Q: My parents have a gorgeous snowball bush. Is it possible to root a piece for myself from their bush? — Laurie Cashion, email
A: I think the best way to propagate woody shrubs is to do something called "air layering." The process involves wounding a limb and wrapping the wound with sphagnum moss that's kept moist for eight weeks. It's pretty simple to do and you can get several rooted starts from the same plant. See my notes at bit.ly/airlayering.
Q: I have large planters on my porch. Do you have any tips for a space filler at the bottom other than potting soil? — Heather Meissen, Brookhaven
A: I use two-liter soft drink bottles filled with sand and capped. Most container plants have roots that extend downward no more than 12 inches. Soil below that point contributes nothing to the plants. I've heard of gardeners using packing peanuts to fill the bottom, but sometimes the foam pieces float to the top of the soil.
Q: I have a St. Augustine grass lawn but have areas that are thin. If I throw out some St. Augustine grass seed, will that make it thicker? — Susan Hadrych, email
A: Sadly for your project, you can't buy St. Augustine grass seed. The plant is a hybrid and, even though it sends up seedheads in summer, most of the seeds are infertile. If the area is in full sun, the best way to thicken the grass cover is to apply fertilizer and water appropriately. Use weedkillers cautiously; most labels warn that St. Augustine grass is particularly sensitive to herbicides.
Q: When I moved into my house, I noticed that half of my front yard is zoysia. I love it. I want to kill the nonzoysia grass and weeds and replace it with zoysia. Should I kill the grass and plug it or seed it? — Mark Markie, email
A: Zoysia is a great lawn grass but it is slow to establish, whether from seed, sod or plugs. If you are willing to completely kill the nonzoysia area, till it thoroughly, and rake it smooth, you can use 'Zenith' zoysia seed. If you water and fertilize properly, you'll have good coverage by fall. Seeding into the existing area without killing the weeds first will usually yield a patchy appearance for at least the first year.
Q: For sentimental reasons, a dear friend of mine doesn't want to part with an old Indian hawthorn. Because there are still a handful of green leaves scattered on top, he is encouraged that it can be saved. Any advice? — Kerri Butler, Marietta
A: Use a razor knife to gently scrape the bark off randomly selected limbs. If there is green tissue beneath the bark, the plant could send up buds nearby. If you only find brown tissue, prune out that limb. Repeat until you get a sense of what's viable.
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