Q: I am getting ready to plant some pansy seeds and want to know the basics. Susan Senecal, Sugar Hill
A: Pansies need a constant temperature of 70 degrees in order to germinate and grow strongly. It's possible you could get the low temperature indoors but the plants also require high light conditions to go from seedling to finished plant. Large nurseries buy thousands of small seedling "plugs" from specialized nurseries which concentrate on taking plants from seed to an inch tall. Pansy nurseries are usually located where daytime temperatures are not scorching and they have extensive cooling machinery. Bottom line: producing pansies from seed for fall planting in our high heat is nigh impossible.
Q: What is the difference between a Better Boy tomato plant and a Hybrid Better Boy? Ken Turner, Smyrna
A: By definition, they are the same plant. According to Gerald Klingaman, retired Extension Horticulturist in Arkansas, ‘Better Boy’ was hybridized in 1942 by Dr. Oved Shifriss at the W. Atlee Burpee & Company. This tomato is bush-like in habit, a strong grower and has good disease resistance. Its exact parentage is a trade secret but this fruit serves as a good example of the benefits hybridization can bring to heirloom tomatoes.
Q: My Japanese maple gets morning sun and afternoon shade, but the red foliage is turning more green now. Is there something I could do for a redder leaf foliage? Joyce Crook, email
A: There’s not much you can do. Japanese maple expert Norm Mittleider says water, sun, night temperatures and length of day greatly influence the fall coloration of Japanese maples. Sunshine and genetics are the most important. Some red leafed Japanese maples naturally change from red to a greenish hue in summer. Though most Japanese maples appreciate afternoon shade, typical red cultivars without the benefit of full sunlight for part of the day will not retain the red color into late summer. In general, the color of most red varieties is strongly enhanced in full sun, and in some forms, leaf color readily reverts to green in too much shade.
Q: I recently received a cutting from a friend's scuppernong vine. It has taken root but how do I handle it now? Edward Redfearn, Conyers
A: I'd leave the young plant alone for several months and let it become strong. You can move it to a permanent spot in late February. In the meantime you can go about building a wire arbor for the vine with posts twenty feet apart using 10 gauge galvanized wire. Details at xrl.us/muscadines.
Listen to Walter Reeves from 6 to 10 Saturday mornings on AM 750 and NOW 95.5FM News/Talk WSB. Go to http://www.yoursoutherngarden.com/ for details on his TV show or visit his website, http://www.walterreeves.com/.
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