Question: Can Cannas be grown in a water garden? I love their big red flowers and I thought the large leaves would make a dramatic display and make a great accent in my fish pond. This question comes about because I saw a magazine picture of cannas seemingly growing under water. Was this picture just staged or was it for real?

Answer: Cannas can indeed be grown in containers placed just below the surface of a water garden. The variegated-leaved varieties make a particularly impressive and dramatic display. To be sure your cannas are well rooted before they are moved out of doors, I suggest you start your cannas indoors in pots in March. Once the cannas have emerged, cover the top of the pot with small stones. The cannas can be moved outdoors into the water garden about a week after the last frost date in your area.

Question: I heard you say on your radio show that you doubted that the Arborvitae Green Giant is as deer-resistant as the catalogs claim. I can tell you that here in southern New Jersey this winter the deer had a feast on my Green Giant. I need an evergreen that is somewhat narrow for screening. Is there anything at all?

Answer:  I know there is good reception for the Garden Club in some southern New Jersey locations - or are you listening on the internet?

Consider the named form of our native so-called eastern red cedar (which isn't a red cedar at all), Juniper virginiana Emerald Sentinel. I have never seen Emerald Sentinel touched by deer. However, there is risk. I know of one garden, in which the deer pressure is incredibly intense, where the deer browsed on another variety of the same Juniper species, Grey Owl Juniper.

Several reliable sources have told me that one variety of eastern arborvitae, Holmstrup, is never touched by deer - even in places where nearby Green Giant, western hybrid arborvitae, has been stripped clean of foliage. Curiously, all other forms of eastern arborvitae are deer favorites. Holmstrup, grows about 6 inches per year, eventually maturing to 10 feet. It is only 3 feet wide at maturity. We will be stocking Holmstrup arborvitae at the nursery this year.

Incidentally, I noticed that the same mail order nursery that has touted Green Giant as being deer-resistant is similarly touting hydrangeas. "Deer and rabbits leave them alone...". This has absolutely not been my experience. In one garden where the deer pressure is moderate, not nearly as intense as you have in southern New Jersey, every year the deer strip the hydrangeas to sticks.

I am also noticing this year that some rhododendrons are more resistant than others. Rhododendron carolinianum and its hybrids, such as PJM, seemed to be untouched even where deer pressure is moderate to heavy. I have noticed similar favorable results for Rhododendron maximum and its hybrids.

Question: I have followed your instructions and I have already fertilized my lawn, shrubs and perennials and I put the kelp meal down. Can I seed my lawn this early?

Answer: You can seed the lawn as soon as the ground is workable. You do not have to wait for the last frost. Remember you cannot seed the lawn if you are going to apply crab grass preventor. In general, except for small touch-ups, the best time to seed a sunny lawn is in late summer or early autumn. The best time to seed a shady lawn is in early spring.