Richard Nunnally: Gardening Q&A

Q:I have a shady area in the backyard underneath some pines and gum trees. Late this spring, I planted some shade-loving perennials, grasses and hostas in this area. Now I have some clover and wild strawberries growing as a natural ground cover. Should I let them proliferate and add to the foliage or weed them out?

Answer: If you like the natural look of the clover and wild strawberries, I would leave them alone. Clover is a wonderful pollen-producing plant for bees, as well as a source of nitrogen for your other plants. Since neither of these are climbers, they should provide a good natural ground cover.

Q:I want to aerate my lawn in preparation for planting grass seed. I have a device for my riding mower that sort of scrapes the surface of the ground. Will that be enough or should I rent something else?

Answer: What you have described sounds more like a dethatcher than an aerator. I recommend using a core aerator prior to seeding -- you can rent them at many garden centers and rental shops.

What you have will pull up thatch and decaying plant material lying on the surface of the ground. If you put enough weight on it, it may even make some grooves in the soil. However, to reduce soil compaction and provide holes in the ground for your seed, the core aerator will remove 1to 2-inch cores of soil and leave holes in the ground.

Those cores should contain some organic matter and micro-organisms that will eventually break down and work their way back into the holes. This process provides a great environment for your seeds to germinate as well as allowing your starter fertilizer to drop into the holes. This not only puts the fertilizer closer to the roots, but it also reduces fertilizer runoff.

Q:I saw an article last year about eradicating Bermuda grass and wire grass in your lawn. One product was Turflon Ester. I believe another was a Bayer Bermuda Control. What do you recommend to kill this grass that is starting to take over my lawn? What do you think of these products and when is the best time to apply them?

Answer: Both of these products are excellent and give selective control for Bermuda grass in fescue. Selective meaning they control the Bermuda and don't hurt the fescue.

The Bayer product has fluazifop as its active ingredient. Turflon D contains triclopyr, which is also gives good control of Bermuda. You can use either of them now, but the labels on both indicate your best results are achieved early in the summer when the Bermuda is just starting to show up.

With either product, be sure to read the label carefully, heat and drought can impact the effectiveness of the product.

Q:I have a peony that came from my husband's grandmother. My sister-in-law planted it at her house for several years. Her husband kept cutting it down so she gave it to me about four years ago. The first two years, it did nothing. Last year, it had one bud that never opened, and this year nothing. What do you think the problem is? This plant has leaves that are different from my other peonies.

Answer: There are a number of different types of peonies, so it's not unusual that the leaves are not exactly like the others.

Normally, peonies that don't bloom well are planted or mulched too deep. Another factor that adversely impacts blooms is if they are cut down too early in the summer. During the summer their foliage is storing up food for next season's blooms. Of course, they need full sun, and they like a pH between 6.5 and 7.0. If your soil is too acidic, that can also impact your blooms.

Peonies often don't bloom well for a couple of seasons after transplanting. This fall, you might want to dig this one up and see if it has settled into the ground and gotten too deep. If you don't think they are too deep, you can leave them as they are and hope they return to normal next spring.

Richard Nunnally is a freelance writer and host of WCVE's monthly gardening show, "Virginia Home Grown." He can be contacted at .