Unfortunately, it is no longer possible for me to answer personal gardening questions. Many of your questions have already been answered in the some 2,500 articles published on the blog. To check, do a search via the Search box.
How to reach Larry Hodgson, the Laidback Gardener
3177 Milleret
Quebec City, Quebec (Canada)
G1X 1N6
Telephone: (418) 650-2455
Your blog is treat for amateur gardeners like me!
Just want to check if you’re accepting guest posting contribution?
Let me know. I’d love to get featured on this awesome blog to share my experience on gardening.
You truly are exceptional since you have a remarkable ability for motivating others with only a few words.
I am enjoying your site — especially your article about sweet woodruff — and hope to return a small favor to help make your site even better.
Just an editorial note: “>>I’ve has<< written over 60 gardening books over the last 35 years. Here are a few of the most popular ones."
On this page: https://laidbackgardener.blog/books/
Also, perhaps consider using "more than" for the first use of "over" to avoid 2 overs in one sentence?
I understand if you wish to delete this comment after reading — it is somewhat boring.
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Just posted a question today. Not sure if it was answered.
Don’t expect immediate answers from this site. I’m just one person and this is essentially a volunteer job I have to fit in around a busy work schedule.
My homegrown tomatoes are bland tasting, What can I do?
Probably too much water. Water well, but only when the soil is dry to the touch.
Hello Larry,
I wonder if you could share your thoughts in your blog on Calluna vulgaris and Erica carnea as plants to grow in an urban/ city garden facing south east(backyard) or north west. Are these hardy for montreal and what other plants marry well with these?
Calluna might be, erica less so, but they’ll need protection. There just isn’t enough snow in Montreal to protect them. They do fine in colder Quebec City. I love the idea, though, so I’ve added it to my “to do” list. Expect a blog about it, although probably not until fall.
Just came across your blog looking for info on I overwintering fuchsia. Can’t wait to try this this winter! Please sign me up for future blog posts.
Much appreciated,
Irén
Edmonton, Alberta
Hi Irén,
To automatically receive the daily Laidback Gardener blog, go to : http://www.laidbackgardener.blog.
At the bottom of the page on the right, you’ll see a button labelled “Follow”. All you have to do is to click on it and fill in your email address.
Good reading and good gardening!
Larry Hodgson
The Laidback Gardener
3177 rue Milleret
Quebec City, QC Canada
laidbackgardener.blog
Hi, I have failed miserably!! I planted (first timer) broccoli and Brussels sprouts in my lovely raised horse trough beds and within minutes-nay seconds!!- they were eaten to the quick by nasty, nefarious grubs, the evil Mums were white moth-like creatures… I’m crushed- almost as much as I crushed each one of those grubs- Between thumb and finger only to see ten more crop up in their stead the following day!! Then I brought out the big guns- Neem spray!!- they would have guffawed off their little bloody mouths weren’t so full of the leaves of my veg.
Help!!!
Love your post by the way. When you turn up sleeping on your chair it lifts my quarantined heart.
Rachel Carnes
I have pics but they’re too tragic to post.
?
Try spraying with BTK: an organic pesticide that kills caterpillars and only caterpillars. And regularly look under leaves and squash any clusters of yellow eggs you see. That should help. Or… exclude the pests by covering the plants with floating row cover. Info here: https://laidbackgardener.blog/2018/05/18/the-perfect-insect-barrier/
I found two dead rats in my rain barrel and i had already watered part of my garden with this stinky and dirty water. Is this water harmful for the vegetables that I used it on and can I still eat them?
Cordially,
Luc Boivin
Not harmful at all to the plants. Clean any vegetables thoroughly and, if possible, cook them before eating.
We have Queen annes lace taking over our lawn. Do you know of a cure?
You’d probably have to spot treat with a herbicide or pull it out. Make sure you mow it down before it blooms or the seeds will lead to more plants.
