Great Garden Questions Answered - Moon Date, Dividing Ferns, Spider Mites, Pruning, Sun Hydrangea 

We got Holly, lorapetalum, and an in-character rant? This video has it all! How's your water feature? Did you drain it for the winter?

"Man up, boy" :) 😀 Laughing out loud about that one. Thank you, Jim, for your videos! Always such great content!

Excellent video full of sound, sensible comments and advice from an obviously skilled horticulturalist. Always look forward to your videos

😂😂😂😂😂 maybe this person was hitting the bottle when planting tulips 😂😂😂😂😂…… I’m dying!!!!

Great info! You also made me laugh..."Thought this person was hitting the bottle"...😂

I’d say digging out a shrub with a shovel is about as “manned-up” as anybody can get. 😁🌸🐝

LOL!! You were funny today. 😂 ?Question? On Memorial Day 2021 I was given a Japanese Maple in memory of my son, a young US Marine. She was planted in FULL SUN 😢 and suffered through her first and 2nd summer. Please tell me I can transplant her to a better location as an understory. I can't put her through a 3rd vicious summer in zone 7b, W. TN. Any sage advice? Thank you in advance. ⭐🇺🇸

Absolutely love your commentary, makes me smile after a long day. ❤🇨🇦🇨🇦

Jim the best advice I have received from you is to get rid of plants that take up too much of my time. That was excellent! I live in Arkansas 6B. Big leaf Hydrangeas I have given up on. Too sensitive to cold, sun, and need watering all the time. After the last freeze I pulled them up. What works for me is Incredible Hydrangeas.

Sweet Holly. ❤️❤️

lol you reliving the annoying commits made me laugh

Aww hello Holly bebe. We love you ❤️

You are never in a jacket, is it no cold in NC

Always love our Q & A videos. I had to laugh when you were talking about taking the holly out at the old house. I watched that video and used it last year to remove a huge azalea, that I divided into 5 plants and moved to a shadier (?) location. That trenching shovel comes in handy. No I don't have an engine; just me! Thanks, Jim!

Agree with you Jim about removing a Prima Donna plant. I have no patience for a plant that requires excessive care…..GRASS for one. What other plant needs to be pruned 35 times per year?

So beautiful garden, do you have hellebores in your garden?Please make a video of hellebores.

You can borrow my engine hoist, Jim 😅😅😅

Hello Mr Jim Putnam and Stephany. Happy gardening spring is here. Been busy Los tush a little bit. How you all doing? Think about you guys, miss you all. 🫠

On roses ... I believe they are misunderstood... Lots of fertilizer and good dry times between watering and dead heading should keep your roses pretty well... I find roses are extremely hardy out side the disease world

What is the best time to plant a viburnum bush in zone 8 in MS. (Sun or Shade) Thank you!

Thank you so much for answering my question about replanting the hydrangea!

🍂🌿🍂WHY DID I LOOSE ALL THE LEAVES ON MY LORAPETALUM❓🍂🌿🍂

So funny. More, please

Just purchased a Gold Rider Leyland Cypress to add some color on a screen of Green Giants. Q: ALL of the gold riders had two leaders; when would recommend to trim the non dominant leader (at planting, after being established this fall, next spring?). Thanks Jim

I'm not sure how to search your previous videos. Have you done one on dividing Autumn Joy sedum?

I agree about the full moon and last frost. I live in eastern Canada with a last frost date at end of May but one year there was a killer frost June 23rd on a full moon. Old Folks here say don’t plant hot weather crops till after the full moon in June.

Several years ago I found and dug up what I believed to be a red bud seedling volunteer. I wanted one for the yard so it lived in a pot for a year protected. I planted out last year when it was still small. This year it has growth (4-5 feet tall) and even branching. But I was so sad when this month it did not have the purple budding flowers??! All the redbuds here in Central Arkansas are blooming. Mine went straight to a heart shaped leaf? Did I do something wrong to the tree or is this not a red bud?

