Ask The Expert
Our knowledgeable staff here at Garden-Ville are available to answer many of the questions you might have about gardens, landscaping, and trees. Many problems with plants, however, cannot be responsibly diagnosed other than in person. We're located in central Texas and may not be familiar with the details of gardening in very different climate or soil zones. One of the guiding principles of organic growing is adapting methods to the particularites of local soil and climate. With that in mind we'll do our best to answer your question, but if we can't we'll be happy to help you find the appropriate resources or professionals in your area.
Feel free to browse the topics below to see if we've already answered a question similar to yours. If you can't find the information you need, the question submission form is located at the bottom of the page.
I have bare spots throughout my yards. No matter what I do I cannot seem to get any type grass to grow and if I do it quickly dies out. I have a LOT of oak trees. Also my flowers and scrubs will not grow. They don't die but they just sit there not growing or blooming. What can I do to get grass to grow and azelas plants?
10/22/20081:01:27 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment
Lawn Questions, Plant Questions, Tree Questions
It's hard to diagnose without seeing the property, but with that many oak trees you may have issues with shade. Most turf grasses require full or near full sun to thrive. The heavy shade under oaks is too much for most grass. Soil conditions, such as thin soil or poor drainage, can also affect the ability of grass to survive. These could also be affecting your shrubs and flowers. Always check the sun and water requirements whenever you buy a plant. Inappropriate conditions will keep it from thriving. Azaleas can tolerate some shade, but require acidic soil. Test the ph of your soil. If its too alkaline you can lower it by adding sulphur. Also talk to people at a nursery that stocks locally adapted plants. They'll be able to steer you towards plants that are shade tolerant and appropriate for your location.
new garden, bought premire compost tilled it good, planted tomatoes, they look good then start curlin the leaves,which turn to leather, all plants in the area don't want to grow, stunned,
9/24/20089:47:54 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment
It sounds like your tomatos are suffering from curly top. Other indicators of this disease would be the leaf petiole curling downward while the stems and branches become very stiff. The disease is carried by beet leafhoppers and usually occurs in tomatos planted neer beets or weedy overgrown areas. If you know the disease is a problem future outbreaks can be mitigated by planting tomatos more closely together than normally, and by planting beets or chard away from tomatos in the garden, as well as by keeping adjacent areas well mowed. Control of current infestations is more difficult, but covering the area with shade cloth over the plants will help to repel the insects.Try planting several tomato variets next year. Also, soil health is critical to plants' ability to fight off pests and pathogens. Next season I would use our manure compost rather than the premium compost, as the former is better suited to vegetable gardening.I have St. Augustine grass and the edges seem to be burning out and there are definite patches of thatch...which I did rake and get a lot out but obviously it has left brown spots and patches. What can I do to repair these areas of my lawn? Also, I have several flower beds that I would like to raise, just as a matter of time deterioration...so what is best to use to raise these and get nutrients back to the soil? Mulch...that's what one of my neighbors is doing now. I also get LOTS of weeds in all my bed areas...but then we have a lot of birds around here, too. How do you figure out how much you need? Thanks in advance.
7/22/20083:32:35 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment
Fertilizer, Living Mulch, mulch, Plant Questions
For your yard keep it watered and fertilize it with an organic fertilizer and in the fall spread a half inch layer of compost on the lawn to condition the soil. For the beds either buy a compost and mulch mix (living mulch) or mix compost and mulch yourself. The compost and mulch mixed together will break down better than mulch alone naturally building up the soil levels in the beds. For the weeds in your beds you can spot treat with vinegar or hand pull them.
