Question: I have a few questions I hope you won’t mind answering for me. Thank You.

1. When and how far back do you cut coreopsis moonbeam? What kind of fertilizer should I be using?

2. How far back do you trim Pennisetum Hamelin, when and what kind of fertilizer?

3. Do you trim back Lavender Hidcote? If so how far and when? What kind of fertilizer?

4. Do you cut back Heather and if so, when? What kind of fertilizer?

Answer: The following are the answers to your questions. I hope this helps.

1. You cut back Coreopsis now and I would cut it to the ground. You will fertilize with Flower-tone.

2. For Pennisetum Hamelin you will use the same method as above. Cut it back now to the ground and fertilize with Flower-tone.

3. Yes, you can trim Lavender Hidcote now; but cut it back no more than one third. Use Bulb-tone for fertilizing.

4. Summer blooming heather can be cut back by up to a third now. Cut out all dead stems. Feed with Cottonseed Meal.

All of the above plants need Kelp Meal added to the fertilizer (half as much as the fertilizer). That is, with 1 cup of fertilizer, use ½ cup of Kelp Meal.

Question: I have two 10' tall boxwoods in my yard and they have leaf miners. Could you tell me what type of treatment I need to give them? They are starting to look poorly. I have sprayed them in the past but it does not seem to get rid of them.  Thank you.

Answer: If you have English Boxwoods in the Mid-Atlantic states, they are almost surely suffering from a range of diseases and insects beyond leaf miner. Some of these problems are not curable--only treatable. We are seeing many English Boxwoods in various stages of decline.

English Boxwoods need air circulation amongst their leaves. Pluck out about one-third of the foliage before new growth begins. Also use a shop vac to remove all of the dead foliage that has gathered down in the center of the plant and around the base. For boxwoods your size, I suggest a spring tonic of a couple pounds of FertileGro or Plant-tone fertilizer, a couple pounds of Neptune's Harvest ground crab shells and a pound each of Grow-Plex G and Kelp meal. These are all granular and can be sprinkled on the surface around the root mass. (Chesapeake Blue Crab Compost can be substituted for the crab shells, but a 10' boxwood will need 6-8 bags to totally cover the root mass one inch deep). Do not dig or scratch these products into the soil. Remove the loose mulch before treating. Then drench the soil with Super Bio beneficial microorganisms at the rate of 2 ounces per gallon of water. After treating, replace the mulch with one inch of pine mulch. Only pine will do and absolutely no more than a 1½ inch cover at the most.

To answer your question on boxwood leaf miner, I have had my best luck with 2 sprays of Lindane--one at the end of the 3rd week of April and a second one at the end of the second week of May. Be sure to add spreader sticker to your spray and try to spray the undersides of the leaves also.

Question: What are the best garden uses for coffee grinds? Are they good for specific plants? Likewise, what is the best use for egg shells in the garden? Should they be processed in any way, like crushing?

Answer: Coffee grounds and tea leaves are best for acid-loving evergreens and roses--spread no more then one half inch deep. Too much will do more harm than good. Egg shells should be crushed. Egg shells (and wood ashes) can be used on all alkaline-loving plants including the lawn. Also most perennials, deciduous shrubs, annuals and vegetables. Egg shells can also be used on roses.

Question: Alan, the deer are devastating my lawn. They are tearing up the sod to, I have gathered, get to the emerging cicadas. The deep small holes are obvious where they are digging. What to do? I have spread netting and deer spray. They move elsewhere. Any ideas?

Answer: I doubt that the deer are digging in the lawn to get to the emerging Cicadas. Deer only eat plants. I suspect the damage to the lawn is from skunk or fox. If the deer spray is working, my best advice is to spray the whole lawn with the same deer repellent (which obviously must be appropriate to repel your skunk and fox also).

Otherwise the only way I know to get rid of skunk and fox is by trapping them and taking them for a ride to a new home in the woods.

Incidentally, if its skunk doing the damage, they may not be looking for the cicadas, but rather Japanese beetle grubs.

Question: When do you fertilize asparagus? I have Plant-Tone but did not hear when to fertilize.

Answer: You should fertilize asparagus now before the shoots emerge and then again in November. Be sure to add some Kelp Meal to the Plant-Tone.

Question: We will be reseeding an area in our lawn that needs repair after the removal of an in ground swimming pool. The contractor will be grading the area that was damaged by the equipment coming from the street to the area in the backyard. The lawn had been over seeded with Black Beauty (originally seeded with Kentucky 31 tall fescue). My question is - what is the germination time of Black Beauty and should we use just that to reseed or mix with a faster germinating seed.

Answer: Black Beauty takes several weeks to germinate when the soil is as cold as it is now. If there is any concern about washout, I would use 5% annual rye grass added to the Black Beauty. Spraying with Super Bio at the time of planting will speed germination. If you are going to be tilling the soil, use a double application of Turf Trust as a starter fertilizer. Otherwise a single application will do.