Q: My landscape guys asked me if it would be OK to prune our beautiful autumn ferns. When I came home they had cut the ferns to the ground! Will they grow back? Beth Corbitt, email
A: The ferns will be fine. Autumn fern is a terrific evergreen plant. Old fronds die each year but new ones constantly take their place. New fern fronds may slowly emerge from your plants during warm winter weather but they will be large by summer.
Q: How long can I leave my hydrangea covered in black plastic without causing a problem? Mary Wilson, Lawrenceville
A: Only a few days. Remove plastic and any other covering off shrubs when temperatures at night are in the high 20s and above.
Q: Many young Black Dragon cryptomeria I've seen at nurseries are bending over at the top. Many have been staked to keep them vertical. Will it need support growing to its mature height? Doug Utt, email
A: Noted landscape designer Shannon Pable (shannonpable.com) says she's often observed cryptomeria cultivars incorrectly labeled as 'Black Dragon'. Be sure yours is labeled correctly lest you get a plant that grows bigger than you expect. 'Black Dragon' is usually staked when young to ensure a straight central leader. Shannon says most 'Black Dragon' specimens are not staked after they have been in a landscape for 6 - 12 months.
Q: What are Tiger Nuts? I heard they are delicious. Colleen Craig, email
A: "Tiger Nuts" are the roasted tubers of the terribly invasive yellow nutsedge, Cyperus esculentus. Since they are roasted, if you accidentally drop one it won't germinate. I applaud any effort to make a weed useful but I've seen this organic food for sale at $1.00 an ounce! I was once asked on radio where to buy the seed of lamb's quarter, another invasive but edible plant. My father heard the show and remarked that he would be a millionaire if he could sell all the lamb's quarter seeds produced in his 1-acre garden!
Q: I'm reading "FDR's Funeral Train" by Robert Klara. He describes the train trip on April 13, 1945, traveling from Warm Springs to Washington, stating that the cortege passed "groves of Leyland cypresses." Were they growing in South Carolina back then? Dan Cowles, Cumming
A: This is one example of how horticultural misinformation is spread. The events in the book are true but Leyland cypress was not introduced into the Southeast until the 1950s. It could not have been growing in groves alongside the railroad tracks during FDR's final train ride. Perhaps groves of red cedar or loblolly pine or white pine, but not Leyland cypress. Great catch!
