Question: I would like to cut back two shrubs to get more stems coming from the base of each plant. The first is an American Fringe Tree. The plant consists of a single main stem about 3 ft. tall with a whorl of branches at the top. The other is a Mock Orange 'Belle Etoile'. This plant has a main stem about six inches tall with several long arching branches at the top. The six inch stem has split from the wind whipping the branches. A single new stem sprouted this year from the very base of the plant just below the ground and grew vigorously. I would like the Fringe tree to be a multi-stemmed shrub and I would like the Mock Orange to produce multiple stems at ground level. What pruning techniques (how and when) can I use to accomplish this? Thank you.

Answer: Prune both plants in the spring before the leaves emerge. On the Mock Orange, cut the split stem below the split and near the ground, leaving only 6 inches. Also remove the terminal tip and the tips of all of the lateral branches on the new shoot.

While I am relatively certain that, with this procedure, the Mock Orange will develop as you desire, I am not sure that your Fringe Tree has latent buds for new shoots at the base; and often you cannot be certain even with close examination. I suggest a one year trial. If they are there, you can encourage them to sprout with a very simple haircut, all the way around, of the tips of all of the shoots. If no new shoots emerge from the base, I do not encourage you to use this procedure a second time the following year.

Question: I have a Peace Lily which needs to be reduced in size. It is presently bound in a 12 inch clay pot and is so large that it regularly falls over. It is no longer an accent to the living space. Can you recommend the proper procedure?

"Azalea" pots are less deep and wider at the base so they are less likely to tip over than standard pots. (Azalea pots are intermediate in depth between bulb pots and standard pots.) Also, placing your pot in an ornamental jardinairre makes it less likely to tip over. Finally, clay pots are heavier than plastic and therefore more likely to stay upright.

Question: I have planted the Mexican Sage that I got as a gift plant in your Garden Center this spring and totally forgot about it until it bloomed with all of those velvety purple flowers. I have never seen anything like it. It is absolutely gorgeous. Thank you so much. What a surprise when it bloomed in my garden this fall. Is Mexican Sage hardy outdoors over the winter or do I need to bring it indoors?

Answer: I am so glad you are enjoying your Mexican Sage. I believe that Mexican Sage is a plant that deserves much wider popularity. Mexican Sage is, at best, border-line hardy in our immediate area (Zone 6). All the plants that we gave away in our garden center this spring were grown from cuttings given to me by a customer on Maryland's Eastern Shore, where it is hardy. Mexican Sage grows there and comes back reliably every year in a sunny, well-drained, but very windy, exposed site. I would rate that site as a warm Zone 7. If you want to be sure to keep your Mexican Sage alive, bring it indoors and grow it in a sunny window. Mexican Sage is easy to root and your plant probably has some basal shoots. If you don't want to bring the whole plant indoors, you can bring in some basal cuttings and root them with rooting hormone in a light professional soil mix.

Answer: If you ordered your 'Double Fantasy' for immediate shipment and if you live in Zone 6 or higher and if you plant it immediately, and press it in firmly and also protect it well with 2-3 inches of mulch - if you do all of those things, your Christmas Rose should do just fine planted outdoors at this time.

Question: I was listening to your Radio show last week. You had as a guest a bulb expert from Holland, but I didn't catch a few things he said. He talked about bulbs naturalizing and perennializing. What is the difference? Also would you repeat what was said about how to make tulips come back every year.

Answer: Perennializing refers to bulbs that come back each year essentially without increasing. Naturalizing is when bulbs not only come back every year but increase, either by dividing themselves into large clumps or by self sowing seedlings into large masses.

With careful selection and good culture, tulips will return and bloom for many years. I know of plantings of Tulips that have returned for at least 8 years. The blooms are smaller than when first planted, but there are more of them. One key to having Tulips perennialize is to select the largest bulbs you can find of a class of Tulips called Darwin hybrids. These are crosses of Emperor (Fosteriana) tulips and Single Late Tulips with unusual hybrid vigor. The second key is to understand that a tulip bulb is replaced by an entirely new bulb each year and it must make a large bulb in order to bloom. Anything that interrupts the growth of that bulb will decrease the chances of re-bloom next year. Tulip bulbs will stop growing prematurely for many reasons but especially if the soil is too warm. Tulip bulbs can be encouraged to perennialize by:

- Deep planting (10 inches).

- Planting in light soil. Heavy soils can be lightened and enriched by mixing half and half with Chesapeake Blue Crab Compost.

- Ample watering during late spring dry periods.

- Selecting a site with protection from the hottest afternoon sun.

- Cutting off just the seed pod, not the stem, as soon as the petals drop.