- Hi, thanks for joining us for The Family Plot: Gardening in the Mid-South.

I'm Chris Cooper.

Gardening is one big experiment.

And with the experiments comes lots of questions.

Today, we're answering some of them.

It's the Q and A show next on the The Family Plot: Gardening in the Mid-South.

- (female announcer) Production funding for The Family Plot: Gardening in the Mid-South is provided by the WKNO Production Fund, the WKNO Endowment Fund, and by viewers like you, thank you.

[upbeat country music] - Welcome to The Family Plot.

I'm Chris Cooper.

It's summer, and with it comes lots of plant problems.

We have received many viewer questions about summer garden problems.

And this week, we're going to spend the whole show answering them.

We'll start off with a question about the bane of many gardeners, Japanese beetles.

"How do I keep Japanese beetles away from my roses?"

And this is Joy.

So we're gonna let you dive right on in, Mary.

- Okay.

So Japanese beetles, introduce beetle, right?

- Okay.

- It can cause a lot of havoc to a lot of different plants.

- Yes, they can.

- Two things you don't wanna do to get rid of them.

- Okay.

- First, I don't recommend using the Japanese beetle traps.

- Neither do I.

- They use pheromones, and there's some studies that suggest they actually attract the Japanese beetles to that area.

So the second thing is in line with that as well, don't squish them because they can release that same pheromone, and it's gonna draw more of them in.

So the things that you wanna do, early morning, late evening when they're most active, brush them off the plant, get them in some soapy water.

That's what I would recommend.

- Yeah, that's what I would do.

What about you, Jessie?

- That's exactly what I would do.

- That's exactly what I would do.

Yeah, Japanese beetles are tough.

- They are.

Now, there's some other things too you can do, like companion planting.

Things like catnip and chives and garlic can sometimes keep them away.

If you can plant some of those around your roses, that could be beneficial as well.

- Right.

And the thing about the roses though, if they're healthy roses, they can withstand the damage, though.

- Yeah.

- They really can.

There is something else I know that you could do.

I don't know if I would necessarily do it if you have pollinating plants, but you can cover them with a thin netting.

- Oh, okay.

- But, of course, if you have pollinating plants, you have to release that so they can be pollinated.

- Sure.

- But, yeah, there are some people that do that, use a thin netting.

Some years, you have more populations of Japanese beetles than others.

- Right.

- Yeah, so it's kind of nuts, you know, the way that thing happens, But Japanese beetles are tough.

- Yes.

- I will say that we have a few native roses.

- Okay.

- The Carolina rose, I've never seen a Japanese beetle on that.

- Interesting.

- So, I don't know.

Could replace all your roses with - How about that?

- Native roses.

- How about that?

[Jessie chuckles] And no problems with the Japanese beetles, all right.

[gentle country music] "I have two huge live oaks full of resurrection ferns.

Do the ferns hurt the trees?"

And this is Mike from Poplarville, Mississippi.

What do you think about that?

You know anything about the resurrection ferns?

- Well, resurrection ferns are epiphytes.

- Yeah.

- So they are in a symbiotic relationship with the tree.

They do not hurt the tree.

- Right.

- No.

- So they're not parasitic?

- No.

- They're not robbing the tree of any nutrients or anything like that?

- No.

- Okay.

- Uh-uh.

- But it was mentioned that frequently, large sections of the bark, you know, have dirt that are falling from it.

- Mm-hmm.

- So what do you think about that?

Could that just be a squirrel running through the tree?

- Yeah, I was thinking, it's got to be something disturbing it because there is no indication that resurrection ferns ever harm the tree, which would mean rotting and taking off the bark.

- Right.

- My thought was that it's got to be some animal disturbing it.

- That's what I think.

- And you know, certain times a year, squirrels and birds dig and try to get materials for their nests.

And I can imagine the ferns and the way that they are eating, you know, that they are living on the tree branch, that it would be a nice, soft material for something to put in their nest.

So I think it was an animal of some kind, a bird that disturbed it that made it fall down.

- Right.

Do you believe the ferns are keeping the bark wet and making it rot?

