When we moved to our home 22 years ago, we decided to allow nature to reclaim parts of our lawn. Invasive species like Honey Suckle bushes began to reclaim too much lawn. Last Fall we had some areas cleared and would like to plant ground cover in those areas. We're thinking of planting White Dutch Clover in some of the more sunny areas. What would you recommend we plant in the more shady areas? Preferably, something that can be mowed occasionally to help reduce the invasives from growing.

I have noticed a growing problem with my marigolds having rough, twisted and knobby stems Is it a disease that is transferred to other marigolds? I have had marigolds as borders in my garden for decades and usually start them from the past year's seeds plus new ones. This problem showed up 2years ago and returned again this past year with even more plants. I remove the plants when it appears and do not save those seeds. I toss plant in trash. The flowers don't seem to be affected but plant is dwarfed.

Hello. Attached you will find 3 pictures of a weeping white spruce planted in our yard. Gertens garden center "tree guy" said to contact you and send pictures before possibly stopping off at the U Center for plant disease with a branch sample / or mailing it. Background: Tree was purchased from a garden center and had been grown in a boxed crate. It was about 12 ft + high at the time of purchase. Prior to transplanting I removed the crate materials and heavily scored the very "bound" roots. The receiving hole was very generous; about 4 x the size of the root mass. I filled it with a good mix of native screened soil, screened compost from Hiawatha garden supply, home "worm compost" and mushroom waste compost. The roots were watered in well and the tree was seated on a raised "mound" so as to better accommodate the weeping lower branches. A rooting stimulator from Gertens was also applied after transplant. This tree has thrived in this location for 3 years. It candles nicely in spring and has every other year bumper cone crops. We have watered it regularly through summer drought and sent it into winter always well watered. We feel we have done everything we can to help this tree.  However, in this late winter / early spring we are noticing the scattered "rust" that you see in the pictures. I know it is normal to see some of that as spruce trees shed old needles but this seems different. We have 6 other weeping white spruce on the property and this is the only one on which we see this to this extent. It is however, also the only one in the most shaded corner of the yard. Additionally, it is also the one tree that I could not keep much snow around during the more barren and extremely cold parts of this most recent winter.  The other trees were well insulated with snow all winter. Perhaps it has some root stress from the freezing? To me it looks a lot like what I see on jackpines up north. In that case, the "rust" seems apparent in spring but needles then drop and new growth makes the tree look good as new by midsummer. The Gertens "tree guy" did not think this was "needle cast", which sounds horrible and aggressive. The "rust" does not seem to be towards the bottom of the tree at all and it is not in the interior either. It seems to be scattered pretty uniformly amongst the outer branches and in all 4 exposures. He said that  "cast" is fungal and can spread to other trees. If that's the case we would want to do what we can to contain and treat this.  He also said it is still "early" in the approaching spring and there is time to diagnose and set a plan of action. Writing to you is my first step towards that. Can you hazard a guess based on the pictures? We live in Minneapolis along the west side of the Mississippi River. 

The leaves of my 50 yr. old cherry tree are shot through with holes. As soon as it leafs out in the spring, it begins to shed it's leaves. It is infecting my other shrubs, Andromeda, Jasmine and even Stonecrop. It is about 40 ft. tall so spraying would be problematic. I am sending photos of the cherry leaves as well as the Stonecrop.

I was wondering if you have seeds available for our nonprofit Head Start agency in McMinnville?

Am trying to find a way to fertilize my trees which are mature (30 years). Is it better to surface or deep root apply. I have a dog that goes outside so I try not to do surface applications.

I am interested in purchasing mason or leaf cutter bees. Is there a supplier in the Twin Cities area from where I can purchase?

I have a bat box full of bats. Love watching them and having them around. The box is getting very worn out and we are getting ready to paint the building where it is hung. How can I move the box and bats safely to another bat box?

I am looking for a ground cover for a small patch in the front yard--about three feet wide by 30 feet long to be covered. We are in Urbana Maryland. I would like something that spreads reasonably quickly but will not not compete with the lawn, and will not grow taller than 8 or 9 inches, and does not die out completely in winter. We get mid-morning direct sun from 10AM to 4PM in the summer, although this will be behind a picket fence, so there is slight shade. Flowering is okay, but not first choice. Soil drains okay in summer, but can retain puddles after a heavy rain storm. We have tried pachysandra with poor results. Do you have any suggestions? Thank you

Hi Do you have a suggested date for when can I prune my knockout roses? I live in Montgomery County. This year left dead leaves on my garden beds to facilitate insect reproduction, etc. Should I wait for warmer weather to clean off the leaves? do you have an after this date suggestion. ??? thanks