Q: I had a bumper crop of tomatoes on my fifth-floor balcony this summer, until stink bugs got at them. The damage they do doesn’t show on the outside but makes a hard white spot on the meat of the tomato. Do you know of a remedy? Katie Copeland, email
A: Insecticidal soap and horticultural oil sprays will kill them when they are young but not when they mature. The first stink bugs hatch in May, so keep your eyes peeled for juvenile insects that fly up from below. Besides the sprays, beneficial insects prey on stink bugs. Plant pots of alyssum, thrift, annual salvia, agastache and yarrow nearby. Make sure they are flowering, or close to flowering, when purchased. Their flowers are good habitat for a variety of beneficial insects.
Q: In the yard of our recently purchased home are two trees the previous owner told me were red oaks. She said they were beautiful when she had them planted two years ago. This year, both of them only produced tight little bunches of small leaves scattered along the limbs. Will they leaf out next spring? Allen Sheneman, Madison
A: Those clusters of tiny leaves tell me exactly what is going on. Last winter when the trees were leafless, someone sprayed glyphosate (Roundup) on the trunk or roots. Although the herbicide is predominantly absorbed by leaves, tree roots and trunks can also bring in the chemical. The tufts of leaves are a classic example of glyphosate damage. I have seen the clusters of tiny leaves on more trees and shrubs than I can count. If the trees had no normal leaves this year, they are not likely to recover next year. I would plan to replace them this fall.
Q: We recently had our yard landscaped with several shrubs, annual flowers and a Japanese maple. All these plants have a 3-inch layer of mulch. The landscape company told me to water every day for two weeks, then every other day for another two weeks, and then two-three times a week for the next six months. This seems excessive. Christina Zingarelli, Jefferson
A: Good call: That much water will be fatal! That sort of watering advice might be fine for early summer, but it is horrible for fall planting. After planting in fall, once the soil is soggy and mulched as you describe, it hardly needs watering until next spring. From now until then, check the soil every two weeks. Water only if the soil is dry.
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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