Hello Amy. I live in Wharton, Texas on about 2.5 acres. My yard is about 7 years old, and before that was just a native pecan woodlands. I have been losing well-established plants, i.e., old garden roses, bottlebrush tree, plum tree, etc) over the past few years. I sent one of the roses off to A&M Plant Lab and the diagnosis was Armillaria Fungus. I have since talked to people in the area and others have had the problem so it is not yard specific. Do you have any suggestions on what I can do to counter this problem? Thanks, Carolyn
7/22/20083:31:24 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment
Use an organic fungicide like corn gluten meal or garlic fungicide and treat the soil, you can also make a raised bed and bring in fresh soil to plant new plants in.
all my pepper plants are looking awful. they produce leaves and some blooms but the leaves are shriveled from the tip and the blooms don't produce any fruit. i can't find any bugs on them, but i honestly don't know what is happening. any ideas?
7/22/20083:29:01 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment
You may be watering too much or not enough, you may need to fertilize them more. Dig into the soil near the plant to see if it is too dry or wet, if it is too wet you may want to transplant to a soil that drains better. If it is too dry water the plants with a liquid fertilizer to get them back to healthy again.
I have gardenias planted in containes. The leaves have a yellowish color to them. I was told by a chain store garden supply manger that it may be the level of chlorine in our rural water supply and to water with purchased drinking water. I live in South Lee County and would like to know what can I give these plants to keep the leaves from turning color?
4/8/200810:15:14 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment
Kathy,The yellowing could be from an iron or nitrogen deficiency or from over or under watering, what is your watering schedule like? When was the last time you fertilized? It really does not sound to me like a chlorine in the water problem.Amy - your recent newsletter article suggests planting in the fall. In the case of plants that might freeze (such as plumbago), do you still suggest fall planting? Thanks. Diane
11/5/200712:07:04 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment
Diane,Texas does not have hard winters, if we do it is only for a couple of days and the temperatures do not drop very far below freezing. If you plant your plumbago in the fall use products that stimulate root growth like our Rocket Fuel and put a 1-2" layer of mulch on the ground around the plants to regulate soil moisture and temperature, our fall season is very mild and will cause less stress on the plant as it adapts to its new environment. When we do hit our winter time you can purchase a plant blanket that will keep the plants warm while allowing sunlight, moisture, and air to enter.Amy, what can I do to give an August Gardenia the best chance for survival? It is currently in a container and I want to put it in the ground. I live in Schertz, soil is mostly rock. Is this a good time to put plant in the ground or should I wait until Spring? Thanks!
10/30/20071:17:59 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment
Alice,This particular plant requires a pretty acidic soil (around 5-6 Ph) and we are extremely alkaline, I would suggest stepping up the container every couple of years and planting in a rose soil and potting soil mix. Also when you water the plant you may want to add a teaspoon of vinegar to each gallon of water to acidify the soil more.I have two questions: first off, I have a small barrel cactus (still a baby) that I keep at my office. It has developed hard, light-coloured spots on it. I tried to look up this problem, and the only similar issue I found was 'scales', but scales were described as coming off very easily, like by scratching them off with a fingernail, and these hard spots do not come off easily at all - I wanted to get one off to see if anything was inside it, and I actually had to cut it out. The spots do not penetrate very deeply into the flesh, and they are (for now anyway) only growing on the sides, not the top where the new growth is. What are these spots? Secondly, my cacti have all been growing this weird light-yellowish fuzzy stuff. It seems to be more prominent at the tops of the cacti and particularly around the spikes. I looked this up as well, and the only problem I found was mealybugs, but this stuff isn't stringy like the stuff mealybugs leave. This stuff looks more like dandruff. It has grown on all three cacti (one is a barrel, one is tall and skinny and twisting at the base, and one is sort of the shape of a kiwi with spikes emerging from an acne-like surface). They are all babies, bought from Wal-Mart in what I'm sure was unpasteurized soil. Please help! I've already had a succulent and a shamrock die, and I will be really sad if my cacti die too.
10/30/20071:15:29 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment
You might want to take the cactus to a nursery and let them have a look, it sounds like you may have had a soil borne fungus to attack the plants. Depending on what is found out with a visual inspection you may want to change your planting medium and not water as much. Sorry I could not have been any more help.
