Question: We have 55 English Boxwood shrubs - some we know have root rot. However, it seems that a large majority of the plants are starting to brown (these plants are spread over 1 acre).

Answer: Your boxwoods probably have a combination of root rot and nematodes. There are no cures, only treatments. First remove the mulch. I suggest three granular products to be applied early every spring: ground crab shells, Kelp Meal and Espoma's Bio-Tone Starter fertilizer. (Espoma also makes a fertilizer called Bio-Tone Starter Plus. This is not the one you want.) Then replace the mulch with Pine Fines mulch. Customers who have followed this regimen precisely are reporting significant improvement in the appearance of their boxwoods after about six months. In subsequent years, it will not be necessary to remove the pine fines mulch. Just apply the three soil treatments on top of the year-old pine fines mulch and then top dress with a thin layer of pine fines to achieve the necessary depth.

Question: I listen to your show on Saturday mornings and I have a question. I just purchased a house in Hanover, Pennsylvania. The former owners seeded and put hay on top. The grass looks to be growing okay, but there are some spots where it is not coming up and some areas are good size. Should I put new seed down in those areas in the spring? Do I rake the hay up and then put seed down then fertilize with Turf Trust?  Also do I need to rake the entire lawn to get the hay up before I fertilize the lawn or should I put something down before the fertilizer, I have not done anything to the lawn yet?

Answer:  You do not need to rake the entire lawn. Removing the straw is going to tear up the new grass. Fertilize with Turf Trust just as soon as you can. Where the grass is not coming up you have several options:

1. Do no seeding until ideal seeding time in late August - early September. By then, the straw will have decomposed.

2. The new grass seed must make contact with the soil, not the straw. If you decide to seed this spring, either work some soil amongst the straw and sow the seed into the soil. Or, remove the straw from the bare patches, loosen the soil and sow the seed into the soil. If necessary, cover the seed lightly with Leaf Gro, Chesapeake Green or Compro.

Question:  I have read on line that the best control for crab grass is Dimension. I know you sell it in granular form, but it is suggested that spraying the liquid form is much more effective.

Answer: I don't believe that Dimension is any more effective as a liquid. Post emergent broadleaf lawn weed killers are more effective as liquid sprays because they work through the leaves. Spray coverage of leaves is surer than granular because the granules can fall off the leaves. However, pre-emergent crabgrass control works in the soil. Granules make soil contact at least as well as liquids, if not better. In either case the product must wash in with the spring rains. Most folks find granular application to be easier than liquid.

Question: The potted annuals I buy invariably are root bound. I try to untangle them gently with my hand claw but they seem to suffer and sometimes never grow. What is the best way to do this?

I have a Steed's holly on the east corner of my house. It gets morning sun and afternoon sun until about 2:00 PM. It lives but does not flourish. What is your opinion of this plant? I have used Holly-tone, Cotton Seed Meal, and Messenger faithfully.

Answer: I am surprised your annuals are so root bound. You might want to change your supplier. On root-bound annuals, I usually pull apart the roots with my fingers. If you use the claw, do so gently. Most important, on annuals with disturbed roots water them in with SeaMate and mix in a granular with mycorrhizae such as Bio-Tone Starter Plus.

My opinion of all Japanese hollies is not good. They do best on the North side of the house, protected from the wind (not on an outside corner), in compost-enhanced, sandy very well-drained soil that stays moist—a combination almost impossible to achieve with clay soil. Japanese hollies do not like wet soil at all and resent very dry soil, especially in winter and summer. We try not to sell Japanese Hollies at all and I never recommend them. Application of liquid Bio-Tone Starter and Kelp Meal, in addition to the Cotton Seed Meal or Holly-tone, might help.

Question: I picked up my crab grass preventer in your store this Sunday. It seems to be a different product than I used last year. Do I use it the same way? Just out of curiosity why did you change? Also when will you be getting in NuBark? I've used it with great success when pruning my trees and pruning time is upon us.

Answer: We changed to Greenlight Dimension for several reasons. Greenlight is less expensive because each 5,000 square foot bag is slightly cheaper. Yet it contains a lot more active ingredient (Dimension) and therefore requires only one application per year (rather than two).

Another reason that we changed is that our customers are having great success with Turf Trust lawn food. The old Dimension included some fertilizer, but I believe not nearly as good as the Turf Trust. Using them both, I felt, was too much nitrogen for the lawn and was not a Chesapeake Bay-friendly program. The second application of the old product was particularly problematic. Not only was it too much fertilizer applied too late, but the fertilizer seemed to contribute to lawn fungus, especially brown patch. The sole application of Greenlight Dimension is applied when the Forsythia is in early to mid bloom. Thus, from a financial standpoint, with Greenlight Crabgrass Preventer the total cost of crabgrass prevention will be less than half of what it was under the old program.

I miss NuBark at least as much as you do. It was a unique product - a lanolin pruning sealer paste. And, it promoted healing really well. The company that manufactured NuBark has been purchased by a small horticultural products conglomerate. They discontinued the product due to lack of profitability. All I have left is some tree sticks in which the packaging is damaged. These are being offered at reduced price. The contents are fine but the knob that makes the NuBark rise out of the tube does not work; so you will have to dig it out with an old butter knife and then apply it.

The exact same formulation was also packaged in a small tube as a Rose Pruning Sealer - the best product I have ever found to prevent rose cane borer. This was the original product; the tree wound dressing seemed to be somewhat of an after thought. The rose stick is still made; however, it only comes as a combo pack with several other rose care products that I don't care for. However, Carroll Gardens was able to buy the rose pruning sealer separately in bulk. The rose stick can also be used for treating tree wounds. I do not recommend an alternative product. Research shows that you would be better to do nothing than to apply one of those black tarry asphalt products.