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A mutation known as chimera caused this white mallow hibiscus to have a flower that is half white and half cherry red.
DEAR NEIL: I have a white mallow planted next to a cherry red mallow. One of the flowers on the white plant was half and half. Is this a new plant, or did it just pick up the color from the darker bush?
Dear Reader: Actually, neither. Since it’s growing on the white bush, it’s still part of the white bush. And if it had “picked up” a change in color from the red plant (via pollination), that would have happened in the next generation — as new plants germinated and grew from seed.
This is a chance mutation known as a chimera where distinctly different plant tissues grow side by side. Look at the grocery. You’ll see it in Red Delicious apples where a very precise portion of the apple is darker red than the rest of the fruit.
You’ll also see it in the tropical succulent plant known as mother-in-law’s tongue, or snake plant sansevieria with the gold and green variegation. There probably is a small section of the stem on which this flower grew that has this mutation.
It’s possible that you could propagate from that exact section and get more of these two-toned flowers if anyone ever wanted them, but I doubt if it would be easy.
DEAR NEIL What is wrong with my Nellie R. Stevens holly? The plant beside it has some diseased leaves. I tried insecticide and fertilizer.
Dear Reader: I’ve been growing Nellie R. Stevens hollies in Texas for more than 50 years. I can guarantee you that this is not insect- or disease-related. These plants got too dry.
I probably have 40 of these plants around our house right now, and I’ve seen this happen on several occasions, twice when I didn’t get them out of their pots and planted quickly enough and several times when a sprinkler head malfunctioned and left them without water during a dry spell.
Other that a very rare scale outbreak, Nellie R. Stevens hollies are almost pest-proof. But they give almost no warning as they are getting too dry. They do not wilt and they barely change colors, shifting from a bright, handsome green to a dull, olive drab.
We water them and expect them to perk up again but too often they end up turning completely brown. I wish I had better news.
DEAR NEIL: As had been instructed on the product’s label (Bayer brand), I mixed Imidacloprid with water and poured it around the drip line of a peach tree in the first week of June this year. The peaches are maturing now. Is it safe to consume them?
Dear Reader: There should be a contact phone number on that product’s label. I would be much more comfortable with your getting the go-ahead from Bayer instead of from me.
It would seem reasonable that they wouldn’t give you instructions if it weren’t safe. All the reading I’ve just done online says that Imidacloprid does not pass through the juncture of the twigs into the fruit in quantities that would even kill fruit-eating insects.
Most states that I saw list it as approved for post-bloom application. But do confirm all of that with Bayer. It shouldn’t take more than one phone call.
DEAR NEIL: Two or three years ago we planted three small Amethyst Falls wisterias at the base of our pergola thinking they would bring cooling shade in the summer.
They survived the cold of February 2021 and kept on growing, but when they reached the top of the pergola the three plants began dying.
What would have caused it, and what can we do to save the plants? If we must replant, what should we use? Lady Banksia roses?
Dear Reader: I tried my best to enlarge your very small thumbnail photo but I couldn’t make out enough detail to identify the cause of your plants’ problem.
Amethyst Falls is a selection of American wisteria, so it’s not exactly the same as the much more common Chinese wisteria you see across Texas. Whether that could be any part of the issue or not, I can’t answer.
Because of rose rosette virus and the fact that we still don’t have a reliable way of dealing with it, I’d probably suggest Madame Galen trumpetcreeper as a better replacement.
DEAR NEIL: Are there any perennial allium flowers that do well in Central Texas?
Dear Reader: Having lived for several years in Ohio I believe I know what you’re wanting. Those northern garden alliums are stunning perennials, but they don’t handle Texas summers at all well.
This list from the Travis County Extension Office lists a couple of candidates, but they’re not going to be what you’re thinking about: https://tinyurl.com/yc42kx74
DEAR NEIL: How can I deal with an outbreak of moles?
Dear Reader: Moles are insectivores, related to bats. Moles are generally found in cool, moist and shaded soils that are populated by earthworms and grub worms.
Moles leave volcano-shaped hills that are often made up of clods of soil. Moles are best controlled using traps that are implanted into depressed portions of the surface tunnels.
As the moles push up to re-open their tunnels, the traps are triggered.
DEAR NEIL: We had a 12-by-12 garden last year with great success. This year we more than doubled it, going to 16 by 28 feet. Almost all of our plants struggled this year, however.
I’ve enclosed the soil test I just had run by Texas A&M. It looks like all I might need is more phosphate. Any input would be appreciated.
Dear Reader: The early heat and drought made this a very challenging year for gardeners and farmers alike.
Your squash photo suggests that the soil could use more organic matter the next time you rototill it (several inches of compost, peat moss, well-rotted manure, finely ground pine bark, etc.).
And the soil test from TAMU says you’re OK on the phosphates, but at the bottom it suggests “Nitrogen: Apply an additional 1 lb. N/1000 sq. ft. every 4-6 weeks, as needed to maintain vegetative growth.”
Have a question you’d like Neil to consider? Email him at mailbag@sperrygardens.com. Neil regrets that he cannot reply to questions individually.
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A mutation known as chimera caused this white mallow hibiscus to have a flower that is half white and half cherry red.
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