Question: I planted 3-gallon heavenly bamboo nandina in the late spring. They get six to seven hours of full sun a day. They are growing fast and look very healthy, but there was no sign of flowers this summer and no berries this fall. Is there something wrong?

Answer: I am not sure anything is wrong. Without flowers, there would have been no berries. I attribute the lack of flowers to either transplanting shock or shearing off of the flower buds when the plants were grown at the nursery - probably the latter, in an attempt to keep the nandina bushier and more compact and therefore more saleable. You should expect flowers and berries next year.

Question: I am a little confused about the products Dimension and Portrait. Can Portrait be used in place of Dimension or as a supplement to Dimension? Can I use Confront and Speed Zone or do I use just one in place of the other? Which do you recommend?

Answer: Both Portrait and Dimension are pre-emergent (before sprouting) weed control products. Portrait works best on broadleaf weeds and Dimension works best to control grassy weeds; although there is some cross-over control. However, if the situation calls for it, you need have no concern about using both Portrait and Dimension on the lawn at the same time.

You should not apply Speed Zone and Confront within 5 weeks of each other. Both will control broadleaf weeds after they have sprouted and both are quite effective on many weeds. The choice between Speed Zone and Confront is based primarily upon which method of application you prefer and the exact type of weeds you are trying to control. Speed Zone is a liquid and Confront is a granular. Liquids are usually cheaper and more effective under a broader range of weather conditions and can be better controlled in their application. Thus you can apply the product just where the weeds are. Many people consider granules easier to apply, with a spreader, especially on large lawns.

Question:  I have used your Hollins Tan Bark Mulch and I really like it. However, our budget is really pinched this year because of college tuition. Our local landfill gives away free mulch. I have listened to your radio show for years and you seem like an honest person. Do I dare use the free mulch from the landfill? Please give me your honest opinion.

Answer: Hollins Tan Bark Mulch is made from the stripped bark of healthy oak trees (primarily red oak) as part of the milling and lumber making process. Much of the oak ultimately ends up as flooring.

You take your chances with landfill mulch and through the years I have heard more than my share of tales of woe. Because of inexperienced staff, sometimes the mulch is not cured sufficiently and it burns the plants. Also, almost every homeowner-removed disease and insect ridden plant ultimately winds up at the landfill, along with the most noxious of weeds. In addition, some of the tree trimmers get rid of the worst of their chips at the landfill rather than selling them. Loads that wind up at the landfill tend to include trees that poison the soil, such as walnut, and those that contain the trees with the worst insect and disease problems.

Don't get me wrong; the landfill also gets lots and lots of perfectly healthy trees and shrubs which get ground up and mixed-in. So you take your chances. In my experience, sometimes landfill mulch is perfectly fine--although a little more work because you have to pick plastic bag scraps out of it. And sometimes landfill mulch creates a huge problem. Unfortunately there is no way to predict.

Question:  When is the best time to prune a weigela? Mine blooms prolifically in spring and somewhat throughout the summer and fall. I have heard you tell people to prune spring-flowering shrubs right after blooming. If I do this, won't I lose the summer and fall bloom?

Answer: The correct time to prune a weigela is in the spring right after blooming. By so doing, you may actually get more summer and fall bloom because pruning will encourage more new growth and it is the precocious opening of the buds formed on the new growth that is providing the summer and fall bloom.