Q: We purchased two beautiful orchids at the Southeastern Flower Show. The blooms are now faded or gone. I find no mention on the Web site of pruning the stem. Should the stem be cut back?

JIMMY MIZE

see caption (ENLARGE)

Once all the flowers have faded, cut the bloom stem of an orchid at the base. WALTER REEVES / Special

Hybrid Bermuda grass doesn't produce seed  For more salvia blooms, trim faded spikes  Mowing won't thicken St. Augustine  Fig vine has drawbacks  Little bugs can be a big nuisance for strawberries

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A: Yes, once all flowers have faded, cut the bloom stem at the base. Your orchid will need several months to store enough light energy to bloom again. Put it in bright indoor light and follow the tips at xrl.us/ORCHID.

Q: I am new to Georgia from northern Illinois. Our builder put in Bermuda grass sod in early February. I fertilized at the end of March. What do you recommend at this point?

ROBERT FREEMAN

Cumming

A: Because of the Easter freeze and your early lawn feeding, you may have patches of dead sod. Warm-season grasses like Bermuda began turning green much earlier than normal. The green-up depleted carbohydrate reserves. The recent cold shocked the grasses back into dormancy, but now they have fewer reserves to send out new shoots. Since your sod was laid in February, it has hardly any deep roots in which to store carbohydrates. If you have dead spots, plug healthy divots of Bermuda grass into the dead areas and let it spread and cover them by July.

Q: Now that I own a business and have a 3-year-old daughter, it is tough to remember when to fertilize what. What are your views on the slow-release fertilizers?

RICHARD JABALEY

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A: Osmocote, Dynamite and others are excellent slow-

release fertilizers. They cost a bit more but allow you to fertilize once per year, then forget about it. The nitrogen number is higher because plants need more nitrogen than anything else. The percent of nitrogen in each granule is very high, but is released slowly as water and bacterial action dissolve the chemical into the soil.

Q: How can I keep cats from using my garden as a litter box?

SHARON McCRINA

Villa Rica

A: I've had a lot of fun with the ScareCrow (www.contech-inc

.com). It is a motion-activated lawn sprinkler that makes noise and sprays water when triggered by a passing animal, like a cat, dog or deer. The Havahart Spray Away is similar (www.havahart.com). Set one up and watch the cats scat!

Q: The watering recommendation for most vegetables is 1 to 2 inches per week. How do I determine how much watering will produce 1 to 2 inches?

LELAND DAVIS

Cobb County

A: The best answer is the obvious one: Set out some empty tin cans, turn on your irrigation system for 30 minutes and see how much water accumulates in them. Long-forgotten math skills will provide the length of time needed to apply 1 inch per week. Our mandatory water rules apply to landscapes but not to food gardens. You can save water by laying a soaker hose along the row and mulching over it. Soaker hoses typically deliver 1 gallon of water per foot of hose per hour.