Q: My pansies are at their peak, but I know that I have to soon make room for summer annuals. Is there an optimum time to start this transition? — James Gordon, Stone Mountain
A: I think when daily air temperatures are in the lower 70s and soil temperatures are in the mid-60s would be the time your pansies will start stretching out and fading. That's when you can plant summer annuals. It's easy to find local soil temperatures at georgiaweather.net.
Q: I have a slight hill behind my deck. Long ago, I planted English ivy, which has spread and covered the entire hill. I back up to a national park, and when I came back from out of town I found that the deer had nibbled their way down the hill until the ivy is almost gone. Will it come back? — Barb Schlundt, Marietta
A: I'd be surprised if the ivy did not come back. I would have thought it would be deer-resistant, but young deer will eat just about anything. Perhaps there are so many deer that competition for food has increased. Consider placing bricks in the area and spreading a layer of chicken wire over the whole hillside. Deer do not like unsteady surfaces and the ivy will eventually hide the wire.
Q: Ants have a mound directly under one of my blueberry bushes. How do I get rid of the ants without harming the blueberry bush? — Raydene Cates, email
A: You could try flooding the mound with water every few days. Ants don't like soggy soil and will likely move their mound. For other tips on controlling fire ants in a garden, see bit.ly/fireantgarden.
Q: I have several windmill palms around my pool. Last summer, I saw yellow jackets coming from a hole at the palm tree roots. What can I do to prevent them this year? — Kay Lallerstedt, Grayson
A: Yellow jackets rarely reuse a former nest. They all died during the winter. Only the fertile queens survived, and they hibernated in a hollow log somewhere in your neighborhood. They will build a new nest this spring. Fill the former insect home with dirt and keep an eye out for new nests in other likely spots.
Q: Do hollies cause skin irritation? My wife and I trimmed our hedge and afterward our skin stung a little. Days later we developed welts and blisters on our arms that lasted for days. — Orlando Williams, email
A: Hollies are not notorious for causing skin irritation, but it's my understanding that human skin reacts in different ways at different times to different plants. Your note arrived in winter, but if it had come in late summer, the cause of the irritation might have come from a stinging caterpillar, like a saddleback caterpillar. Better ask a dermatologist for more information.
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