Gardening Q & A: Summer Snowflake plant and more

Q. Do you have to prune the candles on evergreens?

Q. What's the coolest plant you've come across lately?

It also features large clusters of gorgeous red flowers (figure D). Jatropha is fairly common in Florida and throughout most of the tropics where certain species can grow up to 20 feet tall. However, they're hardy only to Zone 10, so mine spends half of its life indoors as a houseplant and the other half outdoors as a patio plant.

A. 'Summer Snowflake' (figure E) is a great plant if you happen to like carefree, easy-to-grow, deciduous shrubs that are rarely bothered by pests or diseases and produce tons of beautiful, lightly scented white flowers over a long period of time followed by red berries that birds devour in a day. Other than that, it's no big deal. Seriously though, 'Summer Snowflake,' which is a viburnum, is an extremely popular plant. Given all the merits I just mentioned, it's no wonder why even a viburnum snob like myself has to have one, and maybe you should, too.

A. You can now buy worm castings tea in ready-to-use bags (figure F) that you simply add to lukewarm water and allow to steep for a few hours or overnight. This is without a doubt the simplest way in the world to brew manure tea, which you can use to soak the soil or spray the foliage of plants. And the tea itself is all natural, odorless and full of nutrients. What could be easier?

Q. Any tips on how to get grass to grow beneath a trampoline?

A. Given the popularity of trampolines these days, that's a fairly common problem, and the shade created by the trampoline makes it difficult for even shade-tolerant turf grasses such as fescue to grow. So sadly, the only real solution is to move the trampoline every time you mow or every other time so that the grass has a chance to bounce back.

Q. What's your take on using Epsom salts on roses?

A. Epson salts or magnesium sulfate can be applied to soils that are deficient in magnesium, but that situation is fairly rare. Too much of the stuff can actually lower the pH level of the soil, significantly in some cases. Also, too much magnesium in the soil can affect a plant's ability to take up other essential nutrients. So if a soil test indicates that your soil is low in magnesium, I suggest that you add one or two inches of old-fashioned compost to your roses.

Q. How many plants have you planted in your lifetime?