Q: My paperbush was full of silvery flower buds before last week’s freeze. Now some of them are discolored. I thought paperbush was hardy in USDA Zones 7-8. Rob Connor, email
A: Paperbush, Edgeworthia chrysantha, is very hardy in those Hardiness Zones, but the flowers are not. In late November 2019, the temperature dropped to 25 degrees F at my house. Over the next two months the flowers gradually dried up and dropped from the limbs. A few remained on the bush, but the spring flower show was quite paltry compared with other years.
Q: Will watering plants with microwaved water kill them? Cassidy Irwin, Lake Tahoe, Nevada
A: No! Microwaving water does not “change its molecular structure” or remove its vitality. Microwaved water is the same as water heated on your stove or on a wood fire or heated by the sun or left totally unheated. Once the containers are cooled to room temperature, they contain the exact same molecules of two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen. They will all hydrate your plant equally well. The only way I can think of where microwaved water would kill a plant is if you gave the plant too much and caused root rot. But all of the other kinds of water listed above would give the same result.
Q: We are in the process of relandscaping our yard, which is approximately an acre. We’ve had truckloads of dirt and topsoil brought in and are getting ready for grass. Is hydroseeding fescue appropriate? If so, when is the best time? Carolyn Stokes, Powder Springs
A: December is a terrible time to plant fescue. Your next opportunity is in late March. Hydroseeding is best for large or steep areas. It is usually too expensive for smaller plots, but go ahead and do a comparison between hand-seeding and hydroseeding for your particular situation. If you choose to hydroseed, the thin layer of mulch slurry will protect the seed better than if you seed by hand. You’ll get a more even application of seed as well. But fescue seed and most other grass seeds need a soil temperature of at least 50 degrees F to sprout. Planting grass seed now is just a waste of money.
Q: I bought a pomegranate tree two years ago, and it is about the same size as it was when I planted it. What am I doing wrong? Eddie Dillard, email
A: It might not be a question of what you are doing wrong so much as what you did wrong. In almost every situation where a plant fails to thrive it’s due to poor planting in the first place. Rather than have you dig them up and replant, try the technique described at bit.ly/GArejuvenate.
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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