2019-07-01_Southern_Living

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by

STEVE BENDER

JULY 2019 / SOUTHERNLIVING.COM

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splashing water. The

more you trim, the more

red leaves you get—and the

more disease. Eventually,

the shrubs will die. You can

control leaf spot by spraying

the new foliage according

to label directions with

Immunox or Daconil, but

I’d replace them with better

screening plants, such as

‘Nellie R. Stevens’ holly,

‘Sky Pencil’ Japanese holly,

‘Emerald’ arborvitae, and

‘Hicksii’ yew. å

OH, MAN

› I just saw a man pruning a

crepe myrtle with a chain

saw while standing on his

roof. Is this an isolated case,

or are all men this stupid?

—CARMEN

» No, not all of us. However,

it does explain why women

tend to live longer.

MORNING GORY

› How do you get rid of

out-of-control morning

glory? It is trying to take

over my backyard in North

Carolina. —KRISTEN

» Morning glory looks great

the first year, but a zillion

seedlings come up the next.

Spray them according to

label directions with a

herbicide that kills them

(roots and all), such as

Weed B Gon or Weed

Stop. Next spring, apply a

broadleaf weed preventer

such as Preen to the soil to

keep any remaining seeds

from sprouting.

BERMUDA GRASS INVASION

› We live in the mountains

of Virginia. Our tall fescue

lawn is being invaded by

Bermuda grass that turns

brown in winter. How can

we eliminate it? —ELAINE

» Removing grassy weeds

from a lawn is difficult,

because any weed killer

you spray to eradicate them

will get rid of your good

grass too. Instead, create

conditions that favor fescue

over Bermuda grass. Raise

your mowing height to 3

inches. Tall fescue likes the

extra height and will shade

out the invader. Fertilize in

autumn, as tall fescue keeps

growing in fall and winter

while the Bermuda goes

dormant. Sow fescue seed

in any bare or thin spots

this fall too.

SUMMER LEAF DROP

› Here in New Jersey, my

big tulip poplars have been

dropping lots of yellow

leaves. The ground looks

like autumn. Could the hot,

dry summer be to blame?

—TOM

» Yep. Having a wet spring

encourages trees to grow

many more leaves than

they can support in hot,

dry weather, so they drop

the extras to achieve a

balance. This is especially

common with tulip poplars

and birches. Watering now

may reduce the problem

somewhat, but the trees

will be fine in any case.

RED THEN DEAD

› When we moved two

years ago, our driveway

was lined with enormous

redtip photinias for privacy

screening. They handled

heavy pruning well. Now

their leaves are covered

with spots and holes. We

think they’re about to croak.

Can they be saved?

—JEREMY AND MICHAEL

» Redtip photinias planted

in the rainy, humid South-

east are subject to a virulent

disease called Entomospo-

rium leaf spot. The fungus

attacks the new, bright

red leaves and spreads by

Ask the Grump! No question goes unanswered on his Facebook page: facebook.com/slgrumpygardener.

OUR GARDEN EXPERT ALLEVIATES YOUR GROWING PAINS

GRUMPY’S

GRIPE OF

THE MONTH

I know it sounds down-

right un-American (and

definitely un-Southern),

but I dislike fireworks.

Why? Well, there was

that time as a kid when

a friend accidentally

dropped a lit bottle

rocket inside our tree

house with us in it.

(On the bright side, I

learned Irish dancing.)

The point is, people,

fireworks are dangerous.

So, this year, I encour-

age you to celebrate the

Fourth by planting fiery,

colorful zinnias in the

“It’s just garden instead.

Jimbo’s way.

He already

dynamited the

gophers.”