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1:07	Boston.com Producer - Carol Stocker will be online shortly. Thank you for your questions.

1:53	Carol Stocker - I am Boston Globe garden writer CAROL STOCKER and I will be on line for the next hour to answer your gardening questions.

1:54	Carol Stocker - You can find out about local gardening events and our famous feature about WHAT TO DO IN THE GARDEN THIS WEEK by visiting my blog at boston.com/gardenblog.

1:54

[Comment From Ellen]
About 8 years ago, I planted an Asian inspired garden. This was done with the help of a hortoculturalist at my local garden center. At that time he recommended that we plant a Weeping Serpentine Katsura tree at the end or our main bed near the house. It is an unbelievably beautiful tree, but really too big for it's spot. Is there anything we can do, and can this tree be pruned without ruining it's appearance? Thanks.

2:08

Carol Stocker - That's an unusual question and an interesting one. Unfortunately, trees are genetically programmed to reach a certain size, which is why dwarf varieties are bred for those who need a miniature version. Garden centers often reccommend trees and shrubs that outgrow their locations, unfortunately, because they want to provide instant or quick gratification and most people don't even stay in their houses for eight years. This is regrettable. So your problem is not uncommon.
You have few options:
You could try to move the tree, but you probably don't have a place to put it and it would be expensive and could kill the tree.
You could try pruning it. This would only stave off the inevitable, as you can't top it off without ruining it so all you could do is cut back some of the side limbes while it continues to grow taller and harder to prune.
You could just admit your nursery gave you bad advice and replace the tree with something that does not get so big in that space. Once again you could move the tree to another part of your yard, or you could cut it down and kill it, or you could consult with a local nursery and not only ask them what it would cost to move it but also whether they would like to buy it from you and dig it up and remove it. That way you would get money rather than spend it. In your favor, this is a rare tree. Big trees are valuable to the right buyer. But not just any garden center could handle this because it requires big equipment and customers willing to spend thousands for a mature tree. I would try calling Silvan Nurseryh in Westport, MA., Weston Nurseries in Hopkinton, MA or twombley Nuirsery in Monroe, CT., as they all broker large trees. Start with them.

2:09	[Comment From Guest] Carol...I want to incorporate mums in to my mulch beds for fall. Is it better to just leave them in pots or can I plant them? If I plant them, will they come up next year or do I need to dig them up? Sorry - I know NOTHING about gardening!!!

2:12

Carol Stocker - Do not plant the mums as they will probably not survive until next year. Instead, save yourself wasted effort and set the pots in you beds and hide the bottom of the pots with mulch or leaves. This will also help anchor them from blowing over. Water them a lot and that will also keep them from tipping by adding weight and it will make the mum flowers last twice as long.

2:12	[Comment From Marc] Hi carol, I am going to be planting bulbs this weekend for my Mom - but - she has voracious squirrels; is there some kind of natural/organic "hot sauce" or "fear smell" liquid or spray to use that you can recommend to keep them out of her garden?

2:21

Carol Stocker - A timely question!
You can protect bulbs from rodents by adding a handful of fine crushed gravel to each planting hole on TOP of the bulb. Fine marble chips or sharp crushed road gravel is best. You can also buy commercial products for this but I use gravel from my parking area.
Some bulbs such a daffodils are poisonous so don't worry about them. This is why they have become the most popular bulb.
I also like to interplant bulbs with Fritillaria meleagris, which is a small inexpensive bulb that repells rodents. It is called checkered lily or snake head fritillary bcause the bell shaped flowers have an intriquing checkerboard pattern and it is one of my favorite small bulbs. Visit www. vanengelen.com to order.

2:21	[Comment From Dave Vono] Have you had experience working with cold frames... do you have any basic suggestions or ideas on how to get started, and am I already too late in the season?

