Q: I thought you were a Southerner, Walter! But in a recent AJC article, you spelled “crepe myrtle” as CRAPE myrtle. Shame, shame! This from an 80-year-old woman! Gloria Duggar, email
A: Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds ... .” Consistency, though, is what I strive for in my garden writing. All four spellings of the name of this plant (crepe myrtle, crepemyrtle, crape myrtle, and crapemyrtle) are acceptable in informal writing. In my garden writing, I try to use language that’s a little more formal, and I always try to use Latin names to distinguish plants if needed. A crapemyrtle is not actually a myrtle, so the descriptive part of the name should not be separate. Other examples include horsechestnut, mayapple, and redcedar. Several years ago, I decided that I would use the spelling that Michael Dirr, retired University of Georgia horticulture professor and internationally known expert on trees and shrubs, uses in his “Manual of Woody Plants.” He spells it as one word — “crapemyrtle” — and so do I.
Q: I have 1/4-inch fuzzy white bugs on my sage and basil plants. They are on my deck mixed with perennial flowering plants in pots, convenient to my kitchen. What is the best way to control the critters? Or should I toss the herbs and start over? Tricia Bramblett, email
A: I believe you have mealybugs. They are common on potted plants. Like their aphid kin, they suck plant sap and excrete sticky honeydew. I think your best course of action would be to remove the infested herb plants you use for cooking and discard them. Replace with fresh new plants in spring. These will inevitably be infested with mealybugs that move over from the flowering plants, but you can keep their numbers low with a weekly inspection. If you find any, spray them with store-bought insecticidal soap (not something you mix in the sink). The herbs can be cleaned of soap with a brisk rinse, and you’ll be able to cook with them.
Q: Does stacking dead branches between two pine trees do any harm to the trees? Sam, email
A: I don’t think it will do any harm. If the stack decomposes and becomes dense, it can hold moisture against the trunks and possibly cause rot. Pine voles or meadow voles could hide among the branches and chew on the roots and bark. I say if stacking limbs between two trees is what you want to do, go for it.
Email Walter at georgiagardener@yahoo.com. Listen to his occasional garden comments on “Green and Growing with Ashley Frasca” Saturday mornings on 95.5 WSB. Visit his website, www.walterreeves.com, or join his Facebook page at bit.ly/georgiagardener for his latest tips.
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