Members submit your questions to the “Can of Worms”. One question will be drawn per meeting for discussion and answer.

Q: I have an ant hill that may be two feet deep, almost two feet wide on a east facing slope that is covered in periwinkle. took a knife to it and a heavy service of white ant killer product; still have ants, any advice. Should I leave it or continue the battle?

A: You probably have even more of an ant city than you imagine. The soil is actually drier than usual this spring and ants like that. Periwinkle keeps in moisture and damp as a groundcover, plus provides good humus to the soil, so if the visible ant hill is in the periwinkle, which they normally wouldn’t favor, then they have extensive tunnels stretching wide. And they are likely to cause some damage to the periwinkle over the long term as they over-aerate the soil around the plant roots with those tunnels.

So you have two main options, one sort of fast and the other slower. The sort of fast one is to take your water hose and jam it down into the visible ant hill on the slope as deep as you can, preferably about 2 feet deep. Then you run the water through the hose until you see water come back up all over the surface of the soil. This takes about 4-5 hours of water running, with you checking to see if you have water on the surface every half hour or so. That’s obviously a lot of water, but the goal is to completely flood the tunnels so that you drown the queen, which with the flooded tunnels destroys the colony. The periwinkle won’t mind as they like water.

The other, slower one that takes a few weeks but has a lower water bill is to make Borax traps. These are similar to what you tried to use but less expensive and usually more effective. You get Borax in the laundry detergent section of the grocery store. You get a wide open jar or can like a mustard jar. You mix 1 part Borax with 3 parts sugar (so like 1 tab Borax to 3 tabs sugar) and put it inside the jar. You lay the open jar trap horizontally inside the ant hill so that it won’t get rain water in it. The ants take the Borax and sugar mixed together further into the nest and eventually eating the Borax kills the queen, destroying the colony. But it does take awhile before the traps work.

Some possible useful links:

https://thegardeningcook.com/testing-borax-ant-killer-remedies/

https://gardening.usask.ca/articles-insects/ants.php

 

Q:When is the best time to move Japanese Yews?

A:Plant the yew between spring and early autumn. Try to dig up as much of its root system as possible and save as much of the soil around it as well. Prepare a sizeable hole to accommodate the root ball. Plant it so the top of its root ball is even with the lip of the hole. Firmly pack the reserved soil around the roots, and water well.

 

Q:I have a dogwood that is healthy but it has never bloomed. Why?

A:There are about 30 – 60 species of dogwoods. Dogwoods produce bracts which look like flower petals. The actual flowers are at the centre of these bracts. Some only produce small heads of inconspicuous flowers. The “flowering dogwoods” produce clusters of petal-bearing flowers. Ascertain which type you have.

Sometimes late frosts damage the bracts, preventing blooming. Stressed or unhealthy dogwoods, or those growing in full shade will not bloom. Dogwoods prefer partial shade or full sun. Pruning at the correct time will also ensure blooming.

 

Q:I grow lettuce indoors in winter. Is regular potting soil OK? How would I know if it is contaminated?

A:Regular potting soil is recommended. Sterilized planting soil might also be available. Also recommended is using a mixture of equal parts of potting soil, vermiculite, peat, and perlite. Remember to keep the soil evenly moist.

 

Q:How to prune clematis?

A:Rachelle offered the answer that there are 3 kinds:

1. early flowering – prune early summer, after flowering- cut back old flower-bearing stems to a strong pair of buds.

2.midseason flowering – In late winter or early spring, remove dead and weak stems. Cut back to a pair of strong, healthy buds.

3. late-flowering – In early spring cut back old flower-bearing stems to a pair of healthy buds 6 – 8 inches above ground.

If in doubt, wait until you see buds to determine what is still living and prune down to it.(Info from “The Pruner’s Bible” by Steve Bradley)

 

Q:What kinds of soil do tomatoes like

A:Standard potting soil that should be rich with organic matter. Choose one that has slightly acidic pH measurement, between 6.0 and 6.5. The soil must also drain well. Plant deeper than suggested, up to the first leaves. Resource: “Mark Cullen’s Ontario Gardening“

Q:How to deal with a rabbit chewing the branches of a burning bush, serviceberry shrub, Japanese Maple and even a weigela? Will any shrubs survive?

A:Preventative measures: Trees: Wrap the trunk about 1 metre with crumpled aluminum foil or purchase spiral plastic trunk protectors or hardware cloth which is a wire mesh.

Shrubs: Using chicken wire, cut into parts suitable sizes for each plant, making a circular cage so rabbits can’t reach the plant.

Members advised using animal deterrents such as Scoot, or a new product from Lee Valley, Plantskydd Herbivore Repellent which are sprayed right on the shrub in the fall and can last for a few months.

Plants that the rabbit has only chewed a strip down the stalk, can survive. Those of which they have chewed a complete girdle around, will not.

Rabbits prefer plants from the euonymus family but have also eaten roses and hydrangeas. They do not like barberry, spruce, yew, or boxwood plants.