Hello, I live in the Bitterroot valley of Western Montana. The last few years I’ve had a tiny weed??, which I just identified on a plant identification app as Thymus vulgaris L. This has tiny leaves and us EVERYWHERE! My carrot seedlings are getting choked out, and it’s in literally every vegetable bed ( I have lots of raised beds). Can you help me as to how to get rid of it? The roots are very long and thread like. I have a picture but don’t know how to attach it for you. Thanks!
Write me an email at laidbackgardener@gmail.com. You can join a photo to that. I’d rather identify the plant before making any suggestions.
Finally, a post that addresses my question! However, I still need clarification. Will any male Actinidia kiwi plant pollenate any female Actinidia? For example, I have an Actinidia delicious ‘Jenny’ and our local garden center has male Actinidia…Black Beauty. Will the Black Beauty pollinate the Jenny?
First, I’m going to assume you mean ‘Arctic Beauty’, which is indeed a male. I don’t know of any cultivar called ‘Black Beauty’.
That said, no, it won’t work. The two plants must be of the same species. ‘Jenny’ is an A. deliciosa cultivar and will need a male A. deliciosa as a pollinator. ‘Arctic Beauty’ is an A. kolomitka cultivar and will only pollinate female A. kolomitka varieties.
I have an old growth redwood whose trunk is now growing into the gutters on my cottage and the trunk is about 1″ from the side of the house. I won’t cut it down ever, so am saving $ to renovate the cottage by removing the an addition where this is happening. Question what are the signs I should look for to begin this process, how long can I wait?
There is no danger until the trunk does start to touch the building (unless it sways in the wind: the lower part of a larger tree might not). You could easily have a few years of peace. A fairly mature redwood trunk is slow to thicken.
Molto interessante e con informazioni precise! Grazie.
Larry, I love your books and your articles but this blog is so full of ads and distracting third-party junk that I just won’t repost anything I read here. Too bad.
Sorry this has annoyed you. If you copy the blog, the ads won’t follow. They’re put in by WordPress and I have no control over them.
Hi, I have a succulent that resembles a Sedum burrito, but with yellow flowers. Is this a Sedum burrito of yellow flowers or another species? I ask because I also have a Sedum Burrito with pink (to purple) flowers. I uploaded the photos to help the identification. Here is the link:
https://imgur.com/a/9ByLhFd
Thank you!
This is not Sedum burrito: its leaves are almost spoon-shaped rather than jellybean like. My guess is that it is a x Sedeveria, that is, a hybrid between a Sedum and a Echeveria, possibly the cultivar ‘Blue Elf’.
RIght! Thanks for the help! By the way, can you identify one cactus of mine?
I was just reading your article about the red ball cactus. I have a number of them with good sized babies. I want to try grafting but I don’t want my plants doomed to an early death on top of a hylocereous plant. I have plenty of babies to work with and would like to try grafting to different varieties of green cactus. Can you recommend some types of green cactus that would be more likely to survive long term.
Just about any green desert type cactus would work fine. Usually columnar type cactus are used, like Trichocereus spachianus or one of the Cereus, as you won’t necessarily want the rootstock to be plant that produces a lot of offsets.
I can at least try if you send me photo at horticom@horticom.ca.
Hello, how can I sign up to receive blog updates via email? Thank you!
You should see a “Follow” button on the bottom right-hand side of the page. You can click that to follow.
Dear Laidback Gardner,
I found your site very informative. I never gave it a second thought about rhubarb, tomato, & potato leaves & stems, never a problem. But I was a little leary about monkshood & foxglove (certainly no seeds from the latter!) Quick question– what about lupines (no seeds but stems & leaves)?
Thanks so much for your reply,
Diana Pozzie
P.S. I live on near the Washington State peninsula close to Vancouver Island.
Lupine leaves too can be composted.
Hi Laidback Gardener, I was perusing the web and found your site, perhaps you could advise me.
