapy flavor to the produce. Taste wouldn’t pass into the roots and all the plant tissues.

‘HARDY ORANGE’

Dear Neil: I came across these wild lemons (my name because of their smell and taste) in East Texas in an area I would have expected to be too cold for citrus. There are a bunch of these trees with killer thorns. What are they?

A: You came across trifoliate orange (Poncirus trifoliat), also known appropriately as “hardy orange.” It’s closely related to true citrus except that this one is winter-hardy to -10F. It drops its glossy leaves in late fall, and at that point its thousands of sharp thorns become all the more evident. It can be used as an impenetrable hedge 3 to 4 feet tall and wide, although most home gardeners find it far too thorny for such uses. The fruit is exceedingly bitter and is only used for candied rinds. All things considered, it’s more of a novelty than a useful landscaping shrub or small tree.

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