| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
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| Lemon and Lime tree | 7/20/2008 | Bakerplanter |
Q: I just had a very long conversation with Nick McCann, but he went on vacation. I need to know if I ...
A: Privet (Ligustrum sp.) The leaves and berries of privet are poisonous which causes digestive ...
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| Container-grown evergreens | 7/19/2008 | Bakerplanter |
Q: I live in Williamsburg, Va. I want to plant a container-grown evergreen tree on an aggregate ...
A: Leland Cyprus, is good, also Italian Cyprus, Arborvitae, Dwarf Juniper, Photinia, Nandina, Laurel, ...
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| myer lemon | 7/19/2008 | nick mccann |
Q: I live in Sacramento, Calif. I have a Myer lemon tree in a container right now standing on the south ...
A: Make sure they get a good watering once a week, and if the flowers were pollinated, the petals fall ...
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| myer lemon | 7/18/2008 | nick mccann |
Q: I live in Sacramento, Calif. I have a Myer lemon tree in a container right now standing on the south ...
A: .....Citrus are very susceptible to root rot, if standing water is allowed to saturate their root ...
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| Patio Peach Tree | 7/18/2008 | Bakerplanter |
Q: We have a patio Peach Tree that we bought about a year & half ago. It is planted in the ground. We ...
A: These dwarf trees are graphed. This means that the tree breeder took part of a dwarf tree and ...
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| myer lemon | 7/18/2008 | nick mccann |
Q: I live in Sacramento, Calif. I have a Myer lemon tree in a container right now standing on the south ...
A: They both can take the heat, they are also very compatible and will cross pollinate, giving you a ...
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| 'compact' dirt | 7/17/2008 | nick mccann |
Q: A couple weeks ago, you advised me about a tomato with Blossom- End rot. I have since removed the ...
A: tomatoes like a lot of water, so don't worry about giving it too much, worry more about them wilting ...
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| Poison ivy in Large Container | 7/15/2008 | Bakerplanter |
Q: I just moved to an apt. with a large patio. Already on the patio were four oversized plastic pots ...
A: It is very unusual to have poison ivy spread to a container. Use caution to remove it. Wear ...
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| Geranium pest infestation | 7/12/2008 | Bakerplanter |
Q: I am Damian from Malta, up till a couple of weeks ago I had several Geranium pot plants, all ...
A: I preface by saying, I am not familiar with the moths or caterpillars in Malta. I would recommend ...
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| Strange worms in leaves found in soil of plant | 7/11/2008 | Bakerplanter |
Q: I have a number of houseplants outside for the summer. Yesterday while watering I knocked over a ...
A: These are caterpillars, hatched from eggs laid by moths that active only after dark. The caterpillar ...
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| insecitcides | 7/11/2008 | nick mccann |
Q: Which insecticide would be safe to use on a balacony poted plant that is little more than slightly ...
A: that would be a Horticultural Oil (not a dormant oil)...one choice is Organocide, but there are ...
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| tomato plants | 7/8/2008 | Bakerplanter |
Q: I live in upstate NY. I planted various tomato seeds back in March and loved them into beautiful ...
A: I grow "Patio" tomatoes, one to a container. They are dwarf, easy care, and give me enough tomatoes ...
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| Tomato fertilizer | 7/6/2008 | nick mccann |
Q: I've never grown much of anything in my life, but this year I bought 2 small pots (approx 18" ...
A: ok, first of all, you don't have to worry about eating the fertilizer contents from your vegetables, ...
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| Container plants | 7/3/2008 | nick mccann |
Q: Something very small and in large numbers, is eating the roots of my plants in my container gardens. ...
A: I am not sure what type of insect it might be, but I am sure that you are going to have to change ...
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| pelargonium identification | 7/3/2008 | Bakerplanter |
Q: I grow only pelargoniums (aka geraniums)- I have a hundred or more different cultivars that I want ...
A: It is very difficult. Because looking at pictures and descriptions can't give you the exact ...
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| container grown hydrangea | 6/28/2008 | nick mccann |
Q: I live on the Wisconsin Illinois border. I was given a hydrangea growing in a very large container ...
A: build an enclosure, chicken wire or something that will allow you to fill it with leaves (best ...
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| vegetables dying? | 6/25/2008 | Bakerplanter |
Q: S)and i recently planted cucumbers,watermelon,corn,tomatoes,canteloup,pumpkin,and carrots in small ...
A: Too hot. Until the roots can get down into the soil where it is in the moist cool earth, they frying ...
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| vegetables dying? | 6/25/2008 | nick mccann |
Q: S)and i recently planted cucumbers,watermelon,corn,tomatoes,canteloup,pumpkin,and carrots in small ...
A: plants in containers dry out much faster then in the ground, and in that kind of heat its almost ...
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| mini carnations (pinks?) | 6/24/2008 | Bakerplanter |
Q: I've been growing mini carnations on my balcony for the past 2 years. The plants appear to be quite ...
A: Sun, water, fertilizer, pruning, fresh soil, and wait. They may be tired. The things that I have ...
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| avocado prune | 6/24/2008 | Bakerplanter |
Q: I would like to to have instructions on how to prune a avocado roots and top so it does not grow.
A: Bonsai. The avocado is a tree. It is meant to grow. So study the skills of Bonsai. This is all ...
