Question:
Q. With all the recent rains, my poor garden was left to fend for itself. The snails moved in, in droves and laid piles of eggs. I would have thought with the drought and dry conditions I have fewer but that not the case. Is there a spray could kill the eggs before they hatch, but wouldn't harm the flowers?
Answer:
A. I’m not aware of any chemical spray that controls the snail eggs or for that matter slugs. You’re only option is to bait the area with a liquid or granular product once the snails have hatched. Baiting should be an on going task during the growing season. However, I’m a bit puzzled by your problem. It is unusual for the egg masses of snails to be laid in big piles. Snails like a moist environment. They avoid the sun so they are only active at night and hide during the day where it is cool, dark, and damp. Snail eggs are white, spherical and are laid in a mass that is one inch in diameter. Each grouping contains about eighty eggs. By observing the immature or baby snails and baiting these areas more frequently, you can reduce the future, adult population. Near the end of the rainy season, this is an important fact in controlling the population. When the rainy season concludes, the snail activity is restricted to those areas under irrigation so you should only bait those areas. In addition, an adult snail doesn’t need to mate as it has both the male and female reproductive organs. Snails are a problem that will never go away. In very dry or arid conditions, a snail can retract itself into its protective shell, seal over the entry with a mucus layer. This is the same mucus it uses to move from on location to another. The mucus hardens and they can remain dormant for four years.
Question:
Q. I have a Wisteria that's fifteen years old. It grows by leaps and bounds every year but blooms only in the spring. My neighbor’s Wisteria blooms and re blooms for months every year. What do I need to do to get mine to bloom and bloom again?
Answer:
A. The simple answer is that there is not a thing you can do to extend the blooming season. With Wisterias, Mother Nature is in control of the entire repeat blooming cycles. It’s more likely to happen when the temperatures goes from mild to hot back to mild. This type of change is the trigger for a flowering cycle. This is more likely to occur where there is a strong marine influence and unlikely in the warmer inland areas. On a personal note, my blue Wisteria is in bloom for Easter while the pink one blooms around Mother’s Day. Also the blue Wisteria always has a repeat blooming cycle while the pink one re blooms periodically. However, this year, it is finished blooming.