Jim another issue to look out for on Serviceberry is Ambrosia Beetle. Thin barked trees are easy for the beetles to bore into. We had to burn over 100 flowering cherries that got attacked by them.

Hi Jim, thank you for another very informative video. I have a question related to my Arborvitae s. Last fall my Arborvitae got black fungus and spider mites. I lost one, but I have two left. I think they are ok, but I’m not sure if I should fertilize them now or wait until next year and see how they do. They are planted in 24” square pots. Thank you for your advise. Wilson Zone 7b Long Island NY

Hi Jim. Zone 9a, southern California interior desert. I have a 1 gallon sunshine ligustrum that I need to get in the ground fairly soon, and I'm planning on a west-facing foundation location that will get full afternoon sun. I understand this to be a hardy full-sun plant, but I recall you mentioning that yellow-foliage plants sometimes struggle with strong afternoon sun. Is my sunshine ligustrum likely to be ok in its planned west-facing, occasionally quite hot, location or should I reconsider?

How do you feel about Angle trumpet plants ?

Dry shade plant recommendations for under pecan trees, please and thank you!

I wanted to know what you would do about a thick field of Bermuda? How would you go about eliminating the crud? I know it truly never goes away however I would like to start reclaiming my back back yard but it is a very thick thatch of Bermuda and it is the bane of my existence. I have lost a couple of raised beds that had cardboard laid down 3x the area, raised bed on top, and at least 18 inches of soil on top of that, with a layer of mulch at least 6-12 inches all around. I’ve had to go in, chop all of it back, remove the raised bed, chop through the devil weed, spread the soil to eliminate the mound, and start all over. I’m not doing that each year! If I could do something to decrease it and keep it at bay I’ll do it. I did have some advice on your last video’s comments and that was to over seed annual winter rye and that would keep it from thriving as it does. It’s going to require me having to break up the thick mat of Bermuda just in order to reach the soil but I’ll do just about anything. It’s a large bit of back yard that I want to garden on! It feels like I may never get to. Perhaps my lot in life is figure out how to kill Bermuda grass!

Is a 'premium' compost bulk purchase worth the extra $20/cu yd. in cost? The basic compost consists of leaf and yard waste compost while the finely screened 'premium' compost states that it contains highly beneficial nutrients and trace minerals that are overly deficient in soils.

Hi Jim, I do hope you’ll pick my question 🤞 quite curious … are you left handed? Janette 😊

How do I remove under planting from a tree? I'd like to switch it to mulch, but worry about harming the trees. Particularly liriope which has since spread into my garden beds.

Question: How short can a Buxus sempervirens hedge be kept? I was just given 80 Common Boxwood rooted cuttings. I would like a short hedge (12 inch tall and wide), but is that feasible for this species? I am in Georgia Zone 8a just south of Atlanta. Thanks for your videos. They are inspiring.

I plan to prune my mature Japanese quince after it blooms this spring. I want to bring the stems down by about a third. Additionally, interior is too dense- so I want to take stems out to increase circulation and light to the remaining stems. Should I concentrate on newer stems or older ones? Older ones are bigger, so that would be easier.

How come you don’t ever show your white wedding hydrangea hedge

If you got plants hardened off and brought them in for several days to get past these cold nights, do you have to start all over again hardening them off when the temperatures warm up?

Gardening in 6a CT. Haven’t had a very cold winter this year. Still can dig in the yard. How early can I start transplanting shrubs and grasses? Can I start now if I can dig the holes, or is it still too cold to make the move? Thanks for these Q&A videos

The house we recently moved into has a tree that’s about 3/4 dwarf Alberta spruce (hate them) and 1/4 white spruce (gorgeous). Decided not to remove it until next Christmas so I can use the spruce branches. Luckily it’s hidden so no shaming from the HOA. 😂

I'm looking for ideas about landscaping around basement windows there really isn't much information on RU-vid. I have a very HOT west facing wall I wanted to do in general native prairie-esque flowering perennials. But normally you back plant with taller plants; if there is a window should I aim for plants all around the same height? So as not to block the window?

