Question:  Can hardy English heather be divided to propagate? If so, when and how? Thank you.

Answer:  If you try to divide the English heather, you will probably kill it. If you want to propagate it, work about 2 inches of a mixture of two thirds peat moss and one third coarse sand down in to the center of the heather and under the low lying branches. If need be, you can pin the low lying branches into the mixture with earth staples. In one to two years, the branches should be rooted and you can sever them from the mother plant and replant them.

Question:  I am losing all of my grass in my front yard. The front yard does not get sun until late in the afternoon. Please recommend a grass seed that will grow under very shady conditions. We even cut down a tree and trimmed limbs last year hoping that it would help. My hostas do very well in this area. Can you suggest another plant to complement the hostas  that will do well in this area? Thank you.

Answer:  The most shade tolerant grass seed is Shady Nooks, but it does require at least a couple hours of sun. Indeed, there are places that are so shady that no grass will grow. Shady Nooks contains grasses that do well in damp shade as well as those that prefer dry shade. Try the Shady Nooks Grass Seed this spring and next. (I suspect you have too many leaves for fall planted grass seed to survive). In places where it repeatedly dies out, plant ground covers or perennials.

Some good hosta companions are Japanese Silver Painted fern, Lady fern, Geranium macrorrhizum, Hakenachloa grass, Siberian Forget-me-not (Anchusa) and bleeding heart (Dicentra).

Question:  Alan, I think what is taking over my lawn is Wild Bermuda grass. It is like straw and has runners about 1 foot long. It covers about 50% of my lawn. I have tried to dig it out but I'm losing the battle. What do I do, when can I reseed if I treat? Thanks.

Answer:  The only way to get rid of wild Bermuda grass is to Round-up the entire area. In zone 6, the first application would be in early July and the second one would be in early August. Then you can reseed with Black Beauty at the end of August.

Question:  As I have been driving around I see some beautiful white blooming trees along the highways in areas where I am sure they were not planted. They look like the Bradford pears I used to have at home until the storm tore them apart. Yet I thought I heard you say on the radio show that the Bradford pear was bred from oriental pears. What am I seeing?

Answer:  You are probably seeing seedlings of the Bradford family of pears. Not only is the Bradford pear proving to be a poor choice as an ornamental, I have also observed its seedlings cropping up in massive quantities at the edges of the woodlands and crowding out our native species. It’s going to be a real problem.

Question:  Last summer, thistles started to invade my perennial garden and I sprayed them with Round-up. It obviously didn’t work because I have more thistles this spring than last year. What did I do wrong?

Answer:  Thistle is deeply rooted; more than 1 application is required to kill them. Round-up works best in the spring and fall when the thistle is tender and actively growing. I suggest you spray Canada thistle now with Round-up. Every other week spray any new shoots that emerge. If active growth stops during the summer, spray the foliage with Miracle Grow and tender growth should re-emerge. Then you can spray the new growth with Round-up. Towards the middle of August, cut any thistle shoots that have escaped your Round-up treatment to the ground and tender new shoots will emerge in September. Fall treatment of the those tender new shoots is particularly effective, because at that time of the year the plant is actively translocating nutrients (along with the Round-up) to the roots for winter storage. It may take 2 years; but if you stay after it, you will eventually defeat the thistle.

When spraying Round-up in a perennial garden, be sure to protect your perennials. Either paint on the Round-up with a paint brush or take a 3 pound coffee can, cut out the top and bottom and nail it on a stick to make a handle. Surround the thistle with the coffee can to protect nearby plants as you spray down into the can. Incidentally, I have found that old fashioned slow kill Round-up works better on thistle than the newer quick kill formulations.

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