- Well, it might be keeping the bark wet, but I don't think it's rotting it.

- Okay.

- Because one thing about resurrection ferns, this is why how they got their name, science has found that they can dry up and stay in a dry state for over 100 years.

And when you put water back on them and they get moisture, they come back to life.

- They come back to life.

- So that's why they got their name.

- Right.

- So they can take some pretty droughty conditions and they're not going to go away.

- Right.

- But in the nice spring and it's wet outside, I'm sure it's still nice and moist around where they're living on the bark.

But it's not supposed to harm the tree.

- Right, yeah, they're just collecting, you know, the moisture, you know, from the air.

- Yeah.

- So I don't think it's gonna be a problem.

But, you know, going back to the large, you know, chunks that are falling from the tree, I mean, we, again, we're thinking that's probably.

- I think it's an animal, something mechanical that did it.

I don't think it's anything that's wrong with the tree.

- Yeah, I don't think the resurrection ferns are causing that at all.

- No, mm-mm.

- Yeah, so just enjoy them, they're beautiful.

- Yeah.

- Right?

- Gorgeous.

- Yeah, they're beautiful.

[gentle country music] "What is a recommended schedule "for watering outdoor succulents in pots "during our excessive temperatures?

"I am currently watering monthly "and they are at least surviving.

No growth, though."

And this is Harriet.

So you think about watering those succulents in this extreme heat.

- She's, yeah, I think I would water them a little bit more than that.

I'm thinking maybe we'll try once a week, not once a month.

And, of course, it depends on where she's got them sitting too.

If they're in a shady area, that's one thing.

But I'd say the lack of watering is why they're not growing anymore.

- Mr. D, I see you shaking your head.

- I agree with you, Joellen.

My wife waters ours-- - Oh, there you go.

- More than once a month.

- Yeah.

- Probably more than once a week.

And they are thriving, they are growing.

- And it is, it also depends on where it is 'cause if she's got it on a shady porch in an urban setting, you might not need to water it more often.

But once a month I think is not enough with our heat.

- With a succulent, I'd probably rather water on the, you don't wanna water too much.

- Right, exactly.

- I'd rather go a little less because of the storage water in the leaves and all that, but a lot more often than once a month, I think.

You know, what's the rule of thumb with them?

Let the soil get dry and then water.

- Yeah.

- You know, and water good.

Don't just do a light water, and water, you know, soak it and then.

- Let it go.

- Let it dry out and, yeah.

- Yeah, the key is to make sure that the temperature of, I mean, the moisture level in the soil is not too high.

- Right.

- It doesn't stay too high.

- Right.

- It's gotta dry out between waterings.

And she can use a water meter or she can use, you know, touch it with her fingers and, about an inch down.

And I mean, you just monitor it.

- Don't overwater, yeah root rot.

- But more than once a month, I think.

- More than once a month, I would agree with that.

Yeah, we just found out something.

Mr. D know how to water a succulent.

- I love that.

- My wife, Laura, knows how to water a succulent.

- Thank you, Ms. Laura, for watering that succulent for Mr. D. [all laughs] [gentle country music] "My ginkgo lived in a huge pot for three years.

"I transplanted it this year in April.

"And it looks healthy and it's producing new leaves, "but all the leaves hang downward "from branches that look great and pointing upward.

Why is this happening?"

And this is Millie from Kilgore, Texas.

- Oh, wow.

- Yeah, I saw the picture too.

She's right, they're all drooping.

- Yeah, they are droop, so what do you think about that, Dr. Kelly?

- Well, I don't know, I don't know how long she's had it, you know, from the pot to the, you know, what'd she say?

April?

You know, so I don't know when she sent this picture and stuff.

But it could be just transplant shock, you know.

But when leaves wilt on a plant, it's typically a root problem.

You know, she may have cut off a lot of the roots or damaged the roots, or when I looked at the soil around the plant, it looked pretty wet.

You know, she may have overwatered, you know, and that can cause, you know, the drooping of the leaves, which people think, "Oh, it's dry, I need to water it."

But really, you're killing the roots by them being in soggy soil or wet soil.