I have lantanas they are very big, now. They are in pots and I want to plant them in the ground. Is there a way to do this without the plants dying? A few years ago my lawncare service moved a lantana for me (at my request - after telling me that it will die if I move it) and the plant died. My husband thinks that we can plant the ones we have in the ground after we cut them back in the fall. What do you think? Thank you very much for this format we appreciate it.
10/9/200710:39:00 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment
Nicole,Your husband is right, late fall is the best time to transplant lantana. Before you put the plants in the hole I would suggest you put about a cup of Rocket Fuel on the bottom and set the plant directly on the Rocket Fuel to help prevent transplant shock.Hello. I've gotten advice from you in the past on what to do for roses. It's helped out. But this year, it's not been good for the roses. We inherited a bunch of rose bushes and a few trees and vines when we bought our house a year ago in Cedar Park. They're all in the ground (a couple in whiskey barrels). I've been told I have a green thumb, but I've had at least seven of them die since we moved in. So I've met my match with roses, and can verify I, indeed do not have a green thumb at least with roses. We planted a native/adapted plant landscape garden in San Antonio and never had problems with it. I trimmed when necessary and fertilized at the beginning of the season with a liquid fertilizer, then as needed during the growing season. I watered every week or two during the hottest, driest weather, and got nice comments from our neighbors and how nice our yard looked. I guess I got spoiled. Don't get me wrong, we get really nice comments from everyone who visits our house about how beautiful the yard looks with the roses and other plants out there. I'm just having problems keeping some of them nice. New growth comes out, then it sometimes shrivels later. Then canes start dying. I've used Rose Defense, Potassium Bicarbonate, Rose Food from Gardenville, Soil Food from Gardenville, have composted mulch on them, etc. It tends to work in the short term, but eventually, they go back to looking diseased. I feel like I've done all I can with them. I have a feeling they've been too wet this year. So I'm letting them dry out some while we have this dry, warm spell. They seem to do better in the hotter, drier weather with periodic watering, rather than a constant soaking. I'm trying to stick to the organic route. That's not easy. But since we have a dog, and I don't like to mess with chemicals if I don't have to, I think it's safer. Anyway, if you have any other suggestions from an organic standpoint, please let me know. Thanks. Sincerely, David Cullen
10/9/200710:34:43 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment
David,You might want to try and acidify the soil around the roses. Our soil here in South Texas is an alkaline soil. One way to change the ph of the soil is to add a 2" layer of compost around the plants and mulch with a pine bark mulch. That should drop the ph of the soil and help the roses out. You also might want to take a gallon sample of the soil around the plants and send it off for analysis. You can go to http://www.txplant-soillab.com/, and get the details on a standard topsoil analysis. Let me know if you have any other questions.I live in minnesota, I muched my garden with organic hay. Soon after my tomato plants started getting tomato blight. Is there anything to stop this?
7/23/200711:04:52 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment
Plant Questions, Potassium Bicarbonate
If the disease has not spread too much, you should trim the affected parts of the plant and throw them away. You can then try spraying Garden-Ville's fungicide, Potassium Bicarbonate, on the rest of the plant. It may be too late to offer a successful solution, however, and you may need to discard all of your plants this season. Do not compost or turn the affected plants into the soil as it may spread the blight even further. Since Garden-Ville is located in Central Texas, you may want to contact your local nursery or agricultural extension office in your area to identify your specific type of blight and future prevention.
Is it to late to plant jalapeno peppers?
7/23/200711:00:36 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment
In the Central Texas area, the safest time to start planting jalapenos is in late April to mid May and that can depend on whether you are growing from seeds or from starter plants. It takes about three months for the plants to produce fruit, so, if you start now, it could be October or November before you will reap any jalapenos, and, you would need to protect your plants from frost or ground temperatures below 60 degrees. Please check with your local nursery or county extension office for advice specific to where you live.
