Garden letters

Question

This may sound strange, but I have little sinkholes in my garden. Water rushes in, erodes the soil, and eventually fills the holes, but it soaks in very quickly. Is an animal or insect making these holes?

KAREN MASTERS * ORANGE CITY, FLORIDA

Answer

Without being-able to see your yard, we can't know for sure what's causing the holes. However, many areas of Central and South Florida are prone to sinkholes, which are caused when acid rain erodes the limestone beds beneath the soil. Sinkholes don't have to be large, house-swallowing monsters. Many are quite small. The only thing we can suggest is filling them in with gravel as they appear.

My very full and otherwise healthy hostas have holes in many of the leaves. My coleus has the same problem. What can I do to stop this? W.K. LEWIS

WOODSTOWN, NEW JERSEY

Slugs and snails are likely attacking your plants. These slimy characters do their dirty work at night, when you can't see them. Control them by spreading slug bait around your plants according to label directions. Be careful, though; these pellets are toxic to other animals. Or use a less toxic, natural control called diatomaceous earth. This powdery material, made from the skeletons of tiny sea creatures, kills snails and slugs that crawl across it. Reapply it after a rain.

My Southern magnolia is about 10 years old and 25 feet tall. It has never bloomed. What is wrong, and what can I do to correct it? MARY M. JONES

STARKVILLE, MISSISSIPPI

Southern magnolias grown from seed, like yours probably was, often take a long time to begin blooming. Their tardiness is due to genetics, not anything you are doing wrong. There is nothing you can do to speed up flowering of this tree. That's why we encourage our readers to plant grafted selections, such as `Little Gem,' `St. Mary,' and `Majestic Beauty,' which begin blooming at an early age.

When you purchase a plant, a plastic tag usually gives you the name of the plant and growing instructions. Is this information adjusted by region? For example, a plant that takes full sun in the North may not endure full sun in the South.

VIC KILLAM

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA

In most cases, it's highly unlikely that the information is adjusted by region. The large nurseries that produce these plants generally provide one set of instructions for the whole country. Our advice is that anytime you have a question about the information on the label, check it out with a local nursery or cooperative Extension agent.

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation May 2002
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