- Hi, thanks for joining us for the Family Plot: Gardening in the Mid-South, I'm Chris Cooper.

Weeds, dead leaves and   bugs are bad in the garden.

Today, we're answering   questions about   these things and more.

It's the Q&A show, just   ahead on the Family Plot:   Gardening in the Mid-South.

- (female announcer)   Production funding for   the Family Plot:   gardening in the Mid-South   is provided by   the WKNO Production Fund,   the WKNO Endowment Fund,   and by viewers like   you.

Thank you.

[upbeat country music] - Welcome to the Family Plot.

I'm Chris Cooper.

Summer is winding down and fall is coming.

These past few months, we have received more viewer questions than we can answer on air.

So today we're going to spend the whole show answering questions we got this summer.

Let's start off with a question about an unknown plant.

"This beautiful green   plant grows in my yard.

"It is beautiful,   but it takes over.

"I was hoping you could tell   me what type of plant it is.

"I thought I dug it up   by the root last year.

It fooled me."

This is Shirley.

Let's help Shirley out.

- Yeah with Dogfennel.

- Dogfennel.

- Yes.

It's common name.

It's a Eupatorium.

- Okay.

- So, you know, Eupatoriums   there's a lot of weeds that   are in that family here.

And then, I mean,   over that genus,   and then there's a lot   of other perennials   that are in that category.

So that's why   it does so well here.

- Right and it   actually looks pretty.

Doesn't it?

- Yeah.

The blooms on it are very, very small and insignificant in that.

So really it's just the foliage you're going to mostly see.

And you don't want it to reseed and populate the whole area.

So, you know.

- Yeah, so... Dogfennel, Eupatorium, perennial, depending on where it's sited can get three to five feet tall.

As you can see from that picture.

It must have liked where it was.

If you crush up the leaves, I actually know this, you crush them up, it has like a sour smell.

- It's not a good smell.

No, not real pleasant.

- And as it ages, of course it goes from, you know, fresh tender stem, to a rough and tough woody stem.

So yeah, Dogfennel.

- Dogfennel.

[guitar music] - "This year, I had a major problem with crabgrass.

When should I apply crabgrass   preventer to my lawn?"

And this is Steve.

- We have everybody havin'   a problem with crabgrass and everything in there.

And crabgrass normal times when you got..

Your soil is off some kinda way, it's not healthy Weeds"ll grow in unhealthy soil, so you need to get that soil tested about the pH and everything.

But to put a pre-emerge down, you might do that in the, in the fall of the year.

They come back in the spring and you put a pre-emerge down, like I said, you need to be activated in with rainwater irrigation.

And you want to cover that in both ways to put 25 pounds or fifty pounds down, we'll do half one way and half the other way and get a good coverage on there.

- Crabgrass can be a problem.

If it were not for crabgrass, I wouldn't have a lawn.

A pre-emergent is something that you can use   of course.

Trifluralin is something that   you can use as a pre-emerge.

As a post-emerge,   Quinclorac is something that   you can use.

Read and follow   the label on those.

You want to make sure   you get good coverage   when you're using those.

Crabgrass likes conditions, right, that are compact.

So it likes compact soils, and soils that are poorly drained.

Yes, that's what I have in my lawn.

So again, make sure that you're following and reading the label.

You can control crabgrass.

- Yeah, I don't got crabgrass, I don't got no weeds in my yard.

I just can't have that weed.

I got to pull that weed out every time I see that.

Try to get all the root system out when you do that.

- Right.

Please do, crabgrass is pretty tough.

[guitar music] - "I have a nice Rhododendron.

"One of the least tall varieties "with dark pink flowers, but nearly every year, "one or more large parts of it die.

"Even though it's over 20 years old, "it is still a small shrub.

"How do I keep parts   of my Rhododendron   from dying every year?"

And this is Martin.

So first of all, he's doing good.

- Twenty years for one Rhododendron my hat's off to you because that's, hard to do.

Depending on where, see, we don't know where he's at.

And so what part of the country you're in, because if you're in a mountainous area, you're probably going to have better luck with growing the Rhododendrons in their native area.

If it's anywhere, even around here in the Mid-South, it's very, and I see why it dies sections every year because our soils are not the greatest for it.

They like well-drained soil.

Our climate here might be a little warm for them.

So I mean, for a fact that he's had it for 20 years and it's still going, that's great.

He's done a very good job.

