This week I answer readers' questions: Q. I have a very large witch-hazel Pallida. Mine produces two different kinds of flowers. The showy large, yellow flowers are present on about half of the branches all on one side. On the other side there are much smaller, rust-coloured flowers that are virtually invisible. Does witch-hazel have separate male and female flowers? If pruning is advised, when can it be done?
A. Your witch-hazel is suckering from the rootstock. Usually the rootstock chosen for flowering witchhazels is the medicinal Hammamelis virginiana, which is still used today by herbalists. It's also popular with commercial growers because it's far more vigorous than the flowering ornamental witch-hazels.
Used as a rootstock, H. virginiana makes flowering witchhazels grow faster so commercial growers can keep their prices down and produce good-size trees available for sale sooner. Suckering problems arise later when people prune branches of the flowering witch-hazel. This stimulates the rootstock to use its excess energy by thrusting up its own stems.
You'll need to prune away the rootstock branches. You can recognize them in fall or winter because they emerge below the graft and usually hang onto more of their leaves than the ornamental branches. Pruning is best done in the dormant season.
Unfortunately pruned suckers usually recur. But it's possible to avoid major pruning of suckering branches by checking the tree often and pulling (not cutting) any new belowgraft
buds away from the stem.
This usually removes the growth node the suckers sprang from. These nodes are tough so it's best to pull with pliers or some other grabbing tool. Many other grafted shrubs and trees can sucker. This is more likely after heavy pruning or winter dieback of the top growth. Contorted hazel, tree peonies and roses are among susceptible species.
Q. Will you please tell me what vegetable seeds I can sow indoors for the coming few months?
A. In January and February: leeks, storage onions, sweet onions, celery and parsley. In March: lettuce, cauliflowers, broccoli, fennel, cabbage, peppers, asparagus and, at the end of the month, tomatoes. In April: eggplant, squash, pumpkin.
There are lots of vegetables you can plant outside from February on but these are the ones usually
started inside in spring.
Q. How can I keep my orchid blooming? I have followed instructions carefully but nothing has happened.
A. I wonder how long it's been since your orchid last bloomed. Few orchids bloom continuously. In the wild, most bloom once a year and then rest while they build up strength for a second flowering. Grown in pots in the house, orchids tend to follow the same habits.
The other issue is that orchids grown commercially for sale may be forced into bloom at a time that's unnatural for them. Orchids that have gone through that process will need a longer than normal period to regain their strength.
I'd recommend patiently waiting and giving your orchid lots of loving care according to the instructions you have. Try doublechecking your instructions in case there's some extra point (more humidity perhaps) that would make your orchid even happier.
Anne Marrison is happy to answer garden questions. Send them to her via [email protected] It helps me if you mention the name of your city or region.
