April Garden Questions and Answers

Q. We would like a tree that won't grow too big and make an interesting addition in front of a gardening shed. Maximum height should be no more than 20 feet. And, of course, there are foundations, and water and sewer pipes in the area to consider. Do you have any suggestions?

A. The biggest problem with your request involves the 20-foot maximum height of any tree. As we all know, most trees grow much higher than this. You might consider a crape myrtle or flowering fruit tree. The latter may include a flowering plum or cherry. The problem with crape myrtles are that they are pretty common, very slow growing and look like they're dead in winter.

However, they are beautiful with flowers almost all summer. Flowering fruit trees are nice, but will have to be pruned yearly to keep them to 20 feet. Finally, there are a number of specimens that are more commonly seen as large shrubs. However, there are also tree versions of oleander, photinia and hopseed Dodonea).

Q. I bought this house last year, but really did not do anything and would like to this year. There is a section in the back yard that looks like there is plastic underneath the dirt, and it is full of weeds and yucky plants. What can I use to kill them and start from scratch?

A. Spray with a contact weed killer, such as RoundUp or Finale. Be aware that these are contact killers that will kill almost anything it touches. Both also work best in warm, dry weather. You may have to spray two or three times to kill all the weeds. Plastic will eventually disintegrate. However, you should try to rake or dig out any large pieces of plastic. I'm sure the previous homeowner put the plastic down in an attempt to keep weeds from sprouting. Today, there are more sophisticated weed fabrics that can be put down. However, I would recommend weed fabrics primarily for areas in which you don't want anything to grow.

Q. Our carrot seeds never seem to germinate even though we follow the planting instructions explicitly. What are we doing wrong? A. A crust will frequently form over the top layer of soil, making it impossible for the fine carrot seeds to break through. A trick is to mix radish seeds along with your carrot seeds when you sow. Radishes germinate faster and they'll push through the soil, forging the way for the slower-germinating carrot seeds. Within three or four weeks, the radishes will be ready to harvest. You can pull any before that time if they are crowding the young carrots.

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