Wintertime Tips For
Home Gardeners
Zeroscaping is no landscaping.
Xeroscaping denotes a landscape
that utilizes plants that require very
little or no supplementary water.
There is a difference between the
two words and their meanings.
Xerophytes are plants specially
adapted to life with little water.
Cactus, sage, creosote hush and oth
er western plants are most often
stereotyped as xerophytic plants.
You can xeroscape your land
scape with xerophytic plants native
to eastern North Carolina. These
plants are not cacti hut are simply
plants native to the deep sandy soils
characteristic to the area. Longleaf
pine. Southern wax myrtle, yucca
and yaupon holly are just a few of
the hundreds of native plants suit
able for the home xeroscape.
* * *
Do you want dwarf crabs in your
garden?
A new series of dwarf crabapple
trees will offer spring flowering and
fall fruit color in a compact 10- to
12-foot package. The Round Table
series of dwarf crabapples have a
mature height 50 percent less than
traditional standard crabapple vari
eties.
Some of the new dwarf crabapple
varieties commercially available are
Camelot, Canterbury, Cinderella,
Excaliber, Guinevere, Hamlet, Ivan
hoe, King Authur, Lancelot and Sir
Galahad. These trees arc hardy to
minus-30 degrees Fahrenheit and
disease-resistant.
? * *
What are your predictions about
future trends in home gardening?
Some university and commercial
marketing analysts believe that fu
ture gardeners will want:
?user-friendly landscape spaces;
?small intensive gardening spaces;
?nightlighting(i.e., nightscaping);
?more use of wildflowers;
?dwarf fruit trees and edible berries
in the landscape;
?more herbs for their ornamental
and culinary uses;
?ornamental grass gardens;
THE
PLANT
DOCTOR
C. BRUCE
WILLIAMS
Extension Area
Turf Specialist
?more fragrant plants in the garden;
?a revival of old-timey plants;
?gardens to attract birds and wild
life;
?greater emphasis on cut-flower
gardens;
?reduced size of turf areas;
?utilization of lawn grass alterna
tives;
?water conservation for the land
scape.
Bolting bulbs?
Warm fall weather will cause ear
ly planted spring bulbs to bolt. Now
is the best time for eastern North
Carolina gardeners to prepare beds
for bulbs.
Bulbs planted between Thanks
giving and Christmas often perform
best.
Tulips do not perennialize well in
eastern North Carolina. Treat them
as an annual spring flower. If you
want good perennial bulb flowering
plants, then go with daffodils.
Good soil preparation for bulb
beds is essential for success. Till soil
as deeply as possible to eliminate
any compaction problems. Incor
porate topsoil, a good measure of
compost, phosphorus and dolomitic
limestone into the plant bed.
Utilize an NCDA Soil Test rec
ommendation for the appropriate
amount of limestone and phospho
rus (soil test information can be ob
tained from any N.C. Cooperative
Extension Service office). In the ab
sence of a soil test use two cups of
8-8-8 and two cups of dolomitic
limestone per KM) square feet of
bed.
Plant bulbs in the desired arrange
ment. Remember different bulbs
prefer different planting depths.
Cap off the bulb bed with two to
three inches of pine straw, pine
nuggets or other organic mulch.
More detailed information can be
obtained in N.C. Cooperative Exten
sion Horticulture Information leaf
lets No. 551 and No. 552.
? ? ?
Now is a good time to winterize
all your gardening equipment. You
can really save yourself a lot of trou
ble by draining the gas tank on
tillers, chain saws, blowers, etc., and
then cranking the engine up and run
ning remaining fuel out of the lines.
Residues will form in the carburetor
during the winter and clog up the
works next spring. Drain engine oil
and replace with fresh oil.
Next spring I think you'll find
your engines start much quicker and
last longer.
* * *
What to do with all those contain
er mums?
Plant 'em.
Mums make a great perennial
border and most will start blooming
by late August. The varieties used in
pot culture will not always perform
as well as the older garden varieties
but I have been pleasantly surprised
just how well they do perform.
Good soil fertility and water is the
key to having good mums, but they
are will survive and perform ade
quately under less than optimum
conditions.
? # *
If you have overseeded your lawn
with rye grass, consider a light fer
tilization in early December. Ap
plication of 6 pounds to 8 pounds of
8-8-8 or similar fertilizer per 1,000
square feet will help green up your
rye grass before really cold weather
arrives. In normal years, additional
fertilization will not be required un
til February.
? * *
Did you have green lawn measles
last spring?
Brunswick Town Holiday Concerts To Feature Traditional Music
Three concerts at Brunswick
Town Dec. 12 will feature tradition
al interpretive period music as part
of the Brunswick Town/Fort Ander
son Christmas Celebration.
Concerts will be at 2 p.m. by the
Recordaires ; 2:30 p.m. by the Wind
pipes: ; and 3 p.m., by Musical Plea
sure.
Also part of the celebration, cos
tumed guides will offer lifestyle
tours, taking visitors through the ru
ins of St. Phillip's Church and into a
Civil War encampment behind Fort
Anderson. Half-hour tours begin at
1:15 through 3:45 p.m.
At 3:45, visitors will gather at St.
Phillip's ruins for a traditional ves
per service.
In addition, from 1-3:45 p.m. at
Brunswick's colonial kitchen gar
den, children from the local 4-H
groups will discuss the garden and
its use in colonial times. Inside the
visitor center, light refreshments will
be served.
Adn ission to the holiday festivi
ties is free. Brunswick Town State
Historic Site is between Southport
and Wilmington off N.C. 133, adja
cent to Orton Plantation. For more
information, call the site at (910)
371-6613.
