Q. Are you familiar with hardy amaryllis? My daughter and I saw some huge clumps last May when we were visiting Douglasville. -- Joyce Johnson, e-mail
A. Hardy amaryllis, Hippeastrum x johnsonii, blooms in my landscape each year in late May as well! It was hybridized by an English gardener named Johnson in the late 1700s and is recognized as one of the first hybrid amaryllises. The flower is native to South America but much subsequent hybridization has been done by Dutch and South African gardeners. Most of these "holiday" amaryllises are not winter hardy outdoors in Atlanta but Johnson's amaryllis usually survives the cold very well. It likes being planted in morning sun and afternoon shade with the top third of the bulb exposed in summer. A thin covering of pine straw is best in winter.
Q. What is the difference between anise spice and anise shrub? -- Emily Gray, e-mail
A. Edible plant expert Shannon Pable (www.shannonpable.com) said the spice known as star anise (Chinese star anise), Illicium verum, is the primary plant used as a spice. I. anisatum, Japanese star anise, resembles Chinese star anise but the flower and leaves are poisonous. I. parviflorum and I. floridanum are common shrubs in the South. They are very adaptable to soil conditions and shade/sun areas. When crushed, the leaves of both give off a pleasant spicy scent.
Q. I am an avid coffee drinker. I dry my grounds so I can store them before using in my garden in spring, but am I depleting the nitrogen by doing so? -- Mark Garrison, e-mail
A. You're not depleting anything by drying because there is nothing in the grounds to deplete. Nitrogen is water soluble, so when you make coffee any nitrogen in the coffee bean is dissolved into your morning drink. You can use the grounds outdoors immediately after getting your caffeine fix if you want. Sprinkling the damp powder around plants is a fine use. The grounds add a little organic matter to the soil but not much else.
Q. I discovered a product that composts pet waste. I have always felt badly about throwing away cat litter. Is it safe to compost pet feces? -- Kayla Engle-Lewis, Dunwoody
A. It’s not safe to put pet waste in bins from which you’ll remove compost for your garden or landscape. Because cats have lived with humans for thousands of years, they and their masters can catch similar diseases (zoonoses) or parasites. I also don’t care for the commercial pet waste digesters, where a buried plastic container accepts waste through a ground-level lid. I’m concerned that flooding or improper installation could expose you or your neighbors to bacterial hazards. My preference is double-bagging pet waste and placing it in the garbage. Modern municipal landfills are infinitely better at keeping pet waste from human contact than composting or burying it.
Listen to Walter Reeves Saturday mornings on AM 750 and now 95.5 FM News-Talk WSB. Visit his website, www.walterreeves.com, or join his Facebook Fan Page at xrl.us/wrfacebook for more garden tips.
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