Ficus trees outside are staying thin

QuestionThank you for your expertise. I live in Southern California. I had about 100 ficus trees (approx 6 feet tall) planted along my property line about two years ago. They were supposed to thicken and become a th

pruning

QuestionHi, I have at various spots in my yard, an endless summer hydrangea, a rose of sharon, a butterfly bush and some very very tall rhododendron. The hydrangea is gorgeous but lots of the branches seem to

orange flowered shrub

QuestionI am looking for an orange flowered shrub. I live in New Jersey and bought one several years ago. The gentleman told me it was a witches broom. I lost it during transplanting and can not find the

Black powdery substance on shrubs

QuestionDear Mr. Gulliksen: Last summer my husband and I transplanted three healthy holly bushes from an area in our yard to a new bed near our porch. We planted them in soil and filled the bed with a chunk b

Holly Tree/Shrub

QuestionI live in Southern Illinois. My soil is very acidic and does not drain welll. I have a holly tree. Very suddenly (at least to my eyes) several branches of leaves turned yellow, then brown, then were obviousl

newly planted camellia

QuestionI planted a Mrs. K. Sawada camellia in my front yard (in Tallahassee, Florida) about a month ago. Unfortunately, I am a novice gardener, and I think I might have killed it by not digging a big enough hole to

Forsythias not blooming

QuestionHi. We have a row of five forsythias bushes. One bush is very old, probably as old as the house, 50 years. The other four I planted myself about eight years ago. One by one they hav

disease on holly bushes

Questioni lost a holly bush last year to some kind of disease/insect that produces brown spots on the leaves and then the leave evenually turns all brown and shivels up. I sprayed the bush with and in

Hollandia broom

QuestionDear Mr. Gulliksen, Im looking for advice on trimming and pruninng my Hollandia broom (Hollandia cytisus). I moved into a house just over a year ago and the bush has grown quite a bit since I moved in

Pruning Leland Cypress

QuestionEdward, I recently planted Leland Cypress trees in December 2005 which are approximately 5-6 feet tall, and would like to keep them pruned so they grow no wider than 6 feet. I understand this can be done,

Meyer Lemon Trees, Leaf Drop

QuestionHi, Ed, I purchased 2, two foot tall Meyer Lemon Trees from a local greenhouse last October 2005. They came a bit pot-bound, so I transplanted each into a bigger terracotta pot. Watered them once a wee

spruce and juniper pruning

QuestionHi Edward, We have spruce trees and juniper shrubs that are extremely overgrown. How far up from the ground can I trim around the bottom of the spruce trees and how far in for both the spruce & junipe

Cedar Hedge

QuestionI have an old cedar hedge that I have neglected. It is approximately 4-5 m high and 50 m long (surrounds my back yard). It now has one or two thin spots and is bending over at points. I have read that

trees

QuestionI have several trees on my property and I do not know how to identify them. I think they are firs.They are turning brown from the bottom and up towards the outer branches. Can you tell me of any literature a

transplanting burning bushes

QuestionMy daughter is going to dig up her burning bushes in a week or two. I want to transplant them to my yard but it will be two days after she digs them up before I can get th

EVERGREEN PROBLEM

QuestionEd Hi I have an evergreen fir tree, its about 6ft in height. Lat year something happened to it and the very top and some branches from the top down died. Can I cut these off without doing any damage to the

Oleander not flowering much

QuestionI have 2 Oleander shrubs that are about 2-3 yrs old and each winter the leaves turn brown and eventually fall off in the spring. The leaves do grow back, but the shrubs dont flower much if any. I

pink blue spruce

QuestionI bought a house four years ago. The back of my lot has 30 foot tall blue spruce trees. My rear neighbor has a snow plowing and landscaping business. He stores salt and chemicals 25 feet from my trees. The r

Trimming Arborvitaes

QuestionHi. I live in central Washington, Yakima to be exact. I recently bought a house with a row of arborvitaes along the back fence. The previous owner left them unattended during a rough winter

rusted pine trees

QuestionI have a pine tree, I dont know exactly the name of the tree. It became rusted after a year. Do you know why and how to cure it? Many thanks! AnswerGinger, I am not sure what you mean by rusted. If you are