Dwarf Junipers
Q. Why do I have brown areas near the tips of my dwarf Japanese junipers? This has been occurring the last few years. They are supposed to be drought resistant"
A. "It's hard to diagnose without seeing the plants or their location," says Matt Warrick, sales associate in tree and shrubs at Gethsemane Garden Center, Chicago. "Your plants may be in a situation that's too dry. With the type of drought we had this past summer, even if a plant is drought-tolerant, it would have needed supplemental watering."
Other factors that affect junipers are poor drainage, insufficient light, fungal disease, and insufficient acidity in the soil. Any of these conditions could cause needle browning. Back to top
Ground Cover Suggestions
Q. I have a dampish area with poor grass and moss that I would like to change to ground cover, but if I have only one plant, won’Äôt it be boring? Can I get rid of the grass in winter or early spring?
A. If we have a dry winter or spring, you can smother the grass with a heavy layer of newspapers held down by bricks or stones, or use a product that will kill the grass. Use it according to the label directions. Grass roots are very persistent, so you may have to dig out the remaining roots by hand. The moss will disappear as you aerate the soil and rake in organic material.
When your area is properly
prepared, you will have a large choice of low-growing groundcovers.
Kim Schroeder, perennial buyer at Wasco Nursery and Garden Center, St. Charles, suggests the following: lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis), sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum), wild ginger (Asarum canadense), or European ginger (A. europaeum), vinca (Vinca minor), Tiarella, Astilbe-the cultivar 'Perkio' is shorter than Astilbe chinensis 'Pumila'’Äîand violas such as bird's foot viola (Viola pedata) or sweet white viola (V. blanda).
These choices are not aggressive growers like goutweed (Aegopodium), which grows anywhere and is very
difficult to eradicate. You can plant free form areas with one type and another alongside it as contrast. Most of these ground covers bloom at slightly different times to give you a spring-into-summer flowering season. Back to top