But it would be nice to know what part, where he lives.

So we know what the environment is there in the zone that it is.

- Right.

And then those dying parts, I guess, you know, go ahead and prune those out because it's not serving the plant any good.

- Just keep it fertilized and keep it healthy, what's there, healthy.

And like he's done for 20 years.

- Right And just enjoy it.

- Yeah, I think it's great.

- I think that's outstanding.

Okay, Martin.

Yeah.

Just, you know, do those things, you know, keep the plant as healthy as possible.

Just enjoy it.

That's a good job.

Yeah, 20 years is good.

- It's great.

[guitar music]   - "Our azaleas have   been in our front bed   "for almost 20 years   and once all bloomed   "together and profusely,   "but that's not   the case anymore.

"The far left bush hasn't   bloomed in a few years,   "but is always the most   brilliant green of them all.

"The pink bush   seems healthy.

"The middle bush   looks mostly dead,   "but has several white buds   as well as several large white   "blossoms at the very   bottom of the bush   "and the white bush   on the far right,   "is overflowing   with blossoms.

So what's going on   with our azaleas?"

This is Doug and Gigi   in Bartlett, Tennessee.

So it's a lot there, right?

- Yes.

So there's a lot of stuff going on right there with that.

But overall with some of them more up-close pictures that they showed us, I could, even though it wasn't focused in, on those particular leaves,   I could tell that there was   feeding damage from an insect   that's called the   azalea lace bug.

And if this is left unchecked,   it can defoliate, you know,   your azaleas over time.

If we have several years of   this feeding happening.

Now, it appears that the feeding was heaviest on the middle shrub.

And you might say, "Well, that doesn't make any sense.

Why is it only feeding on this one and not the other two?"

I will say that they are attracted to shrubs that are under stress.

They send out pheromones that say, "I'm not doing well."

And then the insects come and impact things.

So maybe that shrub was already on the decline.

Maybe there was an issue with pH, you know.

Azaleas prefer to have acidic pHs.

And if they're not in that zone, that could be stressful for them.

So whatever that was, that is what is called, that defoliation.

Now we see the new growth   at the base of the plant and   that's because now light is   able to penetrate that canopy.

And so they've put   up new growth and, we see that a lot with, you know, lots of different types of woody plants, you know, once you pruned back some of that material, it might look strange and twiggy and sticky for awhile, but it actually encourages new growth to come out on some of that older wood.

So I think that's what we're seeing there with the azalea.

I would recommend, you know,   treating it with a systemic   insecticide to try to get   the lace bug under control.

I would treat all three because   now that they have feasted   on the leaves of the   one in the middle,   they will probably go to   expand their feeding area.

But those were the main things that stood out to me.

I didn't see any signs of, you know, iron deficiency or anything like that, which is kind of common-ish with azaleas when that pH range isn't right.

It can't take up the iron that it needs.

And then we get strange like chlorosis, but the veins are still green.

It looks pretty strange.

Yeah.

- Yeah.

And then like you mentioned before, the light conditions seem to be conducive to growing those azaleas.

- Yeah.

- So we're not concerned about that, but yeah.

Azalea lace bugs do a lot of damage.

I'm glad you stressed the point of plant stress.

- Yes.

- Because again, yeah if those plants are stressed and yeah, they send out those pheromones, right?

And some plants actually sent up, you know, those, you know, volatile compounds, right, that insects can, you know, smell and then go right to it.

- They're attracted to it, right?

Isn't that crazy?

- I think that is pretty cool.

- Plants are so smart.

- Yeah.

So alright, Doug and Gigi.

I think we have your culprit, right?

- Yes.

- All right.

So yeah, we make sure we get those lace bugs under control.

- Things should improve.

- Things should improve.

- Don't pull out the middle shrub, you know, you might have to put up with some strange like proportions for a year or two, but I think it'll come back out of it.

[guitar music]   - "I have dead spots   on this row of trees.

"What is going on?

What can I do to make   my trees healthy again?"

Diane from   Hernando, Mississippi.

So as you could see there,   look at that at the top.

- Yeah.

It reminds me   of bagworms.

I really, really want to know if she can see them   because you should be   able to see the little bags   hanging in the trees,   because that would   be the, what I would,   I've seen that damage before,   and that's usually what it is.

Bt, bacillus thuringiensis   is real easy.

