www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/1 -
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Published on: 10/16/2007
Last Visited: 10/16/2007
Adrian HigginsWashington Post Garden Editor
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- Garden Plot: Adrian Higgins
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Adrian Higgins, garden editor for The Post's Home section, is here to help.Higgins is a firm believer in "tough plants for tough times" -- the varieties that combine good looks with stiff resistance to disease and pests.He currently rules over a garden filled with spring bulbs, daffodils, ornamental onions, perennials, asters, yarrows, hostas and day lilies.Higgins, an avid organic gardener who believes chemicals are a last resort, also tends his own herb and vegetable gardens where he grows peas, garlic onions, lettuce, rhubarbs, radishes, carrots and more.
Submit your questions and comments before or during today's discussion.
Catch up on previous transcripts of The Garden Plot.
Higgins is the author of two books, "The Secret Gardens of Georgetown: Behind the Walls of Washington's Most Historic Neighborhood" and "The Washington Post Garden Book: The Ultimate Guide to Gardening in Greater Washington and the Mid-Atlantic Region."
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Adrian Higgins: This is a moth whose larvae encase themselves in detritus, hence the name.
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Adrian Higgins: The first thing I would do would be to water the garden.
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Adrian Higgins: It will overwinter in a cool, bright room, and will develop into a rather woody shrub like plant.
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Adrian Higgins: Absolutely, but the key is to give them a good soaking before you lay the mulch.
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Adrian Higgins: The positive aspect is that the drought has really hardened the soil and made their digging difficult.
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Adrian Higgins: I have not had Colony Collapse Disorder in my two active hives.
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Adrian Higgins: Both cannas and agapanthus can be expected to overwinter in the soil outdoors here, especially if given a good winter mulch, which should be removed by early spring.
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Adrian Higgins: I think you may be overwatering them.
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Adrian Higgins: THese are tender, and are brought indoors to overwinter as plants (in a greenhouse) or in bulb form (no greenhouse).
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Adrian Higgins: The golden rule of fertilizing is that you only feed when a plant is in active growth.That may be active top growth or active root growth, but if a plant is dormant, stressed or afflicted with pests, fertilizing will be at best of no use and at worst harmful.
Gaithersburg MD: Good morning, Adrian.I have a question about watering (in drought times).I have a 25+ year old beautiful kwanzan cherry tree in my townhouse's front yard.If I water to the drip line, I end up watering the entire yard and part of neighbors' yards too.How close to or far from the tree trunk am I supposed to water, Thanks.
Adrian Higgins: The feeder roots are at or beyond the drip line.
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Adrian Higgins: In later winter, bee clubs in Northern Virginia and Montgomery County organize classes for beginners.
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Adrian Higgins: I would either pile on lots of compost and horse manure, and let it break down over the winter, and then dig it in in February.
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Adrian Higgins: It would be an excellent choice, though it will need a little coddling at first to get established.
Washington, D.C.: How long will be tomatoes and eggplant continue to grow, The tomato plants finally seem to be slowing down a little bit, but the eggplant still seems to be going strong.
Adrian Higgins: Once nighttime temperatures fall into the 50s the tomatoes are going to slow down and be slow to ripen.
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Adrian Higgins: Years ago we would only recommend something really tough like Brown Turkey or Chicago, but in recent years I have found some of the more tender varieties quite hardy in my Alexandria garden.
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Adrian Higgins: You could grow seedlings, it might take more than a decade to get a tree of any size and longer for flowering, but go for it.
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Adrian Higgins: Follow up to the magnolia question, if you are soaking them, don't do it now unless you can overwinter them in a cold frame.
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Adrian Higgins: I've heard lilacs are better planted in the spring, perhaps the roots are fleshy and prone to breaking, not quite sure if that's the case.
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Adrian Higgins: This is not a good practice because you kill the whole vascular system in a line below and above the hole.
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Adrian Higgins: Yes it should do, and the ones on it will remain ornamental and produce seed.
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Adrian Higgins: Osmocote may be slow release, but it is release, so yes the same rule applies.
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Adrian Higgins: This may be in response to transplant shock or to overwatering.
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Adrian Higgins: The Brooklyn Botanic Garden has developed a number of yellow cultivars that stay quite contained, including one named for the recently deceased former president Judy Zuk.
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Adrian Higgins: I would consider a redbud, look for a variety named Forest Pansy or a recent National Arboretum introduction (of the Chinese redbud, named Don Egolf).
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Adrian Higgins: I wouldn't do any transplanting until the drought has subsided.
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Adrian Higgins: Keep them in the pots until late winter, sinking the pots into a bed to retain moisture and minimize freezing.Wilt-Proof is used on evergreens.
University Park, MD: With global warming in full swing, and the possibility of future droughts like the one we are seeing this year, I feel it is only responsible to make some changes to my landscaping.Can you recommend any sources of information on xeriscaping, or on drought-tolerant plants in general, Thank you very much.
Adrian Higgins: I would direct you to a mail order nursery called High Country Gardens, and to the websites of Denver Botanic Gardens and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
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Adrian Higgins: First, sycamores are streambank species so make sure it has plenty of water.
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Adrian Higgins: The problem is next year we may get 50 inches of rain and if you plant a xeriscape garden, it will drown.
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Adrian Higgins: I wouldn't spray it unless it has pests.
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Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2007 at 11:00 a.m. ET | Post Garden editor Adrian Higgins is online to answer your plant questions.
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