I have several hooly ferns that are getting some yellowing, almost like they are variegated, but I know there not. It started with all of this rain. I was woundering if you had any clue as to why this might be happening.
7/23/200710:57:52 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment
Plant Questions, Potassium Bicarbonate
It's always challenging to diagnose a problem without actually seeing the plant itself because there can be several reasons as to why the leaves are yellowing. It is possible that too much water (puddling) and lack of sunlight can produce some yellowing. Other causes of yellowing in leaves can be attributed to lack of nitrogen or iron which can be remedied by applying some of Garden-Ville's 6-2-2 Soil Food Select All-Purpose Fertilizer or adding Green Sand. You might also want to examine the leaves more closely for signs of pests or fungus. Garden-Ville's Potassium Bicarbonate (2 tablespoons per gallon of water) or our Organic Insecticide may work well to fix those kind of problems.
We live on a wooded lot with lots of shade. Could you recommend a tree or shrub that will give me some height in a bed right up against the front of the house. The bed gets very little sun. We live in northern Kentucky. Presently I havr azaleas and rhodos planted but need some height.
7/23/200710:56:56 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment
Here in Texas, home of Garden-Ville, we always recommend using native plants because they are more adaptive to the environment and require less water. Make sure you use some organic fertilizer, like compost, to your soil, to ensure rich, productive plants. Please check with your local agricultural extension or a grower in your area for recommendations. Call us if you ever get to Texas. The Texas Cooperative Extension has a free publication for native and adaptive landscape plants for the Central Texas area.
QuestionI live in Virginia and would like to know what you recommend for black spot on rose bushes.
4/4/200710:00:15 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment
To get rid of black spot on roses you can use the Garden-Ville Potassium Bicarbonate and spray the leaves. Or you can spread horticultural corn meal around the base of the roses and water it in. The corn meal when watered in creates a fungus that combats the black spot on the roses. The potassium bicarbonate will kill the fungus on contact. For faster results I would recommend you get the potassium bicarbonate, it is sold in 1 pound containers and is available where Garden-Ville products are sold or on our website. If you have any other questions please let me know.
I have cyperuspapyrus plants in the ground now,however I'd like to put them containers along a fence. I'm talking about maybe 6-8 plants. What size container would you recommend, how much water should they sit in and how long can they remain in containers? Fertilizer what kind, how much and how often? The papyrus planted in the ground aren't doing great Thank you for your help
4/2/20073:02:55 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment
The size of the pot depends on the size of the root ball. I would suggest getting a pot that is 1 ½ times the size of the root ball to allow for growth. The soil should be constantly moist being that the plant comes from swampy areas. Your soil Ph needs to be anywhere from 6-8.5 in order for the plant to thrive. Amend the soil around the plant with compost and mulch to keep the moisture in the soil and fertilize with a good balanced organic fertilizer like Garden-Ville’s Soil Food 6-2-2.
Can Mexican Fan Palms be cut back? Will they re-grow?
4/2/20073:02:25 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment
Landscape Questions, Plant Questions, Tree Questions
The crown can be trimmed back, but I have heard that if it is not necessary to trim the plant to leave it alone. The dead leaves of the plant contain nutrients that the plant absorbs until depleted then drops the leaves. If you were to trim back the plant it has been said to picture the crown of the plant as the face of a clock and only trim to 3 and 9. You might want to have a certified arborist come out and give you tips on what to do about your particular tree.
Hi. I've been trying to keep my poor house plant alive for a while now. I can't even tell what kind it is, but it has narrow and long leaves like a palm plant. Anyway, it has always been brown and yellow at the tips since i brought it home, and the leaves have been curling up and dying. I improved the soil drainage a little and that helped, but now there's just some really crazy thing happening and I don't know what to do. There are long white tubes growing from one stem to the other. Some look like they are even rooted in the soil. Now I just noticed that one of them curled open, and there is a big white stalk inside that looks like it has spores or stomata on it. Seems like an ordinary house plant wouldn't be producing something like this naturally, but I really don't know. Do you have any idea what might be going on? Thank you!!