I've had this problem before   and I've put the Bt in a, in dialed the rate that I needed at the end of a garden hose.

So I could get it up further in the tree and, and sprayed Bt on a tree that had bagworms.

And I haven't seen him in two or three years now.

- Right.

- So, you know, it can be done.

You know, she'll see the little bags on the trees to make sure that that's what that is.

- And the larva going to be out for those bagworms pretty much in the spring, right?

But after it forms those bags, it's going to be tough to use any type of insecticide, yeah.

So at that point, if you can reach them, you know, you can take them off.

- Picking them off would be really good at this point.

- Right.

- May and June, when they're actively feeding is when you want to apply the Bt.

And also at this point too, it looks bad.

So maybe a little fertilizer and TLC with trying to keep the plants healthy will help it grow out of that.

- Right.

And keep those evergreens watered, please.

You know, during any drought-like conditions, they need to be watered for sure because if not, they become stressed and when those plants become stressed and guess what?

Here come the bugs.

[guitar music]   - "My blueberries,   "my blackberries and   my Gaura have patches   "of burnt, dead leaves.

"Looks like fire   blight you would see   "on an ornamental pear tree.

"Here in my blueberry plant,   the stem was green inside,   "but the foliage   was dry and dead.

What is this, and how   do I get rid of it?"

Sally, from   Germantown, Tennessee.

And as you can   see there from the pictures, we talked a little bit about this.

So what are you thinking?

I think we're on the same lines here.

- I mean, I'd travel down a little bit and really do some stem inspection.

- Right.

And I do know, you know,   blackberries have   stem cankers.

So I'm thinking definitely on   the blackberry, stem canker,   blueberries as well.

- It's a possibility.

- Yeah, it's possible.

Right.

And as far as the   Gaura goes, you grow- - I love my Gaura.

but I will say that I replace it every couple, three years.

It is really sensitive to poor drainage.

So I would look at more root rot types of soil drainage issues as kind of a first idea there.

- Okay.

And for those stem cankers, I would probably prune down maybe an inch below there, and I'm saying a good inch 'til you can get green tissue and see what happens from there.

You could use a fungicide.

I don't know how well it may work.

- If we're talking about a small number.

- Yeah.

- Of plants-- - I would just prune it, you know, just prune it out.

And I think you'd be fine with that.

[guitar music] - "The west side of my house has about "one or two hours of sun a day.

What shrubs will work   in almost total shade?"

Julia from Lansing, Michigan.

So let's start   with this, Celeste.

Let's go to the Lansing, Michigan, shall we?

- Yes.

- Plant hardiness zone 5b.

- 5b.

- 5b.

So that means that   those plants should   be able to survive   temperatures of -10 to -15.

Right.

So again, that's 5b.

- Okay.

So we've got some options, I think that would work in those situations.

So lots of different types of viburnums are going to be out   there that will   grow in zone 5b.

And that actually prefer shade.

- That prefer shade.

- Yes.

So viburnums would   be an excellent option.

Some evergreen, some not.

So make sure, you know,   when you're looking that   we're specifying, you know, which species that you're trying to.

Okay.

Just depends on if you want evergreen or not.

Macrophylla hydrangeas,   I believe that might   be the top limit...   to their zone,   so 5b I think   is the limit for   the macrophyllas.

So that would be an option.

You know, they prefer shade,   they do better when   they have shade.

Sometimes the bloom display   may be less if you have,   you know, less than   four hours of sun, but still the plant would be, a beautiful addition there just even for the leaves, if that's all that we were admiring.

Hollies are another good option.

Hollies can thrive in shade   and have beautiful   berry displays.

So you've kind of   had the added benefit there.

And then a final one I might   throw in would be possibly Rhododendrons.

And, you know, they like really good drainage.

I know sometimes they   prefer higher elevations.

So, you know,   just depending on   what it's like in   that particular area.

But I don't think the   temperature would be an   issue there with   Rhododendrons.

And then for other folks, maybe who aren't in, who aren't that high, that far north, Aucuba would be a great option.

It has a smaller growing zone.

So we're looking at like   seven to nine for Aucuba,   but it's has a   really unique leaf.

And variegation,   it's like a light green with   yellow splotches all over it   so we can get, it's a nice   pop in a dark shady area.

- And this is pretty much, you know, in my estimates, a dark shady area.

- Yeah.

- One or two hours of sun a day and something else I'd like to mention to Ms. Julia, make sure you contact your local extension.

