When to plant camellias, treat for weeds and caterpillars | Home/Garden

When do we purchase and plant camellias? They demonstrate up in the nurseries in November. Even so, my gardener insists they can be killed by an premature frost and indicates February. By then, camellias are more difficult to find. And are azaleas on the same timetable? — George Warner

Now is the excellent time to order and plant camellias. Your gardener is mistaken. Camellias are hardy in this article and are not affected adversely by wintertime temperatures (even though, open flowers can be broken by hard freezes).

The awesome factor about picking and planting camellias this time of the year is that they are in bloom. So, you can see the precise bouquets a cultivar will create and pick out the camellias that create the form, size and shade of flowers you need.

You may well also plant azaleas now. Our prime planting season for hardy trees and shrubs is November via February/early March. The worst time to plant trees and shrubs right here is in the warmth of summertime.

The cooler months, particularly drop, are the most effective occasions to plant hardy trees and shrubs right here.

Considering that the freeze final week, my pentas glimpse lousy. They nonetheless have some green coming from the roots but hardly. As they are about 4 ft off the ground, they are fairly an eyesore. Can I prune them now or should I wait until the danger of a freeze is about? — Sandy Duhon

Experience totally free to trim the pentas now to make improvements to their look. You may perhaps reduce them back again down to the point where by you see the environmentally friendly shoots expanding.

Try to remember, they are not reliably hardy in this article and may perhaps yet be killed by a even worse freeze later this wintertime. For the reason that they will be short and quick to address, throw some sheets over the plants whenever temperatures go below 30 levels.

If the pentas endure the winter season, you could trim them all over again in the spring to take away any supplemental cold injury. They will develop out and complete effectively through upcoming summer season.

Is this a superior time to address the lawn for weeds? I see a selection of weeds expanding now. If so, what do you advocate? — Frank Jenkins

There is no time for garden weed manage. The time to handle a lawn for weeds is when you see you have a weed dilemma — whenever that is.

This time of the yr, amazing-season weeds are growing in our lawns. If there are ample weeds developing in your yard at this issue to warrant handle, experience free of charge to implement a weed killer now.

Use lawn weed killers when the climate is mild and predicted highs are in the 60s or 70s. Make absolutely sure to select a item ideal for use on the form of garden you have.

Atrazine is well known for controlling interesting-season weed in St. Augustine and centipede. Atrazine controls a extensive wide range of cool year weeds, this kind of as dollarweed, clover, oxalis, henbit and chickweed.

Do not use a weed and feed product or service. Contrary to weed regulate, lawn fertilization is seasonal and is carried out at specific instances. We will not implement fertilizer again to our lawns until eventually late March or early April.

I’ve been observing a lot of black-and-white moths fluttering close to my residence this tumble. Do you know what they are? — Alisha Thomas

They are possible buck moths, which demonstrate up in late November and early December.

The ladies lay eggs on twigs of are living oaks wherever the caterpillars hatch subsequent spring and feed on the leaves. Buck moth caterpillars are able to supply painful stings if touched and pose a hazard for individuals. There is really no useful management that can be carried out now.

Use binoculars to very carefully verify stay oak trees in March and early April for masses of the black, spiny buck moth caterpillars.

If you see substantial figures, have your tree sprayed just before they occur down the trunk and get all in excess of all the things. They can produce a unpleasant sting to you and your household.

Back garden Suggestions:

PLANT NOW: Now by means of early January is the time to plant tulip and hyacinth bulbs stored in your refrigerator for at minimum 6 months.

DEADHEAD TIME: When sensible, keep on to deadhead amazing-season annuals these types of as pansies, snapdragons and dianthus to retain them blooming by way of the spring.

PESTICIDE Routine maintenance: Only use yard pesticides when the problem has been thoroughly recognized and they are definitely essential. There is no need to spray an insecticide, for instance, each time you see a bug or small harm. When a pesticide is advised, constantly ask for the least harmful product or service that will do the occupation.

Discover IN On the net: Get started off the new yr with fantastic gardening information and facts. Info on a large wide range of yard subjects exclusively for Louisiana is obtainable on the LSU Agricultural Heart website, lsuagcenter.com. Click on on “Lawn &Garden” or “Get It Growing.” Or, applying your favourite lookup motor, sort LSU AgCenter and then whatsoever plant or gardening topic you want information and facts on.

GARDENING RESOLUTIONS: Select far more yard flowers for indoor vases exhibit a child the miracles of gardening browse a new gardening e book go to as several instructional gardening opportunities as doable consider a new plant accurate landscape complications and blunders relatively than just living with them subscribe to a gardening magazine stay on major of weeding this yr.

Backyard Quotation

“Good pruning is invisible. It seems to be as if anything grew to the ideal size and stopped.” — Cass Turnbull, writer and founder of Plant Amnesty

Back garden columnist Dan Gill solutions readers’ inquiries each and every week. To mail a question, e-mail Gill at [email protected].