Gardening Interview Questions and Answers

1 :: Late last summer, despite ample water, the leaves on several limbs of my Japanese maple suddenly began wilting. Can I save the tree?

What you describe is a typical symptom of Verticillium wilt, a soil-borne fungal disease that affects the vascular systems of Japanese, Norway, silver, and sugar maples, as well as many other plants. Leaves will often turn yellow or brown and entire branches will die. In Diseases and Pests of Ornamental Plants, author Pascal P. Pirone states that in the early stages of the disease wilt symptoms are usually confined to single branches or to one side of the tree. Small plants or trees may die within a single season, but larger, mature trees may live for many years, or even recover from the disease under optimal conditions. Trees showing widespread and severe infection are unlikely to be saved. In cases where only a few branches are affected, the tree may be helped by regular watering and the application of a slow-release fertilizer around the base of the tree early in the growing season. Regular applications of fertilizer stimulate rapid growth and may result in the formation of a thick layer of sapwood that seals off the infected tissue. Diseased branches should be cut off well below the affected section and destroyed. Plants that are susceptible to Verticillium wilt should not be planted in soils known to be infected with the fungal disease.

0/5 Rating (0 vote)

Is This Answer Correct?    1 Yes 0 No

2 :: Earwigs seem to be eating everything in my garden. Are there any synthetic or natural controls?

Earwigs are omnivorous—they eat plants, other insects, and decaying organic matter—but the damage they cause to garden plants is usually negligible. In fact, they are predators and often help control populations of far more destructive plant feeders such as aphids, nematodes, and mites. Night-feeding earwigs are sometimes blamed for injury that other pests have caused, because they like to hide in damaged plant tissues during the day. There’s no reason to control earwigs unless you are sure they are responsible for unacceptable plant damage. In that case, you can keep them in check with insecticidal soap, which is available in most garden centers and hardware stores.

0/5 Rating (0 vote)

Is This Answer Correct?    1 Yes 0 No

3 :: How do you grow strelitzias indoors?

The most commonly grown strelitzia is Strelitzia reginae, commonly called bird-of-paradise. It produces brilliant, birdlike orange and purple flowers on top of long stalks of glossy greenish-blue foliage. These subtropical plants need a rich, well-drained soil containing a lot of organic matter. Place them in a brightly lit spot with temperatures of about 68 to 75 degrees during the day and night temperatures about 10 degrees cooler. During the growing season, allow the soil to dry out slightly and then water them well. Feed them with a dilute liquid fertilizer every two weeks. The plants like their foliage misted daily and year-round humidity levels of about 35 percent.

In the winter, the plants need a resting period. Keep them at about 55 degrees, decrease watering, and stop fertilizing.

Plants need to be potbound before they will flower, so don’t transplant them to a larger pot until the roots have filled up more than three-quarters of the soil area. Plants grown from seed take seven to eight years to flower. Those propagated by division take about four years.

0/5 Rating (0 vote)

Is This Answer Correct?    0 Yes 0 No

4 :: How do I take care of a Moses-in-the-cradle plant?

Moses-in-the-cradle (Tradescantia spathacea; formerly Rhoeo spathacea), also called boat lily and numerous other common names, is a member of the spiderwort family. It is prized for its dark metallic green leaves that have glossy purple undersides. Small white flowers are borne within purple, boat-shaped bracts (the cradle) that are formed in leaf axils. Indoor Plants, by George B. Briggs and Clyde L. Calvin, suggests that the plants need full sun and moderate humidity, temperature, and water. The plant does not require pruning but should be fertilized four to five times per year from April to August.

0/5 Rating (0 vote)

Is This Answer Correct?    0 Yes 0 No

5 :: I’m looking for a house plant that doesn’t need sunlight but gives off lots of fresh oxygen. What do you recommend?

All plants give off plenty of oxygen, and some help to remove pollutants from the air. While no plant will grow without any light, there are many that can be grown under fluorescent lights. Unfortunately, few flowering plants will grow or thrive under standard artificial lighting, so unless you purchase and install professional-quality grow lights, you’ll have to stick to foliage plants. Some plants that do well in low-light situations include: spider plant (Chlorophytum spp.), cast-iron plant (Aspidistra elatior), golden pothos (Epipremnum aureum), kangaroo vine (Cissus antarctica), grape ivy vine (Cissus rhombifolia), spotted evergreen plant (Aglaonema costatum), Chinese evergreen (Aglaonema commutatum), and snake plant (Sansevieria spp.). Many of these common indoor house plants can be purchased at your local garden center or greenhouse.

0/5 Rating (0 vote)

Is This Answer Correct?    0 Yes 0 No