Q: I have a centipede lawn with a healthy row of variegated liriope bordering a mulched island. I have been battling yellow wood sorrel (oxalis, I think) in my lawn. I have been spot treating with atrazine. The oxalis has started invading the liriope. I am afraid the atrazine will kill my liriope if I use it to control oxalis. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! — Johnny Lawler, Gwinnett County
A: Controlling unwanted plants in groundcovers is tough. Weed chemicals aren’t mind readers; they kill what they are designed to kill. In your case, atrazine is designed to kill broadleaf plants. Liriope is considered a broadleaf plant, but atrazine can be used around it with great caution. Oxalis behaves as a perennial and an annual. It readily sprouts from roots and ejects seeds up to 15 feet away. The best advice I can offer is a three-way action: post-emergence, pre-emergence, and manual removal. Atrazine can control oxalis as both a pre-emergent and post-emergent, but you must not get it on the liriope plants.
I have an idea for controlling the atrazine spray. Cut off the bottom of a gallon milk jug. Use duct tape to tape the nozzle of a sprayer into the neck of the jug, pointing downward. You can place the jug where you want to use atrazine. This will shield the liriope from microdroplets. But remember, hand-pulling must accompany the spraying.
Q: I have a several-year-old redbud that has damage to the trunk, and it is struggling as a result. The bark of the lower trunk is split from below ground level up three feet. The split is three inches wide at that point. I can see small holes in the wood and bark, but other than a few ants, I can’t seem to find any other insects. At one time, the trunk had two limbs coming out, but one of them died and we removed it. Any ideas? — Duward Whelchel, email
A: If I were a mean person, I would say ‘Enjoy your tree while it’s there because the damage to the trunk is so severe that the tree will not be able to recover. I predict a slow and lonely death.’ But since I’m not a mean person, let’s figure out what went wrong. To me, it sounds like there was damage originating from the root area. Maybe a broken root contributed to bark damage above or the burlap might not have been removed from the root ball or the root ball may have gotten dry. The holes you see are from wood borers of some kind. They are not the problem; they just took advantage of the weakened tree. There’s nothing you can do except enjoy the tree as long as it contributes beauty to your landscape.
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