Gardern letters

Southern Living, Feb 2003

Editor's Notebook

In my ever so humble opinion, no rational gardener should be without nun's orchid (Phaius tankervilliae). Unlike cattleya and other fussy orchids, this terrestrial one (meaning that it grows in the ground and not in trees) is easy, easy, easy. You can grow it outdoors in Central and South Florida. Elsewhere, it makes a great houseplant, thriving in bright, indirect light. It combines very handsome, large, pleated leaves with tall spikes of showy blossoms in late winter and spring. The petals are creamy white outside and dusty rose inside, while the "lips" are striped with rose-purple. Nun's orchid is available from greenhouses, but mine started as a division I got from Senior Photographer Van Chaplin. It quickly grew into a beautiful plant I keep by my bedroom window. Last week, Van told me his nun's orchid had died, and he asked if I would give him a division of mine. Sorry, man, I'd like to help, but that's just not my habit. -STEVE BENDER

I have a 10-year-old wisteria that's lush and green but never blooms. What's the problem? Also, when is the best time to cut it back?

MARTHA R. JOHNSON * GLENCOE, ALABAMA

There are several keys to getting a wisteria to bloom. First, plant it in full sun. Second, never fertilize it. Third, prune it correctly. In late winter, while the vine is still leafless, prune back all side shoots growing from the main branches to six buds. Then in summer, pinch out the tips of runners.

We've fertilized our azaleas and mulched them with oak leaves, but they still look puny. Any recommendations?

JILL C. MASON

LITHIA, FLORIDA

A few years ago, we might have suggested steroids, but that was before mandatory testing. The first thing to consider is the type of azaleas you have. Large Southern Indica Hybrids, such as 'Formosa' and 'Pride of Mobile,' will do much better in your area of Central Florida than the smaller Kurume Hybrids. Next, tend to the soil. Azaleas like rich, moist, acid, well-drained soil that contains a lot of organic matter such as compost, pine bark, sphagnum peat moss, and chopped leaves. If your azaleas are small, consider lifting them from the ground this month, amending the soil, and then replanting. Before setting them in the ground, use a pencil or knife to loosen and spread out the roots, which might otherwise stay in a tight ball and never go into the surrounding soil. Plant your azaleas so the top of the root ball is just even with the soil surface. Sprinkle a handful of azalea-and-camellia fertilizer around each plant, water, and then mulch with bark or pine straw.

I am trying to establish a new stand of grass. Is it necessary to get rid of the weeds and bad grass that are currently taking over my yard? Also, what grasses do well in my area of East Texas?

CHASE PALMER

MARSHALL, TEXAS

Before establishing a new lawn, you'll want to kill the old grass and weeds. Wait until the lawn greens up this spring, and then spray it with Roundup according to label directions. After the grass turns brown, cut it as low as possible. Use a hard rake to remove as much of the old grass as you can and also to loosen the soil. Good grasses for East Texas include Bermuda, Zoysia, and centipede. Bermuda and centipede can be seeded or sodded in spring. Zoysia should be sodded.

Tip of the Month

Here's an idea to keep deer from devouring your shrubs. Drape chicken wire over the plants. Allow the foliage to grow through the holes. The deer will nibble down to the wire and stop. You won't have to prune anymore, as the deer will do it for you.

JUDITH NORMAN

WESLACO, TEXAS

Tips of the Month are ideas readers say work for them. We do not test them. Submit tips on a postcard with your name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address to Garden Tips, Southern Living, P.O. Box 523, Birmingham, AL 35201 or by e-mail to southernliving@customersvc.com. For each published tip you will receive $25.