I’ve have a christmas tree in my garden for the past 34 years, planted on our very first christmas here at my home. however last year I noticed that a sort of bindweed plant had completely taken over the top 5ft of the tree and upon removal of the bindweed the whole section of christmas tree had died. is it best to cut off the dead material in hope of regrowth or is it too late as the tree seems intent on spreading sideways from the lower section.
Any advice would be welcome and great site 🙂
Cheers,
Scott
Yes, you can certainly cut out the dead material to see what happens. You’ll probably see, after a year or two, new, upward-pointing growths. Read more here: https://laidbackgardener.blog/2015/07/12/when-a-conifer-loses-its-head/
Just loved your writing on root competition and dry shade!
Was in Quebec in 2014 but live in Canberra, Australia.
We have 4 spaces for birch trees – Jacquemontii.
I want 2 of the spaces to have multi-stemmed trees.
As I’m 76 & time is running out, I was thinking of buying three 2metre birches for each of the multi-stemmed holes. Would that give them faster growth than the 1 metre trees?
You could definitely do that. However, their trunks wouldn’t be as close together as in usual clumped birches. Are you sure you can’t find larger specimens of clumped birches locally, perhaps checking with a tree nursery?
No, I cannot find clumped/multi-stemmed birches available on any site in Australia. Big market opportunity!
I know a sapling can be cut off near ground level… but I should have done that years ago. What is it the Chinese/Japanese say about tree planting? The best time to plant a tree is (10?) years ago.
So I will follow the multi plant in the same hole method.
Found this clip which is useful, except as the lady is wearing no gloves, she may need another manicure!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=241I34byato
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Understand microclover is invasive and squeezes out weeds and even competes with grass. ? Can you grow wildflowers within an area planted with microclover, or bulbs such as daffodils?
It generally mixes with other plants, just like ordinary white clover (of it which it is just a variety) does. Certainly you can grow it with wildflowers and bulbs.
Dear Laidback Gardner,
Thank you so much for taking the trouble to share your expertise. As a gardener whose rhubarb fails to fail, despite my consistent neglect, I have been anxious to be able to use the leaves but had been affected by the no-compost myth. Also wondering whether I can line hanging baskets with the leaves? Will they last long enough for the plants to develop nice root systems to hold themselves together? Actually I’m trying it. Also wondering about using the leaves to basket up my dendrobium orchid. Going for that as well.
Happy gardening / relaxing!
Margaret.
PS I’m in Hastings, south coast of UK
Sorry, those leaves won’t last long in a watered container. Rhubarb leaves decompose very quickly. Same goes for the orchid. You’d need something longer lasting! So learn not to be affected by the no-compost myth and feed them to your compost pile. Best of luck!
If my Xmas tree has budded and even grown cones, is there a chance it could be replanted.
Thank you
Pat
If it’s a cut tree… that would be very unusual. You could always try, but I’ve never heard of such a thing. Conifers just don’t root from old wood.
Thank you so much for the article on hardy chrysanthemums! I worked in a nursery for several years and there is a lot of confusion about these plants; I am near Brandon, MB and even the Morden series is not always hardy here. It’s great to find I have other choices to experiment with.
Where can I mail order morifium garnet mums? I live in New York.
That would be Morden Garnet. Honestly, I don’t know. I haven’t been able to find a New York nursery that carries it. Sorry!
Thank you for your reply, but if I weed it mercilessly as you suggest, will it eventually disappear. And by the way, if you are as fascinated by gout weed as I am, have you noticed that it grows underground until it hits the central region of another plant and then grows up, thus surrounding itself, so to speak, with plant armour?
Fascinating, perhaps, but I don’t like goutweed!
Thank you for the helpful info. on gout weed, which I am presently battling in my garden. I am curious about whether I can rehabilitate the 3 cubic yards of gout weed infested soil I removed by placing it in a raised annual bed with no possibility of escape.
If there is no possibility of escape, the plants ought to remain where you put them. Goutweed rarely self-sows.