- Yeah, she may have been used to it being in a container.

and watering, the watering scheme in the container.

And it was a very, very hot summer.

So she may have watered it much.

- Too much.

- One thing that I was concerned about is that she may have planted it a little too low 'cause it looked, even though it was dark, it looked like it was a little low.

And I tend to plant trees and shrubs just slightly up above the soil level.

- 'Cause they're all sink a little bit, yeah.

- And maybe that, what she could try.

If it's a little low, I mean, a lot of people like plant them and they put dirt over the top, and that's fine, but it needs to be a little bit higher, a little bit higher in the ground like a couple of inches, and then put soil and mulch up over the top of it.

- Yeah.

- And that's one thing I didn't see either is mulch.

And I think that would would help too.

- You're right.

- Right.

- No mulch.

But yeah, it definitely looked like, to me, it was planted too deep 'cause I didn't see any root flares.

And then you're right, it was pretty wet from the picture.

- Yeah, and she made a good point about it being cultured in a pot and then her, obviously, having to water it more.

- That's right.

- And she may have just continued that, you know, that type of care, and that maybe, maybe she just needs to back off the watering a little bit and make sure it's not too low and then mulch it, yeah.

- Not too deep and get some mulch.

[gentle country music] - "How do I get thicker aloe vera leaves?"

This is Tony from Southaven, Mississippi.

She says that her aloe vera plants have long, thin leaves without much gel.

So guess what, Tony, I know somebody here who actually has a aloe vera plant.

- Yes.

- We're gonna find out how you're thinking those leaves out, right?

Did I give you the aloe vera plant?

- Yes, yes.

Well, you know what, I think we got it here somehow.

- I think we did, yeah.

- But it was thin.

Like you said, a small little plant.

I mean, we're talking maybe a two-inch container.

It was just a little start of one.

And I took it home and potted it up.

I've had it for years in my east-facing window.

And it has gotten large and thick, so thick that I had to cut it off because it was knocking over the pot.

- Oh, wow, okay.

- Yeah, in the container.

So I had to start over again.

And I stuck that outside, and it's rooting outside now.

- How about that?

- So.

- But it's big and thick, yes.

Yeah, but time, it just takes time.

- Okay.

- For them to get that way.

And the larger it gets, you're gonna have to move it up into a larger container, and move it into a larger container.

But since I have it on the windowsill, which is where I wanted it, it just got simply got too big for that.

So I have to start over again.

And like I said, it's coming out from the root systems now.

So it's possible.

- So it is possible.

So definitely make sure we get enough sunlight.

- Yeah, enough sunlight.

My east-facing window seems to get the right amount of light for it.

- Okay, yeah.

So yeah, sunlight is important.

Yeah, up-potting.

You know, lets those roots kind of spread out a little bit.

You know, gather those nutrients.

And it'll get thicker, Tony, it'll get thicker.

Yeah, we have evidence of that.

[gentle country music] "I have Persian lilac that has never bloomed.

"I made sure to not give it too much nitrogen "and no grass clippings.

"It faces south.

"This winter, we had a lot of rain, 36 inches.

"The average is only 15 inches.

"Still no blooms.

We're talking 20 years."

- Wow.

- "My last and only hope is to transplant it "to the front yard in full sun "even though the current condition "is six-plus hours a day.

"I have never pruned it.

"What can I do to get my Persian lilac to bloom?

Any ideas?"

This is Catherine from southern California.

She does give us the zone, zone 9b, and this is on Facebook.

So how about that?

- Wow.

- So very detailed.

We have the zone.

It's 20 years.

- Twenty years.

- Never bloomed.

- Gorgeous - Hadn't been pruned.

- Green shrub but never bloomed, uh-huh.

Well, you know, I would leave it where it is.

- Okay, so you leave it.

- Six hours is considered full sun.

- Okay, so it's enough.

- It's enough.

That's not the problem.

- Okay.

- Getting more sun is not gonna help her any.

- All right.

Most lilacs like cool temperatures to be able to set blooms.

- Ah-ha.

