Q: My neighbor pointed out a part of my big pink-blooming loropetalum shrub that has white flowers. Why did this happen? Do I have an off-breed loropetalum? — Jack Chilton, north Decatur
A: It’s common for this to occur. The pink loropetalum originated in China from a normally white-blooming loropetalum. The spray of pink flowers on the white shrub was eye-catching. When horticulturists took cuttings for propagation, they found that the pink ones developed into shrubs covered in pink flowers. These, and other pink- and red-flowering cultivars, were sold widely. Now, years later, your pink loropetalum has developed a bud that blooms white.
When a plant sprouts limbs that look like its genetic parents, it is called a reversion. I commonly see variegated privet hedges that are turning green, like their genetic parent: common privet. On your loropetalum, a bud reverted to its parent and made white flowers. If it bothers you, just prune it out.
Q: For a small home garden, how high do you think a fence should be to prevent deer from jumping into the garden to devour young tomatoes, emerging okra and other plants? — Alvin Russell, Fayetteville
A: My brother has had success deterring deer, starting with an inherited 4-foot high chain-link fence for his garden area. He extended all the fence posts up 4 feet using black plastic pipe, making each post 8 feet high. Between the pipe extensions he attached 4-foot heavy duty plastic mesh to which he hung reflective ribbon. He said that deer, seeing what they perceive as an 8-foot-high fence, devoured his hostas and hydrangeas instead. I think this scheme could be enhanced by a second short fence, perhaps 4 feet high, outside the big fence. Now a deer has to contemplate jumping the little fence and then having enough room to jump the taller fence. Somehow, I think unfenced ornamentals would be more appealing.
Q: My crape myrtle’s bark is black. What should I do? — Steve Hallam, email
A: Black bark, black leaves and black lawn furniture under a crape myrtle are ultimately caused by sucking insects in the tree, probably crape myrtle aphids. They suck more sap than they can digest and excrete the rest. The excess that is excreted is called honeydew. Honeydew is a fabulous food for black sooty mold. The honeydew dripped out of your tree and coated the bark. Black sooty mold soon followed. The cure for this situation is to control insects in the tree. The easiest way to control them is to apply a systemic insecticide when the tree is not blooming. Go to a garden center, buy a product that contains imidacloprid and follow the directions for applying.
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