The Brunswick Town celebration
is among Christmas celebrations at
all state historic sites administered
by the N.C. Department of Cultural
Resources.
Festivities in eastern North Caro
lina are also scheduled at Historic
Bath, the Caswell Neuse site near
Kinston. Historic Edenton, the Eliz
abeth II in Manteo, Somerset Place
in Creswell and Historic Halifax.
Come In For The Best Bargains of the Holiday...
North Carolina
Grown
Christmas Trees
Are Here!
Florist quality poinsettias and
wreaths at discounted prices-plus
other new Christmas
items too!
GIFT GIVING SPECIALS
20% OFF 40% OFF
Bird Feeders 1 Squirrel Feeders
$4.44
-1.00^
3.44^
String-A-Long"
Clear 50-Ligfit Set
(1 1*06/12-192) (14242)
59
l/2-ln. x 450-ln. Scotch8
Magic " Tape
(II 08/12 196X104)
4 Leg Tree Stand
fatiMSupto7-ll la? and 4/>-in trunk tfamMW
<1 1 -06091) (95^4464)
You'll find everything you need ot. . .
CLAYTON'S LAWN & GARDENl
Hwy. 130, Holden Beach Road.Holden Beach ? 842-7727
Open: Monday-Saturday 8 AM-5PM
Green lawn measles is a malady
that I use to describe lawns with
dozens of small weeds in the early
spring.
The condition is evident only in
dormant warm season grasses that
have not been overseeded with rye
grass. During the spring months,
these weeds are often difficult to kill
since they are nearly mature and
close to setting seed.
A severe case of green lawn
measles can weaken your lawn and
greatly slow the transition to the
warm season grass as weather
warms.
Green lawn measles can he easily
treated by using simazine (Princeps)
or atrazine (Purge) herbicides ac
cording to label instructions. Use
this treatment only on lawns of
warm season grasses and those not
overseeded. A small herbicide appli
cation in December will greatly re
duce the herbicide needed this
spring.
Send gardening comments or
questions to The Plant Doctor, P.O.
Box 109, Bolivia. N.C. 2X422.
Please send a SASfc if requesting a
reply or information.
Couch of
'Glass .
UNISEX SALON
welcomes
IPatsy
formerly of London Hair Co
HOLIDAY SPECIALS
r PERMS
$5?? OFF includes haircut
DESIGNER NAILS
Reg. $45 NOW s35
Hwy. 179, near airport
Ocean Isle (910)579-1025
Kxpires 1-2-94
K&D MFG. C$SKG
Quality Clothing at Outlet Prices
Holiday Sale Continues
Pant Sets, Skirt Sets, Knit Tops
Whatever you need for
dress or casual activities!
We will be open 10 to 4 pm, Fri. & Sat.,
Nov. 26 & 27 for your shopping needs.
Toddlcr-16 ? Adults Stnall-32W ? Monday-Saturday 10-4
Mulberry St.. Shaltotte. 754-2260 ? (Across from Dept. of Transportation!
Mulberry St.-Located between Coastal Drugs & Kirby's
Holiday Book c?>hare
'Tis the Season To Read
Please donate new and like-new books
to low-income families in Brunswick
County.
The Brunswick County Literacy Council r
will collect these books dropped off by Friday, Dec. 10 to add
to the Christmas baskets delivered By the Volunteer Infor
mation Center.
DROP OFF POINTS
?Union Primary School
?Seaside Methodist Church-Seaside
?St. James Episcopal-Shallotte
?Sacred Heart Church-Southport
?Calabash, Long Beach, Leland, Boiling
Spring Lakes and Yaupon Beach Town
Halls.
?Brunswick Community College
?Brunswick County Literacy Council
Office
Share The Gift of Reading
754-7323
'Tis the season to shop at. . .
TS
CardsSGlfU^"" w
910-579-8984
Dept. 56 collectible Lighted Houses in the Dicken's
Village, Nor*Vi Pole and New England
Lay-mvay noiv for Christmas!
Christmas Sweatshirts ? Tide Clocks ? Bird Feeders ?Stocking
Stuffers for Children ? Message Mugs ? Miniature Animals ?
Beach Boxed Christmas Cards ? Free Cut wrapping
Open daily Mon.-Sat. 10-5:30
Hwy. 904 between Ocean Isle and Sunset 22
_T~~ (m-M to Food l.ionl ? Seaside 1Z
USDA Choice
Beef Untrimmed
10-12 Lbs. Ave. (Sliced FREE)
Whole Sirfoin Tips
A
1.9
Jumbo Shrimp 5.99,
Lb.
USDA Beef Whole Untrimmed
10-12 Lbs. Avg. Sliced FREE!
Boneless Top Sirloin
Lb.
6.5 Oz. Assorted
Lay's
Potato
Chips
24 Oz.
Planters
jCocktail Nuts/Dry^
Roasted Peanuts
2 Liter - Diet Pepsi. Caffeine Ftcc
Pepsi. Caffeine Free Diet Pepsi,
Crystal Pepsi, Diet Crystal Pepsi,
Mt. Dew, Diet Mt. Dew
Pepsi Cola
$]09
2 Liter I ia r?rk -uo?. c.n.
7-Up. Diet 7-Up ?<? *?*?>?
r r\ Diet Ml. Dew
$1 09
? 3.49
, Prlccs In this ad good Friday, Nov. 26 thru Tuesday, Nov 30. 1993 ? FOOD LION will be closcd on Thanksgiving Day.