SEPTEMBER
2004
By
Beverly Shaw
Advanced
Master Gardener
Purdue University
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Q. I have a lot of vines that grew up my two trees. I noticed that one
of my large trees is now dying. Would those vines kill them by taking
all of the water from the bark? Also, I have a patio tomato plant that
is big and doing great. Would it hurt the plant if I cut off a lot of
the lower branches? Thank you. -- Jerry Maquet
A. In the southern portion of the United States and in the rainforests
of the world, vines commonly choke plants to death. In the Midwest, however,
most of our vines use trees for structural support and are not likely
to kill a large, healthy tree. The weight of the foliage can cause problems
on small trees, so it is a good idea to keep vines away from tree trunks
and scaffold limbs of small trees. Most of our vines are not parasitic
and do not extract water from the tree, but there are a few, such as mistletoe
and dodder, that are true parasites and do take water and nutrients from
the host plant.
It is probably in the tree's best interest to cut down the vine at ground
level. You can leave the vine and its foliage up in the tree. As it decomposes,
it will lessen its hold and will eventually drop off or can be pulled
off. Proceed with caution, as one of our most common tree-climbing vines
is poison ivy. You need to take great care not to touch it, or you'll
suffer the itchy consequences. If you're walking through a carpet of the
same foliage on your way to the tree, remove your clothing when you've
finished cutting the vine, and take care not to let the outside of your
clothing touch your skin.
Tomatoes produce all that foliage in order to maximize photosynthesis,
which pays you back in tomatoes! Any foliage you remove will cause the
plant to expend more energy to replace it and can reduce fruit production
temporarily. Foliage also protects developing fruits from sunscale. Unless
it's necessary to remove diseased foliage, the lower limbs should remain
in place.
Q. I have been trying to find information on whether or not to deadhead
my many Stella D'Oro daylilies. Most of the information that I've found
says that it is not really necessary, but one source stated that it would
not make a difference for this year but may make a difference next year.
However, it did not tell if the difference would be for the good or bad.
I really prefer to keep them deadheaded, because they look so much nicer
without the big seed heads and dead stalks. I always thought that if you
prevent seeds from forming you would produce more flowers. Do you have
any advice for the many of us who have this popular flower in our gardens?
I look forward to your column every month. Keep up the good (and helpful)
work. Thanks. -- Carol Benson, Monticello, Ind.
A. Daylilies are so tough, they'll survive whether you deadhead them or
not, but deadheading is almost always a good practice. A plant's goal
is to produce seed. Allowing it to do so, signals its job is done. Not
allowing it to do so, signals it to continue producing flowers. We call
this removal of spent flowers "deadheading." Many plants will
rebloom after deadheading, including petunia, geranium, marigold, speedwell,
coreopsis and more. Many faded flowers can simply be pinched off, while
some need to be cut off with a knife, scissors or pruning shears. Remove
the clippings to the compost pile or the trash to avoid insects and fungal
organisms that will be attracted to the decaying plant material.
Deadheading is also done for aesthetic purposes, since the seed heads
of many plants are not attractive. I choose not to deadhead two kinds
of plants in my garden -- those with attractive spent flowers like sedum,
astilbe, baptisia and ornamental grasses, and those I want to have reseed,
like cleome and poppies.
Q. How do I kill or get rid of yucca roots? I pulled big yuccas out of
my yard two years ago. It seems like the more I dig out their roots, the
more sprouts keep coming up. I dig some out and pull others but they just
keep multiplying. Help! -- Barbara Kimmel, Springville, Ind.
A. Persistence! When you see new sprouts, dig them up immediately. Try
to get the root system each time. If you allow them to grow for a while
before you remove them, they will gain strength, so remove them as soon
as possible.
Herbicide application is difficult because of the waxy coating on the
yucca leaves, but glyphosate (sold as Round-Up or Kleen-Up) is another
option. Again, spray as soon as you see a sprout, and use care, since
it kills anything green, not just yucca. Glyphosate is translocated to
the root, so it will help you rid your garden of the root pieces.
9-2-04
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