3/23/20073:22:04 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment
Laurie,The growth that is happening might be the seeds from the plant some plants germinate under the leaf, you might want to take a cutting from the plant to a local nursery to identify the plant and see whether it is needing more or less sunlight. For the soil you can add Garden-Ville’s rose soil to the potting soil to give the soil in the pot more body for the plant to grow in. One other thing you can do in the meantime is set the plant outside and drench the soil with water and give the plant some fertilizer. Let me know how it turns out, I am curious as to what type of plant it is.Every year I use pine straw to mulch around my vegetable plants. This brings on an enormous amount of pill bugs that I can't control. Is there anything I can do to have a good mulch that will not encourage them?
3/6/20074:28:29 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment
You can try spraying the mulch beds with an organic insect killer like Garden-Ville's Organic Insecticide, but the reality of it is that the pill bugs will go where there is moisture. If they are not harming your plants I would not worry about them.
A group of freshmen and I from the International School of the Americas are working on a school gardening project to benefit the community. We are trying to learn a lot about gardening and we were wondering if you could give us any tips or pointers on how to start a garden. Thank you so much for your time.
2/27/20076:12:55 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment
Rheanna,What kind of garden did you want to plant in? You can either do a raised bed or in ground bed. In order to do a raised bed your planting depth will need to be approximately 12” to allow for root growth. You also want to get planting information (spacing between plants, etc) on what you are planting so that as they grow the do not get overcrowded. When choosing a soil to plant in you want to make sure that it is rich in organic matter. Most places will call it a garden mix or lawn and garden soil, you want to make sure that the topsoil in the mix is composted to keep your weeds in the garden to a minimum. If you have any other questions let me know.I have grub worms in my house plants which are causing a great deal of damage. I just found them and are looking for something to get rid of them. Can you suggest something? Thank you!
2/27/20075:38:14 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment
Plant Questions, Product Questions
Beneficial Nematodes, they are the answer to your grub worm woes. You can find them at any Garden-Ville location.
Around the san marcos area there is alot of bamboo, or bamboo type plants, if you are familliar with san marcos, Palmers resturaunt has a ton of it growing on the back wall. I live in wimberley and want this particular, possibly native plant as a natural fencing for privacy. My questions are...1 can i buy this plant somewhere, or two would it be fairly easy so pull some and transplant? I hope you can help me...i have yet to find anywhere to purchase. thank you
2/27/20073:51:18 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment
The bamboo is called Arundo donax. It is an invasive reed that the became established throughout the US when the government was trying to controll erosion controll around newly built bridges. Currently, it is considered an invasive plant and the government, nature conservancy is trying to erradicate the plant through mechanical, chemical and biological control.The plant is very difficult to remove or take a sprig for planting. You will not find this plant for sale. It is probably illegal to sell.Palmers is a great restaurant.I`ve started a new garden it`s 2,000 sq.ft. I want to build the soil up to plant vegetables, and I`m wanting to use hairy vetch legume as a green manure, what type of inoculate should I use for that type of legume? and, is tilling it in, when it`s ready to plant vegetables the right thing to do?
2/27/20072:48:42 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment
Plant Questions, Product Questions
To fertilize the hairy vetch you can use Garden-Ville’s Soil Food 6-2-2. You will need to till the plants in the soil before it is time to plant.
How well do Italian Cypress fare in Austin? What special care must be taken? I've seen many in the city and we would like to put three in our front flower bed placing each about 2-3 feet from our home. Please advise.
2/10/20075:43:18 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment
The USDA hardiness zones recommended for this particular plant are zones 7-9. We are in zone 8 which is very good. They can grow anywhere from 3-5’ in diameter and 20-30’ tall, so make sure there is plenty of room between the structure and the plant.
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