Q: In years past I have waited to harvest hosta and Siberian iris seed until after the pods have opened. How do you recommend saving them? -- Annette Wade, email
A: There are lots of easy-to-collect seeds now. I have pods on my iris, blackberry lily, hosta, Siberian iris and daylily plants. You can cut off the seed stems when the pods show the first signs of brown skin. Put the seed heads of each species in brown paper bags and wait for the pods to release the seeds. Collect them, label and store in a paper envelope. Plant the seeds in a sunny spot in the spring and watch for seedlings to emerge in late May.
Q: I use plastic self-watering pots inside copper decorative pots during the summer for my annual flowers. Can I plant pansies and ivy in the planters during the winter or will the pots freeze and crack? -- Marci Cohen, Sandy Springs
A: My guess is that the self-watering containers will be fine. If water freezes in them, the stress on the plastic won't be much since the water is not confined.
Q: My husband found a baby praying mantis on his windshield. This guy is only an inch long; what can we feed this little critter? -- Julie Whitney, email
A: It needs soft-bodied insects like fruit flies or aphids. Try putting banana or apple slices on a saucer in a sunny spot outdoors for a couple of days. That should attract fruit flies. Put the insect-coated rotting fruit in a well-screened mantis habitat and see what happens.
Q: A plumber told us we should move our tea olive tree, which is six feet from a joint in the sewer line. Are the roots very invasive? -- Beth Slone, email
A: If the plumbing joint is plastic or cast iron, it should not be leaking, and therefore is not attractive to roots. If it is the old Orangeburg fiber pipe, the whole pipe must be replaced before it completely fails. There should be plenty of room to excavate for repair or replacement without hurting the tea olive.
Q: We are trying to determine if Asiatic jasmine would be a suitable ground cover for the area between the trees that line our streets. It’s too shady and dry for grass. Is Asiatic jasmine deer-resistant? -- Mary Moline, Cumming
A: If left untended, Asiatic jasmine can be aggressive but I don't find it as invasive as English ivy. If the "hell strip" between street and curb is edged regularly and trimmed low once a year to remove twiggy top growth, this could be an attractive ground cover for you. Asiatic jasmine is reputed to be deer resistant.
Q: What ails my crepe myrtles? The leaves are already falling and those left on the trees are covered with a charcoal powder that stains everything underneath. -- Claudette Genest, Sandy Springs
A: You have crapemyrtle aphids. These tiny insects slowly build their population during the summer. By fall, there are enough of them to coat nearby leaves and surfaces with honeydew, an undigested sugary substance that feeds the sooty mold you notice on the leaves. Don’t be surprised outdoors if you begin feeling the insects crawling on your neck and face. There are winged forms in the fall that drop out of crape myrtles onto passersby.
Listen to Walter Reeves Saturday mornings on AM 750 and 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.