2:32

Carol Stocker - Be sure to buy the kind that has a temeperature activated hinge that closes and opens the top automatically or your plants will fry inside when it gets too hot and freeze when it gets to cold unless you are around to open and close it.
There are many uses for cold frames and it is not too late to get started, though it is probably too late to start a fall crop of lettuce and spinach inside it.
I think the mail order company gardener's supply in Burlington, VT., sells a good one.
In the fall you can use them for giving potted spring bulbs their cold treatment before forcing them into bloom indoors. You can also dig up semihardy herbs such as lavender and rosemary and sage from you garden and winter them in a cold frame successfully. I would move other plants of borderline hardiness such as potted mums and cold sensitive salvias into it, too.
In the spring you can use it to harden off sedlings started indoors and to germinate seeds in early spring.

2:32	[Comment From Lucysue] I notice that my elderly neighbour has japanese knotwood in her yard, weed whaks it and sends it off with the yard waste collected by the city of cambridge. Is this really bad?

2:39	Carol Stocker - It could be. It depends upon what they do with the yard wasst. If they incinerated it, that is okay. If they compost it, that could be a problem. I would call you Department of Public Works (or go on line) and ask how to dispose of Japanese knotweed and other invasive weeds.

2:43

Carol Stocker - As you probably know, Japanese knotweed will grow from a bit of stem, and once established is almost impossible to get rid of.
The safest way to dispose of the tops and stems is to seal them in heavy plastic construction bags and let them sit in the sun all summer until they are truly dead. NEVER put them in a compost pile.
I had a nextdoor neighbor who use to cut his down and throw it over the stone wall into the elderly neighbor's yard and now that area is a grove of knotweed overtaking nice plantings.

2:43	[Comment From Dave Vono] It's 43 minutes past the hour.... I thought it was supposed to be happening now. Should I be seeing something on this page?

2:45	[Comment From Patty] Hi Carol. I have a few Spirea shrubs in my gardens. They have grown much more then I though they would. I try to buy small shrubs as my garden is small. When you I cut them back and how low can I cut them so long may smaller next spring and summer?

2:56

Carol Stocker - We got a very late start. But we will go for a full hour.
About cutting back spirea: This is such a tough shrubs that you can cut it to the ground and it will grow back.
The catch is that it will grow back to its full height, not half way.
It is genetically programmed to be a certain height.
If it is three feet tall in April and you cut it to the ground in May, it will grow to three feet tall again by July.
Cutting back trees and shrubs does not work as a way to keep them smaller than they want to be.
When you buy a woody plant at the garden center, be SURE to read the tag for its mature height and width, because that is waht you will be stuck with. Most shrubs are as wide as they are tall, so be sure to take into consideration the mature width as well as height when making a selection.
there are dozens of types of spires in all different heights. Some named varieties have bee breed to only grow six inches tall. Some grow six feet tall. Some grow 12 feet tall. Buy the variety that will grow to the size you want. It does not matter how big it is when you buy it. It only matters what the mature size of that variety is and buying the correct variety.
If you have someone who is gennetically programmed to grow to the height of six feet, that person will reach six feet whether you adopt them when they are two months old or 12 years old. Their size when you take them home makes no difference in ultimate height.
If you have a shrub that is the wrong height, your olnly option is to get rid of it and replace it with a shrub that will grow to the heigh your want.That is why it is very very important to never buy a shrub or tree without learning what its mature height and width will be. this is one of the most common mistakes gardeners make, so you have plenty of company! Everyone learns from their mistakes.

2:56	[Comment From All Graped Out] I have Concord grapes growing over my neighbors fence. I want to remove them from the fence and was wondering if I should prune them now or wait until the spring? I am still picking grapes from the vines.

3:03	Carol Stocker - Orune Concord grapes any time from midwinter on. Do not pruine now. But do not worry about pruning. Grapevines are ery fogiving. Cane pruning is a techinique that produces long vines with many buds Prune off any shoots on the trunks or roots.

3:05	Carol Stocker - That's all for this week. I will be back at 1 p.m. in two weeks. You can visit my blog at www.boston.com/gardenblog and leave questions there as comment.

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