Category: Article
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Disease Questions
Fire blight : On pears (but applies to apples too) Return to: You Asked Us Question Topics Victoria Chapter page
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Growing Gaura
How can I grow gaura successfully? Oenothera lindheimeri, gaura This is a sun loving, drought tolerant perennial with a long tap root. Its flower stalks are dotted with pink or white, sometimes both, small flowers that wave in the breeze and are loved by some pollinators. Because they dislike wet soil, their growing site must…
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Fire Blight on Pear Tree
My established pear tree had a bad case of fire blight this past spring. It has been pruned but some leaves have turned black. Do I prune these out and what else can be done? Fire blight is a serious disease of plants in the Rosacea family and include trees, shrubs and landscape plantings. Quince,…
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Flowers Blooming in July
As a Vancouver Park Board gardener shared with me the other day, all plants are now showing some form of stress because of the ongoing heat, relentless sunshine, and drought. “I’m tired of only watering,” he said. Plants have various ways of protecting themselves from relentless sun: having leaves with waxy surfaces; closing their leaf…
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June Is Abloom
Roses, roses everywhere, but ne’er a scent of fragrance. How did it happen that roses have become more and more beautiful while all the while becoming less and less fragrant? Perhaps we have to go back to the heirloom varieties. Everywhere, roses are blooming and climbing—tea roses, floribunda roses, prickly roses such as Rosa rogusa,…
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A May Full of Perfect Flowers and Pollen Cones
Do we have enough terms for green? Spring green. Lime green. Mint green. Olive green. Sage green. Forest green. Chartreuse. Moss green. Sea green. Pea green. We need them right now, because our delayed spring has suddenly burst into the greens of summer. And whites. And pinks. And reds. And purples. And yellows. In fact,…
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Broombusters
The Basics About Scotch Broom for Gardeners. From the Broombusters Invasive Plant Society As Master Gardeners, you understand how each species of plant has unique needs and certain growth patterns. Let’s look at Scotch broom. It is a titan in the plant kingdom, and unfortunately, it is wreaking havoc on ecosystems all over the world.…
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Backyard Bounty by Linda Gilkeson: Book Review
OMG MGiT Mary Trainer reviews Backyard Bounty by author Linda Gilkeson, published in 2018 by New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island, B.C. Cultivate a green thumb…..or make yours greener by Mary Trainer, Master Gardener Program Participant, 2022 Book Review Oh sure, it’s easy,’ they told me, the newbie vegetable gardener. “You throw some seeds in the…
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Shaded balcony
March 2023 The balcony in my new condo is in 24-hour shade. Can you suggest a few plants or shrubs that could handle both living in pots and constant shade? There are several shrubs, evergreens and plants that will grow in containers in full shade but there are some challenges to overcome in this environment.…