Q: My hydrangea tree is 15 feet tall and beautiful. I wonder if I should trim the lower branches and give the tree a trunk and a "head."
-- Nancy Prochaska, Kennesaw
A: I'm guessing you have one of the panicle hydrangeas: Hydrangea paniculata 'Tardiva', 'PeeGee', 'Grandiflora', etc. If that's the case, you can prune at will. You can divide the job into two stages: some pruning for form now and more in winter. The winter pruning would remove the oldest and tallest stems in the center, which would reduce overall load on the shrub trunk. Unlike common mophead hydrangeas, panicle hydrangeas can be pruned in winter without diminishing blooms the following summer.
Q: I have wanted a greenhouse for a long time, and the time has come to get one. Do I need a heater in my greenhouse? I want to overwinter many of my plants there.
-- Angela Mashburn, Roswell
A: If your greenhouse is built away from your house, you'll need a heater. In addition, if you want to have plants there in summer, you'll need a cooling system. If the unit is small, climate conditioning can be accomplished with an electric heater and a small air conditioner. Don't forget to factor in the cost of running water and electricity to your greenhouse. I've assembled several good references at xrl.us/greenhouses.
Q: I just removed an old willow oak from the front of my yard due to disease. I would like to replace the tree and was wondering what type of tree I should consider.
-- Tom Horkan, e-mail
A: You have several choices, and I always begin with red maple cultivars. 'Autumn Blaze', 'October Glory' and 'Autumn Flame' are all fast-growing and have excellent fall color. Red oak and Shumard oak are often used in Georgia. River birch and American beech also should be considered. I have a list of many other shade trees at xrl.us/fasttrees.
Q: When okra gets 6 feet tall, what can be done to keep it from getting too tall to easily pick without reducing the daily harvest?
-- Tim Lewis, Elko
A: You can't do anything to reduce height that won't also reduce flowers. I guess you'll have to bring a step stool or a bucket to stand on when you harvest your pods.
Q: I seed, re-seed and fertilize my fescue lawn every year. I get beautiful grass every spring until early summer and the heat kills it. The yard is mostly sunny all day. What do I do?
-- J.C. Puryear, Blue Ridge
A: Look at it this way: If a rock 'n' roll band cranked up next door every night when you went to bed, you'd probably get pretty grumpy, right? Approximately the same thing happens to fescue when it tries to go to sleep each night and temperatures are above 70 degrees. It requires cool nights to recover from daytime heat. If the night stays warm, the grass can't make the energy it needs to grow the next day. We've had a long string of days with temperatures in the 90s. Is it any wonder that fescue gives up the ghost or goes dormant? If the lawn is mostly sunny, you'll have less frustration by switching to Bermuda grass, centipede grass or zoysia grass. Consider 'TifBlair' centipede grass. It was bred in Blairsville and should be well-adapted to your area.
Listen to Walter Reeves 6 to 10 a.m. Saturdays 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.
