Q: I planted a camellia sprout from my mother's yard in Savannah, and it's grown like crazy. I want to root the cuttings to give to my daughters, but they don't root. Is there something I could do better?

ANDREW BOWEN, Cobb County

WALTER REEVES/Special (ENLARGE)

Wrapping a wounded stem with damp peat moss, adding a hormone and covering with wrap and foil, leads to new roots.

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A: I've been successful "air layering" a camellia in my backyard. Air layering involves wounding a pencil-sized stem, applying rooting hormone, then wrapping the wound in damp sphagnum peat moss to stimulate roots to grow. I found clear instructions at http://xrl.us/AIRLAYERTX. I prefer to wrap the moss with aluminum foil after the plastic wrap.

Q: My neighbor told me he uses gasoline to control weeds. He says it works better and is cheaper than Roundup. What are your thoughts?

R.D.,Dunwoody

A: Gasoline also removes dirt better than soap, but I'll bet your neighbor doesn't bathe with it. Gasoline will kill plants faster than Roundup. But gas just burns the leaves; it's not transferred to the roots, as with Roundup. As for cost, a quart of 18 percent Roundup costs around $25 and makes 10 gallons. Gasoline costs about $30 for 10 gallons, so it's more expensive, not to mention the pollution. Gas kills yellow jackets, but it also kills the grass around their hole, while water-based insecticides kill the insects just as well and don't kill grass. If hot air killed weeds and insects, your neighbor could start a business.

Q: I have bare soil in my small yard and want to put in a cover crop to enrich the soil and stop erosion. What can I plant?

SUZY CRENSHAW, Decatur

A: Cowpeas, soybeans or browntop millet can be planted in the heat of summer and still make good growth before fall. Planting a cover crop is a great idea when a patch of ground is nonproductive. The temporary cover holds the soil while you decide what to plant. Clemson University has a list of winter and summer cover crops at http://xrl.us/COVERCROP.

Q: I used to live in Alpharetta and loved the crape myrtles. Now I'm in Ohio (Zone 5). I planted a 'Red Rocket' last fall. In the spring the trunks were dead, but healthy sprouts have come up from the ground. Will it bloom?

JOYCE DAVIS, e-mail

A: When folks visiting from "up North" see huge Southern magnolias, they slap their foreheads in disbelief. "It gets THAT big?" Winter cold keeps both Southern magnolia and crape myrtle bush-like, rather than tree-like, in areas colder than Hardiness Zone 6. The good news is that crape myrtles bloom on newly emerged branches each year. If you can keep yours from freezing totally, it will have plenty of blooms each summer. 'Red Rocket' has great fall color, which you will enjoy as well.