Walter Reeves: Wait a bit to plant tomato seed
Q: I like to put heirloom tomato seeds directly into the ground rather than starting plants indoors. When's the earliest I could sow the seed this year? -- J.E. Kaufmann, Buford
A: Tomato seeds like 70-degree soil before they readily germinate. Checking www.georgiaweather.net, I see that last year it happened on April 23 in your area. Soil temperatures right now are in the mid-60s. I'd wait at least another week before planting tomato seed outdoors.
Q: I have a great stand of annual bluegrass. I need to know care and feeding; I do not want to get rid of it. -- Tom Karwoski, Marietta
A: As the name implies, annual bluegrass will die when summer temperatures approach 80 degrees. Although the bright green clumps are attractive, they shade out any lawn grass growing beneath, leaving dead spots in summer. Choose a grass that lasts all year, such as fescue, bermuda or zoysia.
Q: I am going to plant 'Sky Pencil' holly plants along the front of my house. I've read that hollies need a male plant nearby to get berries. Where can I get a male holly? -- Vaughn Watson, Cobb County
A: The berries on 'Sky Pencil' are little black/purple things and are not very noticeable. They aren't the showy red berries you get with 'Nellie Stephens,' 'Burford' or winterberry hollies. Use 'Sky Pencil' columnar hollies for vertical accent, but don't concern yourself with buying a male variety.
Q: We had a 30-foot-tall crape myrtle but decided to cut it back to 7 feet tall. The trunks are 4 inches in diameter. Now that I did all that, what can I expect? -- Alan DeWitt, email
A: You can expect a lot of new sprouts from the top of each stump and green sprouts at the base of the tree. In June, choose one or two of the most vertical ones at the top and clip out the rest. Nip out the top of the vertical sprouts when they reach the height you want the tree to be. The accompanying side branches will probably produce blooms in July. Make it a habit every month to prune back limbs that are growing too vigorously. With regular maintenance you can keep the crape myrtle at a size that fits the space.
Q: All the plant catalogs I've received so far are from the Northeast, Midwest or California. Is there a Southeastern seed company you recommend? I would love to buy as local as possible. -- Terri Christian Dolive, email
A: I applaud your support for Southern companies! One seed source is Southern Exposure Seed Exchange in Virginia (www.southernexposure.com). Another is Tomato Growers Supply in Florida (www.tomatogrowers.com). The Tasteful Garden in Alabama (www.tastefulgarden.com) sells seed and plants by mail. The Farmers and Consumers Market Bulletin (xrl.us/mktbulletin) is published online by the Georgia Department of Agriculture. It contains many classified advertisements of seeds for sale by small growers and gardeners. There is also a “Flowers Wanted” section. The Market Bulletin is an excellent way to find hard-to-find and pass-along plants at excellent prices.
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.
