Q: I just planted a 4-foot-tall kousa dogwood in a slightly raised bed. Do you have any plant suggestions I can put in around it that will not hurt the roots? — Susan Hadorn, Atlanta
A: I can think of several plants that would be happy under your tree. Dwarf mondo grass would do well there and would eventually be a solid green carpet. Also consider green 'n' gold, carex or ajuga. All have shallow roots that would not affect the tree.
Q: I have a small decorative area of English ivy. A couple of years back I expanded the area and purchased several ivy plants at a big-box store. The label said "English ivy" but I noticed the leaves were smaller, with a purple cast to them, in contrast to my original ivy, which has large leaves that stay green all winter. — Wendell Turner, email
A: At least one variety of ivy is known to have a purple hue: Hedera helix 'Atropurpurea'. It seems to me that you could rip out the purple variety and simply plant cuttings of the ivy leaf shape that matches what you already have. I'll bet you have friends that have ivy vines they would like to get rid of. It's simple to root ivy from cuttings. Use pruners to cut lots of 12-inch segments of vine. Then use a shovel to chop vertically into the earth, making slits 6 inches long and a couple of inches deep. Strip the leaves from the lower 6 inches of each ivy cutting and slide individually into the slits. Use a firm press of your shoe to close the slit around the stem. Repeat until the area you want to cover has lots of leafy 6-inch cuttings showing above ground, about 12 inches apart. Keep the soil moist in summer and they will be growing by fall.
Q: I have several clay pots that I buried in my flower beds to plant annuals in every year. I have a problem with slugs eating the leaves. If I paint my clay pots with copper spray paint would that deter the slugs? — Gayle Pearson, email
A: Copper strips wrapped around the top edge of a pot are reputed to repel slugs and snails but the copper has to be kept consistently shiny for this to work. Copper paint has little metallic copper in it so I don't think your method would work at all. Baits that contain metaldehyde are available for slug control but I don't recommend them due to animal toxicity. A bait that contains iron phosphate (Sluggo, Slug Magic, Escar-Go!, etc.) is effective and is not toxic to pets. Personally, I use saucers filled with beer to attract and drown slugs and snails in my flower beds. I renew the beer every two days until no more are caught. You could also support a 10-inch square board on pebbles near your pots. Slugs like dark and moist places to hide during the day. Look under your trap boards in late afternoon and scrape the mollusks into a bucket of soapy water.
Q: I have overwintered some angel wing begonias. When I move them back outside, do I cut all the old growth off? — Chrys Griffin, email
A: If the existing leaves are not brown, you can leave them on the plant until night temperatures are in the 50s. Then you can take it to a spot that provides bright shade outdoors. Fertilize it, wait a couple of weeks for new leaves to appear, then cut off the old leaves to shape the plant attractively.
