Q: What would be good plants to use in front of a cemetery headstone where there is no water service? The space is 3.5 feet long and 16 inches wide. — Charles Kelley, email
A: Assuming the site is in full sun, I think your best bet is to go with tough perennials that can fend for themselves under all conditions. I consulted with several experienced gardeners and they came back with these "toughest of the tough" low-growing plants: creeping thyme, 'Lime Zinger' sedum, 'Angelina' sedum, 'Homestead Purple' verbena, santolina and ice plant. I have several more suggestions with different plant heights at bit.ly/GAcemetery.
Q: We have lived in our home for 27 years. For the first time our dogwood trees seem to be in trouble, looking wilted and losing their leaves. What can we do? — David Brinkman, Cumming
A: They may be goners. Some tree species are more susceptible to environmental stress than others. In my observation, dogwoods have a typical life span of 20 to 30 years. They suffer from summer heat and drought and can be afflicted by numerous leaf diseases. Your dogwoods have had a good life but I think it's time now to decide if you can prune out weak branches and still have a nice-looking tree or whether it's time to replace them with a vigorous new tree. There's no shame in admitting that a garden plant has reached the end of its attractive life.
Q: I have 6,000 square feet of Zeon zoysia in my front yard installed in 2011. My lawn has been the envy of the neighborhood. Usually by now my lawn is 95 percent greened-up. But, so far, it's only 50 percent green at best. — Bill in Fayetteville
A: Lots of zoysia lawns in metro Atlanta were zapped by cold weather, but I see fully green zoysia lawns all the time. All you can do is water and feed the lawn appropriately and wait for the grass to recover. Zoysia is slower to spread than Bermuda grass, so be patient. Don't try to push things along with extra fertilizer.
Q: We planted several mums last fall for late season color. Most survived the winter and the plants are about a foot tall. How should we care for them? — Dean Carlsen, Gilmer County
A: They will look better in fall if you remove the top 2 inches of each stem now, making the cut just above a leaf. New sprouts will emerge and by mid-July you can clip out the tip of each branch you see. Multiple fresh sprouts will appear and the plant will bloom with attractive bushiness in fall.
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