- Yes, they should have, I bet they have some wonderful recommendation lists for landscape, woody landscape plants in your area.

- I bet you they would.

[guitar music]   - "We discovered this tree   at the edge of our yard.

"The trunk you see   in the background,   "it's the same tree   with the fruit.

"This picture was taken   in October of last year.

"What is it?

Thank you," Cameron.

So can we help Cameron out?

- Oh, I think we can.

That is a persimmon Tree.

Very nice native tree.

The animals love the persimmons.

In fact, we can eat those persimmons, but you make sure they're, they turn orange-- - Yes, don't eat too many.

- You'll find it's a berry because it has more than one seed.

And so, there's a lot of persimmons that have been cultivated because of this wild persimmon that are more meaty than this particular wild persimmon.

But you can eat these just as well, so do the animals.

Wonderful tree.

- So it's good for wildlife and for us.

- Yes.

- All right.

So persimmon tree.

Yeah.

Beautiful trunk on persimmon trees as well.

[guitar music]   - "Two weeks ago,   "we filled in plastic pots   with new potting soil.

"Now I'm getting what appears   to be a fungus and mushrooms.

What happened and how   should they be treated?"

This is Danny from   Memphis, Tennessee.

So can we help Danny out?

- Let's help Danny.

I had the same problem, but not in no flower pot.

I had it in my flower bed.

And that's slime mold.

You see a lot of slime mold, they get into that, especially organic material, right at the beginning, fresh,   especially fresh   organic material.

It begin to do that and it's   not causing any harm to the   planet or nothing like   that because I had it   in my flower bed and after   a while it gonna get hard.

It'll get hard and   kind of look   a little different.

Because when I first saw it   I thought, "What is this?"

[laughing] But you can just get you a shovel and get it out of there then turn your soil back over.

After a while it'll soon go away.

But he got slime mold in there in his flowerpot.

- Slime mold, another name is dog vomit.

- Dog vomit.

That's what I thought it was, something like that.

Yeah.

- It can grow on mulch.

I had that in my own landscape.

But it'll dry up.

- It'll dry up, yeah.

And sometimes you'll see it growing on the side of you plant but it's just slime mold and it's not causing any harm to the plant.

- Harmless to the plants, the pets and to us.

- Yeah.

[guitar music]   - "The fruit on my dwarf   "Asian pears have hairy orange   spores growing out of   "some of them.

"Is it too late   to save the rest?

"And if so, how   should I treat it?

Any advice would be   appreciated," and this is Dan.

So we're talking about   a dwarf Asian pear, the hairy orange spores.

I think we know what that is, right?

Yeah.

- Yeah.

- UT orange, as you usually say.

- Or a rust.

Very, very, probably closely related to a cedar apple rust that we commonly see.

It spends part of its life cycle on a cedar tree and part of its life cycle on the apple.

But it also affects pears and the difference between this Asian pear rust is those spores, the orange colorful spores grow out of the cedar on the cedar apple rust.

And it's manifest on the apple as bright orange spots on the leaves.

And you don't see that kind of growth coming out of the fruit of the apple, but on this Asian pear rust, you know, it's a really Volunteer orange, a really pretty-- They're really pretty, but it really, it makes a mess.

And again, just as we mentioned with the crab apple, follow the, the apple and pear spray guide.

There aren't many things really labeled for use on, on pears.

Sulfur fungicides, you know, sulfur is labeled for use on pears So that has fungicidal activity.

And that might give you a little bit of relief there.

Probably wet spring.

- That's for sure.

- I'd be sure that I, you know, gather up all of the affected fruit and, you know, don't let them fall on the ground, stay down there and, you know, try to get rid of them.

[guitar music]   - "Some of my tomato plants   "have some top leaves that are   light green, with a pattern.

"The older leaves on   the plant look fine.

What is going on?"

And this is Ella,   Arlington, Tennessee.

So what do you think   is going on there?

- So when we see inter-venial like that, it certainly takes me in a nutritional direction.

- I would agree with that.

Okay.

And what are we thinking as far as the nutrient?

- Yeah.

So, one thing that I would always ask about a picture like that is what exactly are they growing this in?

So how are they managing the nutrients?

Is it soil?

Is it soil-less?

Because I used to work a bit in hydroponics and sometimes, you know, if the pH gets off or, you know, improper mixing of nutrients, some things about that picture might make me, you know, think that it could be a micronutrient as related to pH or solution management.