- And she might be, in fact, there's some publications that say that there are no lilacs that will bloom in zones eight through nine.

- Ah-ha.

- But there are some that say that there are, they will bloom in those zones.

And so I would kind of look for some of those varieties that they're talking about for warmer climates, like Lavender Lady, Blue Skies, Miss Kim, and Angel White.

- Oh, sounds good, okay.

- But they do also like a pH of seven, a real alkaline soil.

So she might try that just to see what the pH is around it.

- Okay.

- And if she has to, you might put some lime down, if it's not more of a sweet soil, then being seven or a little higher.

- Okay.

So getting the soil tested, you know, will let you know, Ms. Catherine.

- Mm-hmm, what your pH is.

- What your pH is.

- Yeah, that could be a start.

- Okay.

- Also, there's an internationallilacsociety.org.

- Oh gosh, okay.

- And so, you know, go on that and get, see if there's other, they call it California lilacs, but it's a completely different type of plant.

It's not, but go get on to International Lilac Society and get on their forum and ask them a question about, if there's anybody else in California that has lilacs that are blooming, and maybe she knows somebody who has some that are blooming and hers or not.

And that could be a pH problem.

- Okay.

- But I'm really thinking that might be that it's not getting enough cool temperatures to set blooms.

- Okay, so we're thinking cool temperatures, okay, and pH.

- And the pH.

- And the pH.

[gentle country music] "I have a problem with my Mexican petunia.

"I think it may be a fungus.

What do I need to do?"

And this is Orlando on YouTube.

- Ah.

- So you know a little bit about the Mexican petunia.

- Yeah, the Ruellia brittoniana.

- Yeah.

- And actually, it's invasive, considered an invasive species.

- Okay.

- Especially in Florida and other states.

- Okay.

- It is a little bit here 'cause I have know people that have it and they get a lot of it 'cause they, it reseeds itself very readily.

- All right.

- And he's having problems with it.

- Yeah, with fungus.

- It could be that it's in a really wet area, and maybe it doesn't like it there.

- Maybe.

- Maybe it's in a zone that's a little high for it, that it's not appropriate for it.

It's at the edge of one of its zones that it lives in.

I don't know, 'cause.

- Especially without a picture.

You know, it's kinda hard to tell but- - It's hard to tell, and, you know, but be careful with it.

You might see if it's invasive in your state to, you know, not plant it.

But if it's having problems, you know, try to raise it up a little bit and give a little better drainage maybe, environmentally.

- Good air circulation.

- Yeah.

- Yeah, 'cause pentunias, a couple of things that come to mind that we talked about earlier, Botrytis blight, you know, is something that, you know, that comes to mind.

And powdery mildew, it's something else, you know, that comes to mind.

- It's too wet, and it's too humid out, yeah.

- Yeah, humidity is a big part of powdery mildew.

But yeah, so if they're crowded, which they probably are because they can be invasive.

Those are the two that come to mind to me, Botrytis blight or either powdery mildew.

Culturally, yeah, all the things that you mentioned.

- Yeah, just raise them up.

- Raise them up, good air circulation.

- Divide them, yeah.

- You know, do things like that.

If you have to use a fungicide, there are some out there that you can use.

Read and follow the label.

Daconil is one that you can use.

Sulphur is one that you can use.

And neem oil, that's another one that comes to mind that you can use as well.

But read and follow the label on that.

- Definitely.

- Yep.

So let's make sure we get the fungus identified right.

So you can use the right methods to control it.

But culturally, let's do those things.

- Yeah.

[gentle country music] - "I have some zinnias with powdery mildew.

"Should I pull them so it doesn't spread or clip just the offshoots that have it?"

This is Dietra72 on YouTube.

So Doc, zinnias and powdery mildew.

Who knew, right?

- Yeah, powdery mildew.

Well, I don't know about powdery mildew, but they look really sad.

Zinnias get leaf spot.

They get all these things late in the summer like we are right now, going into, you know, fall and winter.

And she could do either, or, as far as I'm concerned.

She could cut them all back and fertilize them and let them, maybe come back 'cause we are several weeks from, you know, getting really, really cold weather.

