Q: Can you tell me how to propagate mangoes from seeds? -- Molly Darden, DeKalb County
A: Pick a very ripe fruit, peel it, then remove and eat the pulp. Let the flattened seed inside dry for a few days to make it easier to handle. When you can hold it without it squirting out of your hands, use heavy kitchen shears to gently remove the thick skin of the seed. Remove the beanlike interior and place it, concave side down, most of the way into an 8-inch pot filled with potting soil. Enclose in a clear plastic bag and place in a warm spot. Roots and stem will appear in two weeks. Remove the plastic bag and let the plant develop in a sunny window. Pinch out the tip of the stem when it has four leaves. Remember that mango is a tropical plant and will never grow large enough to bear fruit in Atlanta.
Q: I want to build a ring planter 18 inches tall around a tree for planting flowers. Does it harm a tree to put dirt up that high against the trunk? -- Laura Buck, e-mail
A: It can definitely harm the tree to have dirt piled around the trunk. The bark is usually thinnest where the roots flare out and bacteria would love to get into the cambium layer there to feast on sap. Soil (or mulch) piled around a trunk makes an excellent home for tree-attacking diseases. Construct your planter so an inner ring holds soil 6 inches away from the trunk in all directions such that it stays dry and keeps diseases at bay.
Q: I occasionally get bare root twigs from the Arbor Day folks. These seem to flourish in my yard much more than container-grown trees purchased at a local nursery. Why is that? -- Kevin Bentley, Kennesaw
A: Your experience may not be true for everyone, but well-cared-for bare root seedlings can certainly zoom out of the ground if planted in an appropriate spot. Young trees of any size benefit from a wide area of loosened soil around the planting site, a layer of mulch 4 feet wide in all directions from the trunk and weekly water in summer. Georgia residents can order bare root tree seedlings from the Georgia Forestry Commission at www.gatrees.org.
Q: My 'Burgundy' loropetalum plants are 6 feet tall and doing well. Last year, I cut them down to 3 feet in early spring. They quickly rebounded and ended the season bigger than they need to be. -- David Allen, Acworth
A: It's hard to believe that pink-flowered loropetalum was first introduced to the U.S. as recently as 1990. Now there are dozens of cultivars from which to choose, ranging from the dwarf ‘Purple Pixie' to the huge ‘Zhuzhou Fuchsia'. ‘Burgundy' loropetalum is one of the larger varieties, reaching 12 feet at maturity. You could choose to prune it three times a year to keep it compact, but it will be a never-ending chore. I suggest transplanting it to another location and substituting the smaller ‘Ruby', ‘Blush' or ‘Purple Diamond' varieties.
Listen to Walter Reeves Saturday mornings on AM 750 and 95.5 FM News-Talk WSB. Visit his website, www.walterreeves.com, or join his Facebook Fan Page at xrl.us/wrfacebook for more garden tips.
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