Question - Are my seeds staying too wet? I have a seed starting / self, watering system from Burpee. All the seeds have started. It just seems really damp to me all the time. Should I trust the system or give the seeds a chance to dry out a bit?

Hello Jim. I live and garden in Chicago, zone 6A. We just had snow again last night so I'm living vicariously through you and your garden at the moment. Forgive me if I missed this information, but what is your hardening off process for your seedings?

Do you trim trim the top down of your redbud? It’s so full and pretty.

Ha ha ha so funny about the Holly video I’ve not seen it but I’m going to look it up to read the comments 😂

I can get tough weeds/vines/plants out faster by hand with a Pulaski axe than with any machine puller.

Hey Jim, I find a plant I love and want to add to my collection either from a video or a post, but I can't find them. Should I assume they don't do well in my area? Or are they not available for a reason. I searched for over a year for a platinum beauty lomandra and several wait lists still no luck, currently searching for Rodgersia but it doesn't seem to be carried by my local nurseries

My laurels get tons of ants on them and about a 1/3 rd the leaves get some holes in them or edges look eaten. The four of them otherwise look healthy, but I am wondering if I should be doing something for them?

hyper Jim around 30:00 TEE HEE

We like hyper Jim!! Lol

In CA, we have WESTERN redbuds in full sun. Does that variety do better in full sun? Ca central valley zone 9

Hi , My two ligustrum shrub are loosing their leaves. Is this normal for Winter? Would the leaves grow back in Spring? Need help! Thanks. Liza

Just curious I just got my front garden bed weeded and I’m only planning a few additions this year. I have some bulbs that are just barely pushing through the bare dirt, some that haven’t appeared yet. Do I wait for them to push more growth to mulch or will they be able to push through?

Are their any heath or heather that do well in zone 6 and warmer? What varieties do you recommend? Can they take full afternoon sun in these zones?

You say to plant back in to your native soil,but where I live here in Michigan our soil is sand. When I plant I dig the hole big enough to surround it actual soil. Can you make a comment about that.

Hi Jim. Can you talk about fire ants in containers? And in the ground? How bad are they? What causes it and how to avoid in the future?

I bought a Jane Magnolia February 17th it was in bloom already, seemed early. I'm in Grays Creek, NC about an hour South of Raleigh. I put it n the ground and while making sure I didn't put it to deep I saw another tag on it that was buried in the pot and it said Magnolia “Galaxy”. I'm starting to think mines is a Galaxy now. Is there a way to attach a picture to see if you can help me identify it?

I have a patch of daylillies that is in a shady spot and I’d like to move them to a place with a bit more sun. They are starting to leaf out. Is it ok to move them now or would it be better to move them in the fall? I’m in north Georgia.

QUESTION: I have 2 mystic spires blue salvia in my garden. I bought a third today at home Depot but when I compared the plants they looked the exact same other than the slight green color difference between the leaves. Once growing in the same soil will the newest one change to match the same shade of green on the ones already planted in the garden? Soil chemistry can affect these things right?

Jim great video. Do you ever grow Marigolds by your vegetable bed to increase yield? Thank you.

In this relatively mild winter, is it possible, advantageous, or detrimental to have planted or transplanted plant material in the past few months?

I've been working in the green/ landscape industry for 10 years, and I still learn from Jim. Moon date, in this case. Thank you sir! I was laughing at the "I HAD IT OUT IN 10 MINUTES!" lol

I have 5 Oak Leaf Hollies that turned brown and dropped all their leaves after that giant temperature change this winter. They've been in the ground for 4 years. I can see some buds forming. Should I be hopeful they'll recover or still to early to know? Any advice on what I can do to help them recover? Thanks for all your great videos!

