Question: 281-5201
My soil is very hard. What can I use to plant bulbs? Gabriela, Cumberland, RI

Mort's Answer:
You can put the hose under pressure into the hole to soften your task. Allow the holes to dry out after the soil has been extricated. Your holes should be two and a half times the size of the bulbs. Fill the holes with a blend of 50% old soil and 50% coarse sand. If you plant in your old soil, there is a strong possibility that the bulbs will not do well.

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Question: 405-3410
Our wisteria has not bloomed since we planted four years ago. What can I do to get blooms? Arlene, Ledyard, CT

Mort's Answer:
Wisteria can take up to seven years before blooming. You can speed the process by adding a high middle number fertilizer like 5-10-10. Put a half dozen holes about 2 feet from the trunk that go done a foot. Place the fertilizer in the holes. Cutting the ends will help strengthen the ranches.

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Question: 410-3410
My Bird of Paradise plant is 40 inches tall and is 7 years old. It hasn't bloomed yet. What can I do? Julie, Waterford, CT

Mort's Answer:
You are taking too good care of your tropical plant. It needs to have the temperature drop in the winter to 40 for at least three weeks. Without the dormancy, you are unlikely to get the flower to set. In southern California and Florida this occurs naturally. As an indoor plant, we need to assimilate the natural environment as closely as possible to insure the plants vigor. I would also recommend that you change to a clay pot, if it isn?t in one. Use a two inch larger pot and add one-third coarse sand to the new soil. Within a month after the plant has taken hold in the new soil, you should add a tablespoon of bonemeal to the soil.

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Question: 447-3510
What can I use to drive away bees? Irene, Swansea, MA

Mort's Answer:
You can spray with Sevin. It only lasts 24 hours. So you may have to reapply to get the sons of bees.

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Question: 7-5201
We have an Abutilon that we have just planted. Can I keep that outdoors through the winter? Marie, Brunswich, GA

Mort's Answer:
Flowering Maple is hardy from zone 8 south. Since it gets rather breezy on the isles, I would recommend covering the plant with burlap in the winter. There are several good Abutilon with pinkish purple, yellow or white trumpet flowers. A. hybridum varieties include Boule DeNeige and Golden Fleece. A..pictum has a yellow or orange flower with red veins. A. theophrasti is basically an annual weed.

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Question: 5-5201
Can I keep my Alberta Spruce trimmed as a dwarf plant? It is in a 13 inch pot. Elaine, Norwich, CT

Mort's Answer:
Alberta Spruce will not survive as a patio plant in zone 6. Roots will freeze dry. Picies glauca conica is vulnerable to spider mite in hotter climes. Although it is a dwarf spruce, it can grow to ten to twelve feet in 25 years. It does not need to be trimmed and it is often used as a Christmas tree. Alberta Spruce has a natural conical growth pattern. There is a dwarf Norway Spruce that only grows to a foot high. P.abies pygmaea could be completely covered with straw and burlap for the winter but it too prefers to be in a garden. Several other Norway Spruce would not grow as tall as the Alberta Spruce. P.abies compacta has a globe shape. P.abies gregoryana grows to two feet with crowded pale branches. P.abies nana has yellow-orange leaves and grows to two feet. A very dense P.abies maxwelli has a flat form and grows to two feet. Since Noway Spruce grow to 150 feet, these varieties are truly dwarf. Spruce prefer an acid soil and urns are alkaline and too restrictive of the roots.

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Question: 150-5201
Can we trim Alberta Spruce ? Jack, Mystic, CT

Mort's Answer:
It is not necessary. Picea glauca conica has a naturally compact dense growth pattern. You will not harm the plant with trimming in the summer. We have a Christmas tree type of plant. It is about a third brown. We found some insects on the plant by tapping a branch onto a white piece of paper. We sprayed with Diazonin and the bugs have seemed to disappear.

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