So maybe they can come back.

Or she can spray them with something like chlorothalonil, which is supposed to control powdery mildew.

So, me, I would just yank them all up.

Save my seed maybe from some of them.

But this time of year, you gotta think about, "Well, it's the end of the season.

"Do I wanna dedicate a lot of time to these that are only gonna be around for not very long?"

And put out a bunch of pesticides and things that, you know, you really don't need this time of year.

- Oh that's a good point.

- Yeah.

- Mm-hmm.

- Yeah, I like that.

What do you think about that, Joellen?

- Yeah, I mean, and it also depends on how bad they are.

I mean, she says cut out some of them.

Well, is it just a few of them that have it?

- Yeah.

- And if it is, then yeah, I would cut those out.

But then, I would spray fungicide preventatively- - To prevent the new-- - On the others.

- Yeah.

- And she could have flowers clear through, you know, 'til frost.

- Yeah.

'Cause they come back pretty quickly.

- Yeah, they do.

- You know.

- That would be good, if you're gonna use fungicide, please read and follow the label.

I think you'd be fine with that.

But yeah, culturally, you know, maybe, you know, to get some good air circulation, dry those leaves off.

You know, where are they?

Are they located near a wall or something like that?

So those the kind of things I would think about, you know, as well.

[gentle country music] "When should I expect my 6-year-old hazelnut trees to start producing nuts?"

And this is Karen from King William County, Virginia.

- Wow.

- So yeah, we know that Karen has two trees.

She noticed that the catkins in the fall.

So we know that catkins are male flowers.

- Right.

- Right.

'Cause she wondered, "Are these male trees?"

So, yeah, but they're not producing nuts.

So what do you think about that?

- Well, they're very interesting.

And the flowers, the female part of this process is, is very inconspicuous on the stem near the catkins.

It's a bright red or almost magenta color, just dot.

You know, if you're not looking for it, you won't see them.

But anyway, and this is the problem.

I know she's got two trees, - Two trees.

- But are they the same tree?

- Right.

- Because recommendation is, you have three different kind of hazelnuts that will cross-pollinate each other.

- Right.

- And it says that you need that many to get the nuts from them.

So.

- Right, cross pollination is important, right?

- Cross pollination is really, really important.

But if hers, two, and if she has two different ones, then my question is, are they in a lot of sun?

How far apart are they?

Because the recommendation is 15 feet apart.

So that would be my, and if she has two, then maybe she needs to find a third one because they are supposed to be starting to produce the acorns and the, oh, the hazelnuts, two to three years after they start blooming.

So, and these are not big trees.

They're more bushy than they are actual trees.

So it would be interesting to see.

Now, there's a lot of websites that have these different kinds, and they'll have a chart with some of them over here and some of them up here, and they have them start or wherever they cross-pollinate each other.

And so you can kind of get different kinds and know you have three different kinds that do actually cross-pollinate each other.

- Yeah.

Again, that's gonna be so important, so.

- Yes.

- Yeah, Karen, I would check within my local Extension Office.

So maybe they have a publication.

- They might, yes.

- About hazelnuts and growing them in your, you know, backyard and have some of these plants that we were talking about, those varieties for cross pollination, right?

Because these are wind pollinated.

- Yes.

- Right.

So that's why cross pollination is so important.

- They need more, she needs more variety than just two.

And hopefully, the two are different.

But if they're not, then she needs two different ones.

- Right.

Yeah, 'cause yeah, you should be, yeah, you should see nut after six years, right?

Full production is usually seven to eight years out.

- Right.

- But yeah, you can see nut production in two or three years.

- Yes.

- Right.

So we're just hoping that, yeah, we have the right variety to cross-pollinate.

- And hopefully, they're close enough together.

- Yes, and I hope they're close enough together, and full of sun, and full of sun.

[gentle country music] "Should an asparagus patch be mulched and with what type of mulch?"

And this is Steve from Michigan.

So Walter, should they be mulched?

- Oh yes, it's no problem at all.

Particularly, if you put, you know, some real good compost, you can mulch with that.

And I also advise people to even put straw down if they wanna put straw.

