Q. I have an abundance of oak leaves. Can they be used for a mulch in a vegetable garden?
A. Feel free to add oak leaves to the garden but just an inch or two around the plants. Leaves tend to mat down and prevent uniform water movement into the soil. Too thick a layer can also bind up nutrients needed by the vegetables. A much thicker layer of four or more inches can be added to walkways between the plantings.
Another good use for leaves is to produce compost. Form an enclosed pile, in an out-of-the-way area of the garden, to decompose by the next gardening season. Use this organic matter to improve sandy or previously planted soils before adding the new crops.
Q. I have a Little Gem magnolia that is growing taller than I like. Can it be topped and shaped at this time?
A. Topping trees is never a good idea as the new growths coming off the blunted stems tend to be weak and often form in unsightly clusters. A lower, smaller tree can still be produced by selectively removing portions of limbs back to buds, branch angles or trunks. Do keep the normal shape of the tree in mind and try to create a natural look. Now is a good time to do corrective pruning for most trees.
Q. White puffy substances are forming along the stems and leaves of my crotons. What is this and can it be controlled?
A. Sounds like your crotons are harboring a good infestation of mealy bugs. The puffy areas are usually egg masses about to produce the next generation. When they can be so easily spotted, you know these piercing-sucking insects are feeding heavily on the plants.
Luckily a good control can be a natural horticultural oil spray available from your local garden center. Follow the label to control the insects and also help remove a black sooty mold likely forming on the foliage. Another option is to use one of the systemic insect controls applied to the soil around the plantings, following the label instructions. These may be a little slower-acting but usually give months of control.
Q. We have sodded our backyard twice and each time the lawn gets weeds and declines. It is a hot, sunny spot. What is a low-maintenance grass or ground cover?
A. Let's face it, lawns take some work and there are always going to be weeds. Probably the most carefree lawn is planted to bahiagrass. It can survive periods of drought and only needs two or three feedings a year. The best-looking bahia lawns do get water during the dry times. The worst weeds with bahia are the grasses that often arrive with the sod. You have to stay alert to these patchy areas and spot-kill them or cut them out and re-sod to keep a pure bahia lawn.
Other ground-cover alternatives are Asiatic jasmine, perennial peanut and mimosa, also called sensitive plant. These take some time and good care to become established. When they fill the open areas, they are considered drought-tolerant and almost carefree.
Q. I purchased a schefflera for inside my home about a month ago and now all the leaves are falling off. How does one care for this plant?
A. Most likely more light is part of the answer. If this is a standard tall-growing schefflera, it's going to need a bright location. A spot on a porch or in a sunny Florida room would be best. It's definitely not a plant for the dark corners. Also check to make sure the soil is moist. Water when the surface begins to dry to the touch. Moisten the container until water begins to run from the base.
Since the plant has lost lots of foliage, a lightly shaded spot outdoors during warm weather might be best until it regrows new leaves. Then you can move it back indoors to a bright location.
Q. I am in the process of trimming my hibiscus bush. Can I trim off the top without doing it any harm, as it has grown quite tall?
A. Now is a good time to give hibiscus plantings a renewal pruning. Many have stopped blooming and some are developing yellow leaves due to the chilly winter weather. Start reducing the height by removing some of the older stems to the ground or back to thick trunk portions.
Continue the pruning by selectively removing additional tall and wide-spreading limbs back to branch angles. Hibiscus plantings can be rejuvenated without giving them a flat top or hedge-like look. Try to keep a natural shrub look.