Q: My sweetie gave me beautiful blooming primroses for Valentine's Day. What do I do with them? Do I plant them outside now or keep them inside until spring?

— Charlotte Wood, Loganville

WALTER REEVES / Special (ENLARGE)
Primrose, with its bright colors in early spring, is worth growing even though it is short-lived.
WALTER REEVES WEEKEND GARDENER Walter Reeves is a TV and radio gardening show host and former DeKalb Extension agent. Listen to Reeves Saturdays on WSB-AM (750) from 6 to 10 a.m. Call 404-872-0750 to ask questions about lawns, gardens or pests or e-mail to georgiagardener@yahoo.com Sign up for his free garden newsletter at www.walterreeves.com. EXTRA: • Walter Reeves' Fertilizer Calendar NEW [an error occurred while processing this directive] • Complete list of Reeves columns

A: The bright colors of primrose are eye-catching in nurseries and landscapes now. Although they are technically perennial plants, most Southern gardeners class them as "annual perennials." Whether due to summer heat or swings of temperature in winter, primroses don't seem to last outdoors here more than a year or two.

Unless yours came from a florist and are unaccustomed to cold, plant them outdoors now. Primroses need a partially shaded spot plus well-drained, rich soil. Sprinkle pine straw mulch over them if we have severe cold and enjoy them for as long as they last.

Why limes have no seeds

Q: Why do limes not have seeds? I assume they're propagated the way lemons are, but I've had a fresh lime every day for the past two years and have yet to see a seed.

— E-mail

A: It's because the common lime, Citrus aurantifolia, aka Persian lime, is parthenocarpic — the flowers do not require pollen to produce fruit. There are many common examples of parthenocarpic fruit: seedless watermelons, seedless grapes, banana, 'Brown Turkey' fig, etc.

Burford holly sets its bright red berries without pollination. One can even induce parthenocarpy in tomatoes by spraying the flowers with a hormone. You'll get a juicy tomato. . . but no seed.

Although lime and holly parthenocarpy occurs without human intervention, seedless watermelons and seedless grapes are a bit different. Seedless watermelons happen when diploid and triploid plants are planted near each other. Pollination, but not fertilization, is the result. Melon fields are planted annually.

Seedless grapes, in contrast, come from a grapevine that lives for many years. The original 'Thompson Seedless' grape was the result of careful breeding. Growers developed a grape that would abort its seeds before forming much seed tissue. Look closely and you can see the aborted embryos in a seedless grape. A grapevine, as well as your lime tree, is propagated by rooting cuttings, not by planting seed.

Pampas grass and rats

Q: I live near a small creek and am thinking about planting pampas grass along it. I was told, however, that pampas grass draws rats. Is this true?

— Daphne Mills, Stone Mountain

A: Whenever you have a pest problem, your first question should be, "Why is this creature in my landscape and not somewhere else?" Animals look for three things: food, shelter and water. Without all three, they will move away. Your creek provides water, but you can't easily get rid of its presence. Pampas grass — along with other plants like monkey grass, maiden grass, honeysuckle, kudzu and juniper that have low foliage — can provide shelter for rat burrows. But only if there is a source of food nearby will rats have all they need to set up housekeeping.

My conclusion? As long as you don't have bird feeders or pet food or open trash cans close at hand, it's not likely that rats would be drawn to live in your pampas grass.

Long-lived fertilizer

Q: How long can fertilizer be stored before it loses its effectiveness?

— D.W. Kuglin, e-mail

A: One of my jobs as a child was to put chunks of old fertilizer on a sheet of roofing tin so my father could run over it with his truck. He knew that if it is kept dry, fertilizer remains effective for years, maybe decades. The problem with aged fertilizer is when it gets lumpy or slimy from high humidity. You can beat it to pieces with a hammer in a bucket and use it as you normally would. Slimy fertilizer can be thrown lightly under shrubs and trees this spring — they will be delighted by the unexpected treat.

Weedkiller on flowers

Q: Can you use "weed and feed" on flowers? I have applied it on some of mine. Are they going to die?

— Carolyn Smith, e-mail

A: It depends on which kind of "weed and feed" you used. Some products contain fertilizer plus a crabgrass preventer. These likely would not hurt your flowers. Preen 'n Green is a product specifically designed to fertilize flowers and prevent weeds. Other products contain fertilizer and broadleaf-weed killers. These would almost surely hurt your flowers.

If you used the latter product, dig up your plants, wash the soil from their roots, plant in a new spot and keep your fingers tightly crossed.