Question: I have been receiving the newsletter for years, this is my first time writing. I have two hydrangea trees that are about 5 ½ feet tall and 7 feet, that were planted about four years ago. They are in bloom and the blossoms captured the rain enough to bend the branches. On the smaller […]
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Question: I have allowed my front yard to become a meadow this year. It is a small front yard in Portland, with two large maple trees along the street. (Plus a third one just on the neighbor’s side of our driveway). Should I mow the meadow this fall, in order to accommodate raking the substantial […]
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Question: Fire ants have moved into our yard over the past couple years. I’m hoping you might be able to recommend a control method that is safe to use in food gardens and around kids and pets. They have overrun my strawberry mound. Answer: Liz Stanley, Horticulture Community Education Assistant Fire Ants (Myrmical rubra): For […]
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Question: What material do you recommend for a weed barrier under 3/4-inch stone? I was hoping to avoid a plastic product so I tried cardboard which failed miserably. I am willing to use a plastic product if it will work. Can you recommend something effective and durable? I have busy young children so the stones […]
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Question: The new “normal” 1990-2020 temperatures were recently released. Do you have any idea if plans are being made to update the current plant hardiness zone? I live in Portland near the Fore River Estuary. It is definitely a warmer “microclime” even though I can see the runway of the Jetport (5b) from the house. […]
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Question: I have several blueberry bushes that are developing reddish/purple leaves and berries throughout the summer. This affected the berry bushes last year as well. I am struggling to diagnose the cause and come up with a remedy so I’m hoping to get some guidance. I have had some suspicion of fungal disease and have […]
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Question: I have a hummingbird feeder which I fill with sugar water. Lately there have been some small bees or wasps (looks like a fly with skinnier wings, maybe a flying ant) eating the food from the feeder. Can you tell me what they are and how I can rid of them safely? Wondering if […]
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Question: We have quite a few stone fruit trees/shrubs in our yard, including sour cherry bushes, apricots trees, and plum trees. This past spring the blossoms on these shrubs and trees browned, and many of the younger branches died. We only got a fraction of the fruit that we usually do, but the fruit that […]
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Question: What is getting into our garden and eating these young cornstalks? Answer: Marjorie Peronto, Extension Educator It looks like damage from a critter, perhaps a woodchuck, who sits on its haunches and eats the stalks, making a mess and leaving evidence. If you do not have fencing around your garden, I suggest you consider […]
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Question: My somerset seedless vine (about five years old) now has berries and they are getting some fatal disease. They start with a brown spot, then it progresses to a brown bullseye, then half the berry shrivels, then the whole thing is mummified. I suspect this is black rot, yet again, even after cutting back […]
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