ILLUSTRATIONS: MICHAEL WITTE
SOUTHERNLIVING.COM / JUNE 201739SHAME ON GRUMPY!
› A while back, a reader
asked what to do about
“yellow-and-black caterpil-
lars” eating his plants. You
immediately suggested he
get out the insecticides and
begin spraying! For someone
who considers himself a
professional gardener, you
really missed the mark! With
the rapid decline of butterflies
in our world, I feel it would
have been much better if
you had suggested that the
homeowner first identify the
type of caterpillar. It could
have been an Eastern black
swallowtail or other type
of beneficial butterfly. By
assuming it was a “bad”
moth larva, you did a serious
disservice to gardeners (and
butterflies) all over the world.
Shame on you!
—KAREN» Yours is just one of the
approximately 10,000 angry
messages I received about
this. Limited space on this
page sometimes prevents
me from going into as much
depth as I’d like. I admit
my response was a bit too
simplistic and have exiled
myself to a small cottage in
the Hamptons for one month
this summer to atone.SLIP SLIDIN’ AWAY
› Can you recommend a
noninvasive, fast-growing,
sun-loving evergreen ground
cover to replace a deeply
sloped front lawn in USDA
Zone 7? Don’t want much,
do I? —VINETTE
» Fortunately, Grumpy is the
ultimate giver. One ground
cover that meets your criteria
is creeping juniper (Juniperus
horizontalis). A few popularselections include ‘Bar
Harbor,’ ‘Icee Blue,’ ‘Prince
of Wales,’ and ‘Wiltonii.’OPERATION VIOLET
› I have one of my favorite
aunt’s African violets. It has
split into two little trunks
and turned into two plants. I
know it needs to be repotted,
but I don’t know how to do it
safely. Could you help me?
—MARSHA
» Your plant needs to be
divided. Take it out of its
original pot. You’ll see two
“crowns,” tufts of leaves
attached to roots. Insert a
knife between the crowns
and “trunks,” and divide the
roots so that each crown has
its own root system. Then
pot them separately.NO MERCY
› HELP!! Tomato worms are
devouring my tomato plants.
Do you have any information
on their life cycle so I might
be able to stop them in the
future? —BARBARA
» Okay, I’m not gonna wimp
out on this answer, caterpillar
lovers! The culprit here
is most likely the tobacco
hornworm, a very large,
green caterpillar, 3 to 4 inches
long, with diagonal white
stripes and a curved, red
spine on the rear. (Tomato
hornworms look nearly
identical, but they’re more
common up North and have
a black spine.) Both are the
larvae of large, grayish brownmoths. These hornworms
feed on tomatoes, potatoes,
eggplants, peppers, and
tobacco. Because they’re
green, you often don’t see
them before they’ve devoured
half the plant. Control them
by picking them off and
squashing them or spraying
plants according to label
directions with either of two
natural controls: spinosad or
Bacillus thuringiensis (DiPel).
These garden-center products
work better on hornworms
that haven’t yet reached their
full size, so be vigilant. ÂAsk the Grump! No question goes unanswered on his Facebook page: facebook.com/slgrumpygardenerOUR GARDEN EXPERT ALLEVIATES YOUR GROWING PAINSby
STEVE BENDER“Now, if there
are any other
flowers I can get
you, please don’t
hesitate to ask.”GRUMPY’S
GRIPE OF
THE MONTH
It ticks me off when I’m
shopping for plants and
the label reads only “red
crepe myrtle” or “foliage
plant” or “marigold.” Here
at Southern Living, we
take pride in alerting our
readers about new and
improved plants. It does no
good, though, if we specify
the names of improved
selections (‘Henna’ coleus,
‘Potter’s Purple’ butterfly
bush) but the plants are
not tagged properly at the
store. Tag ’em, nurseries,
or I’ll tag you!