ILLUSTRATIO
NS:^ MIC
HAEL
W
ITTEby
STEVE BENDEROUR GARDEN EXPERT ALLEVIATES YOUR GROWING PAINS34
FEBRUARY 2019 / SOUTHERNLIVING.COM
Ask the Grump! No question goes unanswered on his Facebook page: facebook.com/slgrumpygardener
Chinese elm (Ulmus
parvifolia ‘Allee’), willow
oak (Quercus phellos),
Chinese pistache (Pistacia
chinensis), and ‘October
Glory’ red maple (Acer
rubrum ‘October Glory’).
These options grow quickly,
aren’t fussy or messy, and
offer colorful fall foliage.
Now, tattoo this information
on either leg for later. ÂTAKE OUT THE TRASH
› At our home near
the coast on the Florida
Panhandle, a trashy cherry
laurel hangs over the drive-
way. Birds love the berries
and make a mess on our
cars. What are some good
replacements? —PAULA
» You don’t like purple
splats all over the hood of
your white Lamborghini?
The birds sure do! Replace
the cherry laurel with less
troublesome plants that
enjoy your climate, such as
oleander, wax myrtle, sago
palm, Indian hawthorn, and
Japanese pittosporum.PRUNE AWAY
› I live in East Texas. Is
it okay to cut back ‘Knock
Out’ roses in February,
even if they are already
blooming? —JULIE» Frankly, I don’t think
there’s a bad time to prune
‘Knock Out’ roses. If you
don’t cut them back, they
eventually become 7-foot
beasts. You can trim them
as low as 2 feet tall, and
they’ll grow back just fine.PLANTS FOR A SLOPE
› I’d like to add flowering
bushes that don’t need
frequent watering on a mild
slope in East North Carolina.
Any suggestions? —BRENDA
» You should think about
winter jasmine (Jasminum
nudiflorum). This shrub has
pretty yellow flowers in late
winter and stems that stay
green all year long. It also
looks great cascading down
a slope, rooting as it goes.
You could also try Drift
series roses, which grow
only about 2 feet tall.ONIONS GONE WILD
› I recently purchased
a home in Upstate South
Carolina. I have what seem
to be wild onions or garlic
growing in various places
and spreading around the
yard. How can I get rid
of them? —KAREN
» Wild onions and wild
garlic are two look-alike
winter weeds that grow
from bulbs. The deep-green,
grassy leaves first appear in
fall, last all winter, and die
back in spring. They’re very
noticeable in warm-season
lawns that turn brown in
winter. The surest control
is digging up and throwing
away the bulbs. For a better
yard next winter, spot-treat
in November or December
with a herbicide such as
BioAdvanced Southern
Weed Killer for Lawns or
Spectracide Weed Stop for
Lawns according to label
directions.QUICK COVER
› Several years ago, you
wrote about shade trees
that grow fast and are also
good for planting in the
South. Can you tell me what
they are again? —JAMES
» What? You dare to bother
Grumpy with the same
question that he addressed
previously? This, my friend,
is your final chance. Some
good shade trees for growing
in the South include Nuttall
oak (Quercus texana), ‘Allee’GRUMPY’S
GRIPE OF
THE MONTH
So many people are
afraid to be different.
Not Grumpy. Tired of
glowering out from my
screened porch upon
a woodland garden of
bleak, bland, leafless
trees, I did what any
visionary trailblazer
would. I went to the
hardware store, bought
cans of spray paint in
various designer colors,
and began to make tree-
trunk art. Today, I enjoy
lapis lazuli blue witch
hazels and buckeyes,
banana yellow oaks, and
crimson black gums. My
finest pieces? Limbed-
up camellias with plum
purple trunks. You read
it here first. #trailblazing“Target acquired.
Drop on my
mark. Three,
two, one...”