Some people even put wood chips, and it depends on where you get your wood chips.

But, you know, make sure it's not some treated type of wood chip.

But any, you know, any kind of compost, straw, that'll work fine, yes.

I'll say probably about three, four inches, and I think you'll be fine with that.

- Okay.

Anything you wanna add to that?

We had a discussion about that earlier.

- Yeah, I had- - 'Cause you know a little bit about that, right?

- I have a 100-foot row that I planted 100 asparagus in, and I mulched it with grass clippings 'cause we don't treat our yard or anything.

So I just mulched it with our grass clippings.

And the next, did fine for a year or two and then the voles found it.

And the mulch layer seemed to attract them more to eating and being comfortable eating all winter long on the roots of my asparagus.

So the next year, I took the mulch away after the season was over.

So it overwintered without mulch on it, and I had less voles eating my asparagus.

- So a hiding place and a buffet all at the same time.

- Yeah, hiding place and a buffet, nice place to overwinter.

- Nice place to overwinter, all right.

So Mr. Steve, yeah, you could use the straw, you know, and those things that Walter recommended, I think you'd be fine.

- Yeah, but mulching is great to keep the weeds down.

- Yes, for sure.

- Very good.

[gentle country music] - "What is this tree that looks like it has blackberries on it?"

And this is Joe.

So what do you think about that one, Rosa?

- I think that's a mulberry.

That's what it sounds like.

- Right?

- What do you think Joseph?

- Yeah, it is mulberry tree.

- It's a mulberry tree.

So what do you... - I mean, they're common around this area, in the Mid-South.

And, you know, they're a tree and berries are, you know.

- Yeah, I mean, they are native, you know, to North America, to Asia.

They're actually, you know, good tree for wildlife 'cause the berries, of course, are edible, you know, for, you know, birds, possums, squirrels, and things like that.

You see them pretty often, you know, here, you know, in Memphis, you know, in Shelby County where we are.

But I like the leaves.

So I can just look at the leaf and tell you what it is, right?

'Cause the, you know, the leaves almost look like little mittens.

- Mittens?

Yeah.

- They're usually like three lobes.

They're kind of heart shaped a little bit.

They have those tooth edges, you know, to them.

So I think it's pretty distinct leaves on the Morus species, right?

Which are those mulberry.

- Right.

- So you're exactly right, Rosa?

- Exactly.

- It's a mulberry.

So yeah, let the wildlife enjoy those, all right?

[gentle country music] "Should I do a soil test after adding garden soil and bagged manure to my garden?"

And this is David from Millington, Tennessee.

So what do you think about that one, Kyle?

- Well, I would do it before you add any type of nutrients, whether it's manure or anything else to get a more accurate test and.

- You'll get a baseline, I guess.

- Yeah, that'd be one thing, get a baseline.

Anything you wanna add to that?

- Yeah, no, well, definitely, you know, you might not need to add, organic materials, a lot of them tend to be acidic.

So if you have like alkaline soils, we don't have a lot of alkaline soils here in Shelby County, but if you lived a part of the country where you had alkaline soils, adding that organic material, a lot of times, will acidify the soil and help correct some of the problems.

So I would get that baseline and then you might wanna test it afterwards, right?

- I would definitely-- - Before and after.

- I would do before and after, I sure would.

Yeah, get your soil tested.

Don't guess, soil test.

Come by the Extension Office.

Pick up a soil test kit.

We'll help you out.

- It's easy, it's easy, it's easy.

- Remember, we love to hear from you.

Send us an email or letter.

The email address is questions@familyplotgarden.com, and the mailing address is Family Plot 7151 Cherry Farms Road, Cordova, Tennessee 38016.

Or you can go online to FamilyPlotGarden.com.

That's all we have time for today.

To get more information on anything we talked about, go to FamilyPlotGarden.com.

We have all these questions listed on the homepage.

Thanks for watching and sending in the questions.

I'm Chris Cooper.

Be sure to join us next week for The Family Plot: Gardening in the Mid-South.

Be safe.

[upbeat country music] [acoustic guitar chords]