Marianne’s Responses
Growing sweet corn for a family of 8
Posted by Charlie Caito | September 3, 2014What's the best soil type, drainage, etc for growing sweet corn for my family of eight? I've got a half acre to give them.
Beauty bark around rhododendrons, azaleas, and camellias
Posted by Pat Detmer | September 2, 2014 | Marianne's FavoriteI have a Rhody and 9 Azalea, and we just had fresh topsoil and beauty bark put throughout the garden. After it was done, I remembered a missive about *not* putting beauty bark at the feet of these plants because they didn't like it. So I dutifully raked it all away, out to the drip line. It looked pretty haphazard ...
Did vinegar kill my rhododendron?
Posted by Janet Lewis | September 1, 2014Hi, hope you can help. We have several rhodies fairly close to our home. One in particular has always bloomed early and several times during the year. We have always joked that it was a bit confused but secretly thought that it was probably because it received warm air from the dryer (it is about 6 ft in front of ...
Is my Hinoki Cypress dying?
Posted by MaryHanley | August 30, 2014My 3-year old Hinoki Cypress seems to be dying from the inside out. It has lost lots of dead needles from the inside and is wasting away. Do you think it would help to replant it into a larger pot?
Dead Sago Palm
Posted by Pookie587 | August 29, 2014I had a sago palm that was doing beautifully. Then all of a sudden, the fronds turned completely yellow and laid down flat on the ground. I cut the fronds off, but the center of the plant appears to always be wet. I'm wondering if I should just dig it up and discard the plant, and if I can plant ...
Why won’t my Endless Summer Hydrangeas bloom?
Posted by | August 28, 2014This is the first year that my Endless Summer Hydrangeas have not bloomed even though there is plenty of foliage, albeit late coming. I am not alone, however, because several of my friends have had the same problem. Could the nasty cold winter we experienced be the reason, even though they are supposed to bloom on old and new wood?
What to do with a decaying tree stump
Posted by Karen Greer | August 27, 2014I am our church's volunteer gardener. Almost 10 years ago, a large apple tree was removed, and the stump was shredded. Each year numerous large spongy-like growths appear in the grass where the tree had once been. Several times during the summer I poke the masses with my pitchfork and they come up readily, along with a goodly amount of ...
When to prune iris plants in South Central Virginia
Posted by Ann Robinson | August 27, 2014I live in South Central Virginia. When can I cut the tops off my iris? Some of the leaves are dead. Some of the leaves are half green, and the other half is dead.
How to harvest Bee’s Friend seeds
Posted by Tara16 | August 26, 2014How do I harvest Bee's Friend (Phacelia tanacetifolia) seeds? I want to use the seeds to plant more in other places next year.
Best container for Joe Kosey umbrella pine tree
Posted by Lori Diamond | August 25, 2014 | Marianne's FavoriteWe bought a Joe Kosey tree that's in a 2-gallon pot. We'd like to keep it in a container. What size container would it require? Should we keep moving up in pot size or just plant in the size pot it will require as a fully-mature tree? What type of fertilizer, and how often to fertilize? Any special care instructions? ...
Search the Ask the Gardening Expert library
Looking for a quick resolution to your problem? Marianne has answered thousands of gardening questions. One may be similar to yours. Try searching our library to get the answer you need -- fast!