Q: I planted several Knock Out roses last year. They bloomed nicely last fall and spring but, unlike my neighbor's bushes, I don't see any blooms now. Syed Rizvi, email
A: Like all roses, Knock Out blooms occur at the end of a recently produced branch. In my observation, the new branch must be 12 to 16 inches long before flower buds emerge. My guess is that you didn't fertilize your rose regularly. Regular feeding stimulates new growth throughout the summer, leading to copious blooms from spring until the first hard freeze.
Q: Most of our vegetables grew very tall but with poor fruit. One tomato plant was 10 feet tall but with only tiny fruit; cabbage plants grew long stems but the cabbages were the size of a tennis ball. Our soil tests as high in nitrogen, low in potassium. Lynne and Phil Wolstenholme, Dawsonville
A: The high nitrogen test result could explain it all. Soil nitrogen encourages a plant to produce new foliage, sometimes to the exclusion of flowers or fruit. Lawn fertilizers with lots of nitrogen (like 29-4-8 or 27-0-3) exploit this phenomenon: You want your grass to grow lush and green, so high nitrogen content is preferable. Putting the same fertilizer on a tomato would result in a tall vine with few fruit.
Q: Will hellebores grow on Tybee Island? Beckie Senter, email
A: If you keep them in the shade all day, I think Lenten rose would find Tybee Island very hospitable. One key factor is the amount of organic matter in your soil there. Since Tybee has soil that is mostly sand, it's important to plant hellebores in soil that's been amended with copious amounts of soil conditioner or planting soil. Experiment with some of the newer varieties, such as Ivory Prince, Red Lady or Pink Frost.
Q: I have 10 Leyland cypresses that provide a beautiful privacy fence for my backyard. But they have grown so tall that they are blocking sunlight to my zoysia grass. Is it OK to trim the top of the Leylands? Kenneth Parks, Cobb County
A: In England, pruned Leyland cypress is a common screen between houses. In fact, legal cases have been brought when a plant grows too tall and shades an adjoining homeowner's flowers. Generally speaking, you can cut the top out of a healthy Leyland cypress and it will eventually form an attractive rounded crown. Conversely, don't prune side branches back into the brown branch area. No new growth will occur on limbs that have no foliage.
Q: For Christmas, my 80-year-old dad wants a bushel of sweet potatoes that have been laid out in the sun to dry after being dug up, like his family in Alabama did. According to him, sweet potatoes are now kiln dried and thus are not as sweet and flavorful. Phyllis Hill, email
A: It's true that sweet potatoes must be "cured" after harvest. The process, called suberization, causes the skin to thicken so the potato doesn't dry out. In addition, curing causes starch in the tuber to turn into sugar. Under ideal conditions, potatoes are held at 80 degrees for seven days and then at 60 degrees for seven weeks. Despite your father's memories, curing under controlled conditions results in the best end product. The process doesn't have to be complicated. Small gardeners can make a homemade curing chamber out of a large cardboard box that sits in the sun during the day for a week. A good source for hand-cured potatoes would be a local farmers market.
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