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Q.
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I love spring wildflowers. Is it too late to plant them in February?
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A.
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It is way too late to plant most wildflower seeds. However, if you must have
bluebonnets there are transplants available in local nurseries. Sometimes you can also
find larkspur which are also great fun in the spring. Cosmos can also be planted
later for summer bloom.
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Q.
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My winter annuals like my Pansies are starting to
get aphids. However, they still have blooms and I hate
to get rid of them. What should I do? |
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A.
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As soon as it gets hot, get rid of them! Throw them into the compost pile. Once
the weather is hot the cool season plants become breeding grounds for insect infestations.
A few blooms are not worth it.
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Q.
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I can't believe how many caterpillars there are hanging
down from all of my trees. What should I spray on them to kill them?
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A.
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Wait a minute! Caterpillars are usually a temporary problem in the spring.
If they are on your well-adapted trees, don't worry about it. Birds trying to feed
their new babies will take care of a lot of them for you. See the Garden Problem Solver
section of this book for more hints on caterpillars.
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Q.
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The spring weather seems pretty hot during the day. Why do we wait to
plant certain annuals like Periwinkle and Caladium?
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A.
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Although the air is warm during the day, the soil has not yet warmed. Cooler
soils combined with moisture lead to rot and disease on certain plants. For
Caladium wait until late April to plant the bulbs. For annual Periwinkle transplants
wait until June.
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Q.
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My Mountain Laurel, Texas Redbud and Irises all looked great last year. This
spring they barely bloomed? What happened?
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A.
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Sometimes, spring conditions are just right for the earliest flowering plants. Other
years, San Antonio winter conditions are too dry or there is a late freeze. A freeze
coming right after a warm spell will often destroy flower buds. It is also possible that a
late winter pruning removed flower buds.
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Q.
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My Azaleas have started turning yellow. What do I do?
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A.
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One of the most common gardening complaints is yellowing plant foliage. This
affects everything from Gardenias to Beans, and Peas to Photinias. The cause of this
yellow condition is iron chlorosis, or the lack of sufficient iron that the plant can
use. The condition is endemic to this area of Texas. The soils here contain huge
quantities of calcium carbonate (lime) which cannot be easily neutralized. This
is why acid-loving plants like Azalea and Hydrangia do poorly in our area.
What if you already planted an acid-loving plant? Products that provide iron or acidify
the soil are temporary fixes in our soils. In the long run it will be easier to replace
the plant with something better adapted to our area.
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