- Good deal.

And I know, you know, a little bit something about that, but yeah, definitely inter-venial.

That's what I looked at first and it kind of just jumped out to me.

So yeah.

Nutrient issue, I would say there.

- Solution testing, some more data.

[guitar music]   - "I found this bug on   my Maximilian sunflower.

"Is this a good bug   or bad bug?

I noticed it when I   found leaves yellowing."

Faye, from Brighton, Tennessee.

So nice picture.

I like that.

So what do we think that   is?

Good bug, bad bug.

- I think it's a good bug.

- So what bug is it?

- Larval stage of a ladybug.

- That's what I   think it is as well.

- Yes.

And so, you know,   it's so important for us to   realize that insects look   different during different   portions of their life cycle.

And I'm glad that she sent that picture because now she knows that it's a beneficial insect.

Lady beetles are beneficial, they're predatory.

So we want to make sure that we're not doing anything to discourage those larva from doing their thing.

And also another stage of the ladybug that looks even more strange than that is when it's pupating essentially.

And it's like stuck onto a   leaf and you're confused.

You're like, well,   it's not moving.

It's like suctioned on there.

So yes, definitely do a little investigation when you're, trying to identify those insects.

- Good bug, right?

Eats a lot of aphids, you know, scales.

Yeah.

Beneficial in the garden, our friend.

- Definitely.

- Four stages.

So you did mention a couple of those stages.

So you have the egg   stage, the larva,   which was there.

And the larva looks   like an alligator.

You know, it looks scaley.

- Yeah.

Kind of spiky, scaley.

- Pupa and adult.

So yeah.

So the four stages,   so there you have it.

Thank you for that question and the picture.

So it's good to know our friends in the garden.

- And even let's mention too, that even Asian lady beetles are predatory, so, you know, leave them alone.

[guitar music] - "I have a dozen pollinated flowers "on a purple cayenne pepper plant, "but the fruits don't grow out of them like before.

"They don't drop off, they're just pollinated "and nothing happens.

Why are my cayenne pepper   flowers not developing fruits?"

Shay Constantine on YouTube.

So they're not developing fruits and this is our cayenne pepper.

- Yeah.

Some great hot peppers.

Well, I mean, I would probably tend to kind of look back and think about the general health and productivity of the plant.

So we have a self pollinated pepper, so we're not, you know, going to pollination issues or something like that.

You know, there can be times when the plant, if it's, you know, maybe not in nutritionally great shape, might not be filling out as many fruits.

So I would think about things like water, nutrition.

You know, health of the plant, if it, you know, if it's in a pot, you know, we may be stressing the plant to the point where it's not filling out all the flowers that it sets.

- But it's interesting.

They don't drop off though.

That's interesting.

- Yeah.

I would say that, that is, I mean, that is a little bit surprising.

Lots of times if the plant is under stress, we will, you know, we'll call it like flower abortion.

- Yeah it just aborts it, it just drops it off.

So yeah.

Yeah.

This whole question I was like, yeah, but they don't drop off.

I think that's interesting.

- That's in the picture.

- Yeah.

Yeah.

So we saw a picture.

Yeah, definitely right about that.

So yeah, just some maybe, you know, environmental factors, like you mentioned, temperature is one, you know?

- Right.

Well, yeah.

And of course, when we think about the pepper productivity, they are a very warm season crop and the hot peppers, even more resilient against the warmer conditions.

So, you know, it's possible that, it could also be cool night temperature.

- That's what I'm thinking, you know, it has been cool.

We don't know where this person is, but yeah.

It's been a cooler spring into summer.

- Even for us in the Mid-South it's been cool.

So potentially in, Northern regions and sometimes way too hot or way too cool at night can interfere with pollination as well.

- Remember, we love   to hear from you.

Send us an email or letter.

The email address is   familyplot@wkno.org.

and the mailing   address is Family Plot,   7151 Cherry Farms Road   Cordova, Tennessee 38016.

Or you can go online to   familyplotgarden.com.

That's all we have time for today.

To get more information on any of the questions we answered this week, go to familyplotgarden.com.

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Thanks for watching and keep sending in the questions.

I'm Chris Cooper.

Be sure to join us next week for the Family Plot: Gardening in the Mid-South.

Be safe.

[upbeat country music] [acoustic guitar chords]