Question:
My White Alaskan Azalea has grown to be about three feet tall and about four feet wide. The white flowers cover the plant when it blooms. How do I prune it and still maintain the heavy blooming?Answer:
The best time to prune Azaleas is after they finish blooming. However, it still can be done now.- You can shape the plant by trimming it lightly with a pair of hand shears or heavily with an electric trimmer.
- Pruning doesn’t interfere with the blooming cycle. It’s the size of the canopy that usually dictates the mass of color as Azaleas bloom on the current year's growth. I wouldn’t expect you would see much new growth if you prune now.
- So the canopy size would be smaller than last year and so would be the mass of color. You could also consider waiting until next year to prune.
- I’d continue fertilizing with Azalea, Camellia, and Rhododendron Food to encourage the growth. This should be done monthly through October. Osmocote, a time release fertilizer, is another option.
- Osmocote releases a little bit of nutrients with every watering, and you would apply it twice a year, four months apart.
Question:
What is the difference between moles and gophers? I believe I have a gopher in my garden however others say it’s a mole. My onion and bean plants are disappearing and the roots on one of my roses have been eaten. I’ve tried gopher poison pellets, but they remain untouched.Answer:
In California, moles and gophers are too different problems with the various controls while in other states they are the same pest.- Moles do not eat plants. Instead, they forge or tunnel the soil surface for insects, grubs, and earthworms.
- There are traps and poison baits, but I think the best way to control moles is to eliminate the food source. Without a food source, they move elsewhere to feed. Mole Med or Grub Beater are a repellent made from Castor Oil. It coats the soil bugs making them undesirable. Another option is Beneficial Nematodes. They seek out and destroy grubs and soil insects but not earthworms.
- Both products are environmentally safe and are recommended to use around pets and kids.
- Gophers, on the other hand, will eat plants.
- They live in burrows, travel about two feet under the soil in runs and come to the surface with exit holes. Gophers are much harder to control than moles.
- Flooding, trapping, poison baits and gas bombs are the primary methods of controlling gophers along with hundreds of home remedies. It’s all trial and error as there is no sure proof answer.
- The major mistakes people make with gopher controls is not wearing gloves. The human scent traces alerts the gophers, so they avoid the control. Also, the controls need to be placed in the major runs, not the exit holes.
- From your description, you have a gopher(s). If you live next to open space, the problem is much harder to solve. You may need to contact an exterminator that controls rodents.