QUESTION: How can I grow the Texas bluebonnet in Montana?

ANSWER: Bluebonnets require a cool growing period and then bloom when temperatures get warmer and the days get longer. I would plant the seed in late winter to early spring and see if it would have enough time to develop a plant while it was still cool, and then bloom in late spring or early summer. Your last option is to grow (or have somebody grow for you) transplants in a greenhouse during the winter and early spring, and then plant them in flower beds and pots in the spring. This works very well and is frequently done here. To keep the plants blooming, pinch off the old flowers and developing seed pods. Don't forget, bluebonnets like full sun and good drainage or they'll melt away. Purchase scarifed seed from Wildseed Farms (www.wildseedfarms.com).

QUESTION: We have 3 crape myrtles side by side. Two are blooming fine. The other doesn't have a bloom anywhere. Any ideas??

ANSWER: Assuming they are all the same variety and the one that isn't blooming is not in the shade any more than the other 2, then it's obvious that the one not blooming has been damaged in some way and the growth slowed. Also, it also can be a function of mid?winter pruning. Excessive winter pruning can delay a pruned plants' first flowers by 4 to 6 weeks, as compared to unpruned plants.

QUESTION: I have a bed of English ivy that is approximately 15 feet by 20 feet. Several weeks ago I noticed dark spots on the ivy leaves. The disease spread from growing tips along various vines. The ivy is several inches thick and more disease has occurred in the lower levels of ivy. In diseased places, I have cut the vines back and removed the dead leaves. Again, what happened and how can I prevent a reoccurrence?

ANSWER: You did the best thing. Treat the bed with Turficide which contains terrachlor. That should solve your problems. Ivy was weakened severely by last year's drought and is just now trying to recover.

QUESTION: I have planted a few gladiolus bulbs and they were gorgeous. Now that they have bloomed what should I do with them? Can I cut them down for re-bloom?

ANSWER: You can remove the bloom but they will not re-bloom this year. Remove the top after it has dried down. Then remove the bulb for planting next season. If you can find more glad bulbs, they can be planted in August for fall bloom.

QUESTION: It seems we have poison oak. How do you get rid of it without killing the grass, trees and other vegetation around the same area?

ANSWER: You are not alone!! The poison oak site on
PLANTanswers at:

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/misc/poisonoak.html

is one of our most popular webpages. Read it and follow the recommendations found there.

QUESTION: I recently discovered a charming little plant called a rock rose. It has the appearance of a little mallow. I would like to try growing it in the sandhills of Floresville, but am wondering if it would tolerate our acidic sand. The "rock" in the name makes me think that the little plant might prefer alkaline soil.

ANSWER: Pavonia, sometimes called rock rose, is a genus of tropical and warm climate herbs and shrubs of the Mallow Family. They thrive in light, rich soils in either sun or shade. Pavonia (Pavonia lasiopetala) is a Texas native and has pink blooms from spring to fall with the plant reaching 3 to 4 feet.

QUESTION: I have a great tomato crop this year and would like to learn the proper way to sun-dry and preserve some of them.

ANSWER: Tomatoes cannot be sun dried in Texas because of high humidities. A commercial drying unit must be purchased to dry fruits and vegetables in this climate unless you want to dry them in the oven. You can dry them in the oven by setting it on its lowest setting, probably 150 to 160 degrees F. It will take 6 to 8 hours for halved fruit. For large fruit, you will need to slice them. The Roma tomatoes will work best and the variety Surefire is good, too.

QUESTION: I'm doing a biology project on wildflowers and I was wondering if the Tiger lily is a wildflower. I know that most lilies are, but I was not positive if they all are. I also would appreciate seeing a picture to match and identify flowers I have found.

ANSWER: Tiger lily is the common name for Lilium tigrinum, a popular, old-fashioned, hardy, orange-flowered species of Lily. It is native to China and Japan. You might be interested in the WildSeed section of Aggie Horticulture which is the best selection and description of wildflowers on the Internet. It can be found at

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/wildseed/tamuhort.html

QUESTION: I have a small garden. I planted 2 identical tomato plants side by side and both are healthy and fully grown. One is full of fruit and blooms, the other has no fruit and only a few blooms that do not produce fruit. I'm 59, and in all the years I have grown tomatoes I have never experienced this problem. Any answers?

ANSWER: One could have been infected with Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV), spread by thrips. Severe cases cause no fruit set. If some fruit does set, the fruit is mottled or spotted. I am assuming both plants are of the same variety-some varieties will not set fruit in a given locale.