Question: I have heard through the grape vine that your personal Christmas tree was featured in Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Is this true? And if so, anyone who can trim a tree that well ought to have some hints and tips they can share.

Answer: You have a mighty good grape vine; it’s been about 20 years since that article appeared. I am not sure I even have a copy of the magazine any longer. And I had just about forgotten about the whole event.

I do a particular style of old-world tree—very much like a tree that would have been done soon after the turn of the century, but much more bountifully laden. I am not sure I have any unique tips, but I will share with you a few rules I try to follow:

a. I always use a fresh cut tree with Christmas tree preservative like Prolong. And I sometimes string the lights the same day I put the tree up. But I never hang ornaments until the tree “hangs down and opens up”.

b. If the tree has a “hole” where there are no branches, I pull the surrounding branches together with thin wire to fill in the offending space.

c. I put the lights on the inside of the tree and usually use 2 kinds intermingled; large colored lights and tiny white ones. Because the tree tends to be thinner at the top and the lights are more visible, I have to be extra cautious to use fewer lights at the top and more at the bottom of the tree.

d. I put only small ornaments at the top of the tree, but throughout the center and bottom I use a mixture of sizes from the largest to the smallest.

e. I always repeat lots of vertical, slender ornaments throughout the tree to give an integrated look to what is basically a hodge-podge of ornaments. Some years I use glass icicles; some years I use glass pine cones and some years I use a long tapered twist, but always something long and slender.

f. I never mix old tarnished antique ornaments with the new brightly colored ornaments. I reserve the old, faded true antiques for a separate tree. Mixed together the antiques are overwhelmed by those with a shiny bright finish.

g. So that the tree looks really bountifully decorated, I use lots of clip-on ornaments on the tops of the branches. I use glass candles and lots of glass birds. Repeating these above-branch ornaments also helps to unify the tree.

h. When it comes to Christmas trees, I don’t subscribe to the philosophy that "less is more". More is more. I go back to the tree after it’s been decorated for a few days and fill in the open spots that always seem to appear.

Question: What is the proper care for a River Birch (food, light, water, etc?) We have a river birch in our yard that gets yellow leaves quite often during summer and fall then drops them. It’s a beautiful tree and we want to care for it properly.

Answer: River Birch prefers a moist spot. If yours is not naturally moist, put down about 2-3 inches of mulch in a broad circle around the tree. Be sure to feed with Cottonseed Meal and Kelp Meal in late fall and early spring. River Birch benefits greatly from merit systematic insecticide applied as a drench to the roots in spring. These 3 things (food, water & Merit) should keep your birch tree in much better foliage.

Question: Is there any way to keep Autumn Joy Sedum from growing so huge, separating and falling down? Mine were gorgeous but so ungainly, ruining the grass in front of them. I'm sure all the rain this season was part of the problem. I'm sure I did not over fertilize them.

Answer: Lots of people had trouble with Autumn Joy Sedum flopping over this year. You are right; part of the problem was the wet season. However, I am convinced that Autumn Joy Sedum requires special care to stay erect:

a. A hot, sunny and dry place.
b. A very thin layer of mulch, no more then 1” deep.
c. Division every 2 years.
d. Fertilize lightly with Flower Tone® or Fertile Gro
    in early spring only.

Question: I enjoy the newsletter and the radio show. Is it too late to plant perennials like iris and peonies? Are there bulbs I can plant?

Answer: To answer this question I will presume you live somewhere in the Mid-Atlantic.  If so, you can still plant peonies and Siberian iris now. However, you are just about at the deadline for German bearded iris. These are best planted early next fall or in the spring as potted plants. The Peonies and Siberian iris are either plants or tubers that would be shipped with some soil clinging to the roots.  Almost all spring flowering bulbs can still be planted—daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, crocus, dwarf iris, etc. We still have a good selection in stock.

Question: Should I cut back ornamental grasses, saw grass or razor grass for winter and how far back?  They have sharp blades and center tails of a pinkish hue and grow to about 4 or 5 feet...  Light sun?

Answer: I am not sure what you mean by saw grass and razor grass. In general, the rule for any ornamental grasses that turn brown in the winter is that they get cut back to near ground-level. This can be done at any time between early winter and early spring. I like the appearance of the brown grasses standing erect until the winter snow knocks them down. Then I cut them off.

Question: My lawn still needs one more cutting. I am confused; is the last cutting supposed to be higher to protect the roots or lower?

Answer: Grass should be cut about 1” shorter than usual for the last cutting. The clippings should be gathered and removed—all this with an aim toward reducing the possibility of fungus over the winter.

Question: Early last spring my lawn was invaded by a pinky-purpley flowering weed. I see it's back as young plants this year.

Answer: You have “Henbit”. The young plants grew from seed that dropped before last year’s plants died in the summer. If you spray with Tiger Brand Lawn Weed Killer, with a spreader sticker, it will work slowly but the weeds should eventually die before they flower next year (Henbit grows all winter long). Next year apply granular Gallery pre-emergent herbicide in late August or early September. This will kill the henbit seedlings as they germinate.