Strange
Behavior For Red Leaf Ja
panes?
Maple
Dear Plant Doctor: My wife and
I purchased a red leaf Japanese
Maple in early April of this year.
The tree was approximately 4.5 feet
tall when it was planted. The nurs
eryman told us that this tree was a
slow-growing tree and rarely needed
to be pruned.
In just four months, the tree has
grown to 8 feet tail and has a very
thin main stem! In addition, the
plant has three other shoots (at least
two feet long) that are growing
straight up. We have tied all the
shoots to a stake because the shoots
fall over if not staked.
Is this normal? What should we
do? ? Sunset Beach
ANSWER: Sounds like strange
behavior for a Japanese Maple. Most
selected clones or grafted cultivars of
Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) arc
small, slow-growing trees. However,
I have found that great variability
(for vigor, shape, size, color, etc...)
exists for open pollinated seedling
trees. I suspect that you have pur
chased a seedling tree or a tree that
the grafted top has died, leaving only
the seedling rootstock.
Cheek with the nurseryman to see
if you purchased a seedling or a
grafted plant Grafted Japanese
maples can be quite expensive, and it
is common to see plants valued in the
hundreds or even thousands of dol
lars Seedling plants are generally in
expensive when compared to the
grafted plants Be advised that no one
can guarantee what seedling plants
will look like when they mature, but
in general. Japanese maples do not
require much shaping or pruning.
Dear Plant Doctor: i nave a
problem with a weed (sample en
closed) This weed grows in my
lawn and garden It is difficult to
pull-up What can I do to control
this problem plant'' ? Sunset Beach
ANSWER: You have enclosed
one of my favorite planLs of the N C.
coast. The Pennywort. Dollarweed.
Coastal Plain Pennywort. Watet
Pennywort and Whorled Pennywort
(genus HydrocotyU) are all native
residents of sandy, wet. salty soils
along the coast.
The round umbrella-like leaf of
this evergreen perennial plant
spreads rapidly through sandy soils
by rhizomes Pennywort is beauti
fully adapted to the sandy soils of
the coast, and I would encourage
anyone with beachfront property to
cultivate and not kill this plant
Pennywort docs a great )ob of hold
ing the -.a fid iB pta* and moke* an
attractive ground cover by itself.
A member of the same plant fam
ily as the carrot, parsley, celery, and
dill, the pennywort is often hated by
lawn aficionados Effective control
of this weed in most warm season
grass lawns can be accomplished by
multiple applications of Ortho
Weed-B-Gon Weed Killer. 33Plus.
Wccd-B-Gon for Southern lawns, or
similar broadleaf herbicides contain
ing 2.4D. mecoprop and dicamba
Herbicides are most effective when
the weed is actively growing
Directed applications of Roundup
or Finale should control this plant in
plant beds. Be careful not to allow
the herbicide to contact any desir
able plants Multiple applications
will be required. Follow all label in
structions and precautions of any
pesticide you use in your lawn or
garden
Dear Plant Doctor: I started my
lawn in late May with a centipede
carpctgrass mixture. In mid-July 1
spread Scotts Turfbuilder and the
grass was a deep green for several
weeks. However, I am now getting
several patches of grass looking like
the enclosed sample. What is the
problem?
When is u ukiy to put down an
nual ryegrass? What about ' weed
and feed" for centipedcgrass? If you
Shady Oak
Florist
i Floral Delivery & Wire Service
1-800-352-5375
(910)579-6715
Hwy. 179 (Between Sunset
& Ocean Isle)
C3 Mellom"
ALL STAR
FLAGS
1-800-868-FLAG
Flags ? Banners
Pennanis
Holiday Flags & Banners
FREE Catalog & Delivery
101 Aviators Lane
Burgaw, NC 28425
Catherine Moore, Owner
could offer any pointers, it would be
greatly appreciated. ? Wilmington
I
ANSWER: The grass you en
closed for identification is a mixture
of smooth crabgrass (Digiiaria is
chaemum) and large crabgrass
(Digitaria sanpinalis). A centipede
carpctgrass lawn mixture is a great
choice for a low-maintenance lawn.
However, you will be limited on
what you can use to control crab
gTo55 ill thiS inwiigi d.V> IIUXiUTC.
Pulling crabgrass out by hand is
the best solution. Other methods of
removing crabgrass are unaccept
able. For example. Vantage
(sethoxydim) is an excellent herbi
cide that will kill all grasses except
centipedegrass (so all your carpet
grass would be killed by this herbi
cide). Crabgrass herbicides for use
in bermuda or zoysiagrass, like MS
MA or DSMA, will kill both cen
tipede and carpetgrass.
The only practical chemical con
trol for crabgrass in a centipede-car
pcigiass mixiuic is to prevent crab
grass seed from germinating in the
early spring and summer by the use
preemergent herbicides. Consider
using preemergent hcrbicides prod
ucts that contain one or more of the
following products: bcnefin, oryza
lin, bensulide, DCPA (dacthal), or
pendimethalin.
Since the uses of these herbicides
vary so much with the type of grass
species, be sure the formulation you
purchase is labeled for centipede
and carpetgrass lawns. Preemergent
herbicides are best applied in the
spring when soil temperatures die
approximately SSF or during dog
wood bloom.
"Weed and Feed" type fertilizers
do not generally perform well on
centipedegrass lawns for two rea
sons. First, these products must be
applied early in the spring for maxi
mum herbicide effect. Early spring
fertilization of centipedegrass leads
to disease problems and early stand
loss. Second, the rate and distribu
tion of the herbicide is usually insuf
ficient to give acceptable levels of
weed control.
Read next week's CuiutVifi to itaiTi
about overseeding, I will be dedicat
ing an entire column to the topic.
Send your gardening questions
and comments to the Plant Doctor,
P.O. Box 109, Bolivia NC 28422.
3-xottt tJJie.
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