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| Sweet Potato Vine | 6/24/2008 | Bakerplanter |
Q: I live in Albany, GA. I have started a potato vine from a sweet potato in my window. It has taken ...
A: You can cut the vine anytime, as much as you want. It will just keep growing. The best place to cut ...
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| balcony container garden | 6/24/2008 | Bakerplanter |
Q: We will soon be moving to a condo with a northwest facing balcony.I would love to take some of my ...
A: I am assuming your concern is whether there will be enough sunlight, and my best answer is, the ...
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| Carnations | 6/21/2008 | Bakerplanter |
Q: I have carnations growing in a planter. This is there second year and I still have no flowers, any ...
A: It sounds like the terrible "too's". Too dry Too wet Too much sun Too little sun Too deep in the ...
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| cordyline | 6/21/2008 | nick mccann |
Q: My 6-7 year old cordyline's leaves have turned yellow dowm the central spine and most of the ...
A: Colin, you may be forced to take drastic measures and cut it back severely and let it regenerate new ...
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| ants in wooden barrel container | 6/18/2008 | nick mccann |
Q: I have a large wooden barrel container - about 2.5 feet high and about 3 feet in diameter,the kind ...
A: they are carpenter ants, and when you dug the nest up you probably dispatched it, they will ...
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| watermelon container | 6/15/2008 | Bakerplanter |
Q: I bought some Charleston Gray watermelons and I saw you had informed someone else that it is ...
A: No, you would not have it easy, if you try to grow Charleston Gray in a container. They are much too ...
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| Impatiens | 6/14/2008 | Bakerplanter |
Q: Some critter is cutting my impatiens at the base of the stem. Each day I find that more stems have ...
A: My guess is "CUTWORMS". Options for controlling cutworms: Place cornmeal or bran meal around the ...
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| hot sun | 6/12/2008 | Bakerplanter |
Q: I have struggled for 5 years to find a hardy flower to put in my flower boxes. The front of my ...
A: I wondered what plants you have tried? Hot sun can be a challenge. Flax is a standard, (center) with ...
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| watermelon in wading pool | 6/9/2008 | nick mccann |
Q: I am growing vegetables and some melons in 3 foot round wading pools. My local co-op told me to ...
A: If they are newly rooted, then I would try to shift the whole hill, albeit very carefully, so as not ...
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| watermelon in wading pool | 6/9/2008 | nick mccann |
Q: I am growing vegetables and some melons in 3 foot round wading pools. My local co-op told me to ...
A: Woe be it for me to question a Co-Op, but I would limit it to 3 hills placed in a triangle, and of ...
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| Fast-growing food in containers | 6/8/2008 | nick mccann |
Q: my name is also Nick. I'd like to buy some seeds so that I can quickly and easily grow some food in ...
A: bush beans and pole beans grow real fast and for the space they take up, provide a surprising crop, ...
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| Fast-growing food in containers | 6/8/2008 | Bakerplanter |
Q: my name is Nick. I'd like to buy some seeds so that I can quickly and easily grow some food in the ...
A: Let me recommend my favorite vegetable gardening book. It is "ALL NEW SQUARE FOOT GARDENING" (Grow ...
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| Flower Pot Odor | 6/6/2008 | Bakerplanter |
Q: I have a large flower pot (about 42" diameter and 30" high) on my patio that usually smells bad when ...
A: The odor is caused by the soil not getting enough oxygen, because it is getting too much water. That ...
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| Avacado Tree in Container | 6/5/2008 | nick mccann |
Q: I would like to get a Haas avacado tree and live in Ca. by STockton. I can't find a dwarf or ...
A: not really the right tree for a container, they just grow too big and would only stress out if you ...
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| pruning scotch broom | 6/3/2008 | Bakerplanter |
Q: I live in Pennsylvania and have one GORGEOUS scotch broom!! It has grown quite a bit over the last ...
A: Yes by all means prune away. Cut as much as you would like. Best time is right after they finish ...
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| 'Bonfire' Patio Peach | 6/1/2008 | Bakerplanter |
Q: I bought one of these trees 2-3 years ago, and ended up planting it in a raised bed next to my ...
A: Because the dwarf tree is "grafted" to a root stock of a standard tree of lesser quality, the seed ...
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| Pampas- cortaderia pumila | 5/31/2008 | nick mccann |
Q: We have a very small garden but plenty of room for pots etc. Can cortaderia pumila be grown in a ...
A: it could be, but eventually it would begin to stress and become insightly, it needs to have a great ...
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| fig tree leaves | 5/27/2008 | Bakerplanter |
Q: i recently put a potted fig tree outside. I live in PA and the weather has recently become warmer. I ...
A: Yes, the tree did not have time to adjust to the sun from being inside in the shade. When a plant is ...
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| transplanting | 5/27/2008 | nick mccann |
Q: this is a tricky one. I have a lovely virginia creeper that has been gradually growing up over the ...
A: the problem is if the whiskey barrel is rotted out, then the roots have probably permeated the ...
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| papyrus plant | 5/27/2008 | Bakerplanter |
Q: I have just recieved in the mail a papyrus plant and I am wondering what is the coolest temp it can ...
A: Gradually let the papyrus get used to the night temperature, by leaving it out for a few hours each ...
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