Q: My husband said that you mentioned on radio the possibility of rooting hydrangea plants in the winter. Was he kidding? Linda Wall, email
A: Many and varied are the methods folks use to propagate hydrangea. One gardener says she takes 12-inch cuttings in December and pokes 30 of them into a bag of potting soil laid on its side. She says most will form roots and be ready to transplant in mid-May. Another gardener sticks cuttings into the soft humus at the bottom of his wire compost bin. He carefully removes the topmost material in the bin in May and finds several rooted cuttings. If the nearby soil is reasonably soft, you could probably push foot-long cuttings into the ground beside a hydrangea shrub and cover them with a bottomless milk jug to get rooted cuttings in late summer.
Q: We have a few clusters of earthstar fungi under our oak tree. Are they something we should remove? Some of them are the size of cantaloupes. John Brooks, Atlanta
A: There's not much you can do permanently. An earthstar is just the fruiting body (mushroom) of a particular fungus. The fungus is decomposing something organic in the soil, probably a dead tree root. Unless you can remove the food source, the fungus will keep doing its work and occasionally "blooming" into an earthstar. Eventually, as the root decays, the fungus will go away.
Q: Is there a non-Monsanto equivalent to Roundup? David McLeod, email
A: There are several alternatives to Monsanto-made Roundup. Remember that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, is no longer patented by Monsanto and is manufactured or sold by several companies. You could use Bonide KleenUp or Hi-Yield Kill-Zall instead of Roundup. Non-glyphosate plant-killing substitutes include herbicidal soap (Bayer Natria Grass & Weed Killer), citrus oil (Nature's Avenger) and clove oil (BurnOut).
Q: Is there a local source for coir in bulk? I am planning on making a hydroponic garden with raised strawberry beds. Ty Patterson, email
A: Coir, a processed coconut fiber used as a planting medium, has many attributes to recommend it. The fiber is cheap, plentiful, and makes a great substitute for peat moss. You can buy it in small quantities at a few garden centers but not the volume you demand. Fortunately, Georgia Organics (www.georgiaorganics.org) coordinates a once-a-year bulk order of coir and other organic gardening supplies from a company in Virginia. There is an immediate deadline, Jan. 30, but you can get the coir from them if you hurry
Q: I want to have several pine trees cut. However, I don't want to impact nesting squirrels, particularly if they have litters. Brad Brown, East Cobb
A: Squirrels are breeding right now so there's not much chance of having babies in a nest. But if you remove a tree having a nest filled with adults they will have a hard time finding another warm place to live in winter. The youngsters produced by winter breeding activity will be old enough to take care of themselves by May-June, so you could remove the pines then. On the other hand, a good pair of binoculars should allow you to see any nests present at this time of year.
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