QUESTION : How long can tomato seed be stored?
ANSWER : ou should know that offspring from seed
saved from hybrid plants may very well not come true to
the parent plant. This PLANTanswers web site will probably
give you more information than you ever wanted on saving
seed of hybrid plants:
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/vegetables/seed.html
Tomato seed, when properly stored, will remain viable for
up to 4 years. In his book, The Vegetable Book , Dr. Sam
Cotner recommends storing seed in an airtight glass jar
in the refrigerator. He also recommends adding 2 tablespoons
of dry milk wrapped in tissue paper to act as a desiccant.
QUESTION : How do you propagate the flame leaf sumac?
Can you use the seeds or do you graft it? How big does it
grow? Is it good for the Texas Hill Country?
ANSWER : It can be propagated from seed, underground
runner cuttings or rooting --mainly from seed. It is invasive
and should be planted with care to possible areas of spread.
It is a thicket plant.
QUESTION : We have a medium sized oleander in our
apartment. We've discovered that it is a poisonous plant.
Now we're worried that our cats could get sick from this
plant if they chew on it. Should we should or shouldn't
we have this plant with cats.
ANSWER : Unlike some people, animals are smart enough
not to eat enough poisonous plant material to hurt them!!
Otherwise, there would not be a living pet in the area with
as many potentially poisonous plants and plant parts as
there are in the home and landscape.
QUESTION : I was really impressed by the striking
yellow fall foliage of the big tooth maple on the Boerne
Frost Bank property. I asked a local nurseryman about it.
I was told it adapted well to this area. I bought two 5
footers and planted them three weeks ago. Can you tell me
if I made a wise choice and if the trees are likely to do
well for me? I live 6 miles South of Boerne and 3 miles
west of Leon Springs.
ANSWER : Acer grandidentatum sinuosum --Bigtooth
Maple should be a good landscape plant for you. According
to Jill Nokes in her book How to Grow Native Plants of Texas
and the Southwest these trees can tolerate low summer rainfall
but are generally not found on drier upland sites.
Make sure that your trees do not dry out, especially while
getting established. Water the root ball and surrounding
area about every week to 10 days in the absence of rainfall.
Once established, you should only have to water when the
tree tells you to, i.e, it starts dropping leaves out of
season.
QUESTION :My mother-in-law wants to grow either
an orange tree or a grapefruit tree here in San Antonio.
So here are my questions, 1.) Can orange trees, or grapefruit
trees grow here? 2.) If so, where can we purchase the trees?
ANSWER : Citrus can be grown in San Antonio. However,
they must be protected during freezing weather. The Satsuma
Mandarin Orange is the best one for her to try. They can
be found in most of the area nurseries. Information on this
plant can be found at these PLANTanswers web sites:
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/PLANTanswers/fruit/satsuma.html
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/cemap/satsuma/satsuma.html
QUESTION : We have been searching the Internet in
hopes of discovering the origin of the name "horseradish."
Last night while dining, my Mother casually asked why it
was called horseradish, and now we have set out on this
venture to discover the answer, and who better than an expert.
ANSWER : Anything to insure that you stay in Mama's
good graces. I don't think that there is a definitive answer
to how the name 'horseradish' evolved. However, this Oregon
State University web site gives the best I could find:
http://www.orst.edu/Dept/NWREC/horserad.html
It says: 'The name "horseradish" is thought
to have come from an English adaptation of its German name.
Germans called the plant "meerrettich" (meaning
"sea radish") because it grew wild in European
coastal areas. The German word meer (sea) sounds like "mare"
in English. Perhaps "mareradish" became horseradish".
The word "horseradish" first appeared in print
in 1597 in John Gerarde's English herbal on medicinal plants.
