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Dear Neil: Some native plants grow in sun or shade, such as yaupon hollies, American beautyberries and cherry laurels. However, when landscapers put these in my yard, they died. The plants that were used had clearly been grown in the sun, and they couldn't stand the change to the shade. When buying natives, can one specify that they need to have been grown in particular conditions?
A: I've never experienced a plant that was grown in the sun failing soon after it was planted into shade. Granted, some shrubs can't handle the shade, but it usually takes six to 12 months for them to falter. By comparison, plants that are acclimated to shade will succumb to the sun within a few days if the change is drastic. My experience with American beautyberry over many years of growing it has been that it really needs the shade. Most nurserymen grow it in shadehouses. Suggestion: Use "adapted" plants rather than insisting only on natives. After all, a plant is truly "native" only to the spot in which it is growing naturally. It may not be adapted just a few feet away. I have a photo I took of maidenhair ferns growing right beside a huge agave plant near a small waterfall and pool in Big Bend National Park in arid Brewster County. The plants are on the edge of a woodland, growing within
30 inches of one another,
yet neither could have survived where the other was growing.
Dear Neil: I saw your answer on nutsedge (nutgrass). How can I get it out of a vegetable garden that is overrun with it?
A: Use either Image or Sedgehammer herbicide from May through September. The garden will have to be idle at the time, and you'll not want to plant back into it until the following spring. It may require two or three years of treating.
Dear Neil: You asked in your column a couple of weeks ago if anyone knew what would strip guara leaves. We grow this plant, and we found what we identified as sphinx moth larvae on the plants. We enjoy the moths, so we chose not to spray. Since then, we've also discovered other larvae in our garden, and they're now emerging as bordered patch butterflies. Hope that information helps.
Dear Neil: I live in a townhouse. We have mondograss, some type of small shrubs and a row of redtip photinias. We have to water twice a week when watering restrictions allow it, just to keep the plants alive. We also have a crape myrtle that looks fine all spring but then starts dropping almost all of its leaves by summer. Is it getting too much water? It never blooms.
A: That sounds like it's not getting enough water. You need to be soaking the soil to a depth of 5 or 6 inches when you water. Double-check, too, to be sure the leaves aren't being troubled by aphids. Sometimes, we have to spray with a general-purpose insecticide to control them.
* If you'd like Neil Sperry's help with a plant question, drop him a note in care of The Eagle, P.O. Box 3000, Bryan, Texas 77805. Or e-mail him at mailbag@sperrygardens.com.
