Q: I have been growing a hellebore for 10 years but have not been able to get it to spread. It is mulched with pine straw. How can I get it to multiply? — Ginny Street, email
A: Your hellebore's flowers are fading and are making seed pods, which will open in June. Pull away the straw underneath the plant so the seeds can hit the ground and germinate. You'll notice lots of seedlings under the plant next year.
Q: I am planting tree-form crape myrtles on a horse farm and want to protect the trunks from the horses. Can I split black corrugated drain pipe and install around the trunks to prevent the horses from chewing on them? — Lori E., email
A: This will work when the trees are small, but there's always a chance a fungus or borer might attack where you can't see under the plastic pipe. I think wrapping the trunks loosely with chicken wire would be a better option. It will deter chewing and you can loosen it as the trunks grow larger.
Q: We have two European hornbeams on either side of our front stoop. We were told the tree would not change shape much or grow very high. However, after the first year it is growing much higher and starting to spread out. When is the best time to trim it? — Bill Peters, email
A: An upright hornbeam tree is the wrong plant for your site. It grows 25-35 feet tall and 10-15 feet wide. Unless you can commit to regular pruning, I'd advise you take it out and plant a columnar evergreen like 'Emerald Green' arborvitae or weeping yaupon holly.
Q: In February we purchased a long-vacant house. Recently my husband found a snake skin under the kitchen sink. He found more skins above a drop ceiling. What can we do? — Teresa Worley, email
A: I don't think you have much to worry about. Vacant houses often have mice in them and the mice are perfect food for snakes. If you no longer have mice, you won't have snakes. Also, snakes are absolutely terrified of vibrations that would naturally occur as your family tromps around the house. Any snakes that might have been there previously are long gone. Remove piles of firewood or stones near the house that might give snakes a place to hide.
Q: We have 25 crape myrtles our property. We cut them back severely last November. Now they have no new growth at all, except some stems at the base. — Maria Pagliuco, Dallas
A: I think the cause lies with the November pruning. Pruning woody plants before cold weather initiates dormancy, which will make them susceptible to cold injury. Basically, fall pruning causes them to enter a juvenile growth phase as they try to sprout new shoots to replace those which were cut off. When cold weather hits, the sap in the trunk of the plant freezes, leading to death in the limbs above. If no growth is seen on the trunk of a crape myrtle by June, you can remove the lifeless portion. Select one of the base sprouts to train to become a new trunk.
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