Hi Jim, Thanks for all the great information you share on your channel. My question is, I have a 'Ruby Falls' weeping Redbud tree that is 2 years old and only 2 1/2 feet tall. Will it get taller in the future, or do I need to try to stake up one of the branches to get it to grow to the height I would like? (around 6 feet) Thanks!

Been following you a long time and now my gardens are really looking so much better since I'm a beginner. Question: do you know what I can do to keep these tiny brown mushrooms from popping up in my large outdoor porch planters? I'm in NC Johnston County zone. Thank you!

Not sure how helpful but the size of wood chips depends on how old or how well maintained the wood chipper is that the tree companies use. The older the wood chipper blades are the more dull they get and the larger the chips are that get thrown out when chipping tree branches. Sharp wood chipper machine blades put out small chips.

Hi Jim, thanks for all your infos, much appreciated. We'd like to ask about planting on the top of a retaining wall - Zone 6b. The wall is ca. 6' high and a few hundred years old and it's holding our garden up :) Would you have any recommendations about shrubs that we could we plant on our border (at the top of this wall) to add some kind privacy (doesn't need to be completely closed) without risking eventual damage to the wall by roots? Thanks a lot & greetings from Germany.

Hi Jim . Can I limb up my Tea Olives , camellias, right now?

I'm wanting to plant a butterfly bush over or near some plumbing (outgoing) and wanted to know about the root system. Will it be deep enough or strong enough to damage the pipe?

I’ve heard that magnolias don’t like to be pruned. I have a magnolia that I need to plant and it has a limb toward the bottom that I don’t want to keep. I would like it to grow more as a tree then a shrub. I’m concerned that I’ll damage the magnolia if I prune it out, any thoughts on whether I should leave it there or can I go ahead and get rid of it ? ❄️💚🙃

Last year we put down dyed mulch not realizing it came from recycled materials and could have potential contamination risks. Would you remove it or just put wood chips on top?

Hi Jim, I have question for you. Are barberry one of the last things to wake up in spring? I'm in zone 7, and most things in my garden are waking up but everyone of my Orange Rocket Barberry show NO growth. The plant isn't brittle and snapping off when I bend the branches, so I think it's still alive...? But I'm just worried they all have died, but they are supposed to handle colder than zone 7... I love the plant, but I'm concerned.

Beer would drink beer if beer could drink beer-- oh, such a "guy thing" to say! Love the t, Jim!

QUESTION Zone 8b, Foley, AL - What is the appropriate distance out from the house to plant a Sweet Olive in standard form? My concern is not to be too close to the house? Or to keep pruning the height to keep it a small tree.

I've been doing/did lots of winter weeding using an action hoe and im worried I may have accidentally weeded some dormant cone flowers/summer jewels salvias in the process. What do you do in regards to winter weeding to make sure you don't damage/kill your dormant perennial?

Hello Jim, I need your advice. I created a new landscape bed last fall. I followed your advice by laying down compost and wood chips and letting that “cook down” . I’m in eastern NC zone 8a. I have one spot of the bed that gets sun as soon as it rises over the horizon, but is in dappled shade by 3 pm. Is that enough sun to grow full sun annuals and perennials??

What can I do to prevent my mulch from washing away in heavy rains? I’ve switched to hardwood mulch and tried to lessen the slope from the flowerbed (hardly any at all in the first place) but water still tends to wash out anything there to help with weed suppression.

The previous owners of my house planted Leland Cypress that are now a gigantic green wall. What can I plant in front of it in zone 7 that will survive root competition and shade to make it look more natural like a forest instead of a fortress?😂

One more question - if I have a japanese maple that CAN reach more than 20ft tall but I would love it to stay 15-18ft tops - can they be pruned to maintain the lower height or is that a losing battle? It's a young kusa that is only about 6' currently.

How do I get rid of the weed Sticky Willy?

On the subject of pruning strictly for size, are there things that would not be candidates for that? I see you go ahead and hack away at your doublefile viburnum which I was told was in the "untouchables" category. I've had bad results doing any pruning on my saucer magnolia (water sprouts, bad regrowth) and found out it is an "untouchable". I'm thinking of the Edith Bogue southern magnolias I've planted for screening. I don't actually want them to get anywhere near the 60x60 ft they can get to. Am I wrong in hoping I can keep them under 20ft? I'm on the northern side of their hardiness (zone 7a) and have them in part sun, so maybe they'd never get to 60 ft anyway. They are small enough now, I could replace them with Teddy Bear or some other dwarf, but I'm impatient and don't want to wait forever for the screening effect.

Can anyone tell me what the dark red blooming bush is on the right side of the screen?

I’m about 3 hours up the road in nc zone 7 I’ve plant some irises that say reblooming they haven’t rebloomed in the same season, should i have to cut the old blooms off or is it a zone thing, they bloom beautiful when they do and healthy

I applied a layer of organic compost and then hardwood mulch to beds. Now have white mushrooms. Is this a problem? Austin, Texas

What’s the difference then between a soaker hose and the way you run your irrigation system? If your not running emitters to individual plants but running tubes with emitters every 8, 10, 12 inches is there really a difference between how you do it and a soaker hose? ❄️💚🙃 I hope I explained it so you understand what I mean, I’m not good with explaining things ? ❄️💚🙃

Moon business - "How does a full moon affect the likelihood of frost? They argue that the light of the full (or nearly full) moon can heat the upper atmosphere and evaporate cloud moisture that would ordinarily trap heat escaping from earth, thus facilitating radiational cooling that could lead to frosts."

Can you delay flowering of a panicle hydrangea by pinching back early blooms?

🙋

Sorry Jim but I have to disagree with you about roses. I don't ever spray any of my roses and have a complete organic landscape and garden. Roses are not what they used to be. Kordes roses especially are very disease resistant. No blackspot, no powdery mildew and I have people stopping at my house for selfies on a near constant basis. Every garden needs a few beautiful carefree roses.

Roses are too high maintenance. Love them but someone else can grow them

I enjoyed your “Man up, boy” comment! I have seen some crazy videos of people doing some wild stuff to remove a plant!

Hi, I am in SE-TN (Zone 7?). I have just bought some new 3gal and 7gal Azaleas (Golden Flare, Cannon's Double, Mandarin) which I intend to plant after the frost next week. Some of them are rather "gangly" in shape - longish stems with few branchings. What is the correct strategy, technique, and time of year, to prune these, so that they will grow in fullness rather than size? Should I let them just grow for a couple years before pruning them at all?

Hi Jim I pulled lots of weeds from my garden and I dont want them to come back, is there a certain weed barrier you would suggest? P.S the grass/sod from my neighbors’ yard id coming through under their fence and spreading into my yard. Thanks for all your great answers.

Hi Jim, We moved into our current home in November of '21. One of the first things we did was plant Daffodils bulbs. Last spring we had quite a few come up and bloom. This year we have many more come up but we have had only one bloom. What might we have done incorrectly? P.S. I watched your Daffodil video.

Well as I’m watching this in Raleigh, on Sunday morning, I have seen hail & now snow is falling. This is after all those 60-70 degree days.

Jim , will a top dressing of compost start to feed and improve the soil right off or take most of the season to work it's magic?

Jim, is it safe to use the Chip drop wood chips over 50 year old oak tree surface roots? on a slope and the soil has eroded some and roots are exposed. Zone 8a, NE Atlanta. yard is very loamy and porous, need to something to stop the erosion and the tree roots getting too exposed.

Related to the spider mites, do chiggers live in wood chips? I acquired what I believe to be a dozen chigger bites on my legs, after I walked on top of some wood chipped garden beds. The chips came from a dead pine tree I had cut down on my property. Thanks!