Q: I have two large butterfly bushes that need to be trimmed. When is the right time to do this and how much can I safely cut? Answer: You can trim back butterfly bush anytime now. You can prune them all through the summer as the old blooms begin to fade. By removing the old blooms you’ll stimulate more new growth and more new blooms. Butterfly bush should continue to flower right up to the first frost.

Q:This spring, I was given a dogwood standing 6 feet tall and 2½ feet wide, which I have planted beneath a large hawthorn. It seems to be a happy plant. However, I just realized that its projected size is 20 feet by 20 feet. My lot is quite small. Will I be able to contain this dogwood with pruning? A plant that grows to about 10 feet by 10 feet would fit better in my yard.

We have beautiful lilacs that are attacked by Japanese hornets a couple times each summer. These huge hornets girdle-strip the bark from branches and trunks apparently to use for nest-building. They appear to be immune to Sevin applied to the bushes or directly to the insects. The only success we have had against the hornets is to ambush them with a direct shot of wasp and hornet spray while they are gnawing on the plant. We would appreciate any advice you have.

Q:I have a south-facing garden wall—painted white—where I am trying to establish a creeping fig. It gets full sunlight most of the day and seemed to be doing OK at first, but now it seems to be bleaching out and actually burning to a degree. I had this on a fence in the San Francisco Bay area of California. I know it does well in more southern climes, and I have been worried that it might not make it this far north. Is there any chance that it will survive long enough to become acclimated to weather our winters?

Q:I was wondering if the Richmond Times-Dispatch is printed with ink that is safe for the compost pile? Answer: It seems that as early as the 1970s, the Newspaper Association of America was looking for ways to make ink that was more reliable and cost effective than with the petroleum products used at the time. After testing more than 2,000 formulations, researchers recommended ink made from soybean oil. By 2004, soybean-based inks were being used by more than 95 percent of daily newspapers in the U.S.

Q:I have about 75 oak trees on my 3 acres of yard. I recently noticed that all the leaves on four trees in the same general area have died. Are the trees dead? What might have caused this? They appeared to be fine this spring. Answer: Without seeing them, I can only make some guesses as to what may have happened. First, I would want to know the age of your house and whether any construction has been done in the area in the past couple of years. Has anything been done that may have changed the trees’ environment or impacted their roots?

Over the years I’ve planted lots of daffodils but only about 1 in 10 bloom. Most of the ones that don’t bloom are in the shade. I’ve planted the bulbs in the fall, making the holes with a bulb planter. I use bone meal and blood meal for fertilizer. Could the lack of sun be the reason? Answer: The lack of sunlight could be a major part of the problem. Daffodils will survive in full shade, but they really need sunlight to make their best blooms. Bone meal is a good amendment for bulbs but it would be most effective if it were mixed into the entire area, rather than just put at the bottom of the hole.

Q:Could you suggest something I can use as mulch for my vegetable garden that would allow me to consider my produce organic? What about layers of newspaper with rotted sawdust on top? Answer: You can use newspaper and sawdust. However, you have to be careful with the sawdust to make sure it has aged. Fresh sawdust contains a large amount of fresh resins and the pH can be very acidic. Clean straw is often used as mulch by many organic gardeners. The straw can then be removed at the end of the season. Q:Some of my iris have root rot and they smell rotten. What can I do? Also, is this something that the daylilies could catch? If so, how could I treat them?

Q:Please let me know how I can get rid of poa annua in my lawn. Mine dies down in the spring but comes back strong the following year. Answer: Poa annua is annual bluegrass. As you have discovered, it is very difficult to control. It started dying several weeks ago, but all of the seeds it dropped will germinate next fall. Because it’s an annual, the ideal way to control it is with a pre-emergent herbicide applied in late August or early September. Of course, that means you can’t plant fescue seeds at that time either. Poa annua seeds normally germinate in midto late September, based on temperature and availability of water. If you decide to use the pre-emergent in September, you may want to buy it now. Many garden centers don’t carry it in the fall.

Q:We’re tired of maintaining our lawn and would really like to landscape our yard to make it easier to maintain and more attractive to wildlife. We’d particularly like to attract birds and butterflies. Can you suggest where to find information on making this transition? Answer: There are several places to get suggestions for attracting butterflies. Maymont and Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden are featuring butterfly exhibits this summer. A visit to both would let you see plants that naturally attract butterflies. We’ll be featuring Maymont’s new Butterfly Garden on our June 30 edition of Virginia Home Grown, on WCVE-TV.

Q:When I was a child, my grandmother had a beautiful bush that had wonderful small orange/yellow blooms. She called it mock orange. My mom told me she believed my grandmother took a “slip” and planted it. I have seen one recently in a wooded area along the roadside but I can’t find it at local nurseries. They do carry a mock orange plant, but it has white flowers and doesn’t resemble my grandmother’s plant at all. From what I’ve read, these can be difficult to grow from cuttings. Do you know where I can buy one?

Q:We moved to Chesterfield County this year from Long Island, N.Y. I have always had a vegetable garden; growing tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, etc. I never had to fence in the garden in New York since the only animals I had to worry about were squirrels. I have seen rabbits in our yard along with the usual squirrels, birds, etc. Will I have to fence in my garden to protect it? If so, what should I use as fencing?

Q:Last year we lost a 7-year-old golden raintree. As I was cutting down the dead trunk, I noticed a series of white spikes about an inch long sticking out. The spikes were about the size of a toothpick and I assumed it was compacted sawdust or some kind of insect excrement. Now I have found the same kind of spikes on an 8-year-old brown turkey fig tree. Any idea what kind of pest is causing this and if there is any treatment?

Q:Because of unfortunate circumstances, my yard has been neglected for the past three years. I would like to know what I need to do to get it back to looking nice. I have lots of weeds and sparse grass in some places. The yard has been taken over by moles or voles. Anything that you can suggest will be appreciated. Answer: Fall is normally the best time to re-establish a lawn. A good place to start your renovation would be to have your soil tested this spring. That will tell you whether you need lime and how much. Lime is one of the most important things you can add to your lawn. You can add it anytime this spring and summer. If you need several applications you can make them a month apart. The goal would be to have the soil ready by the middle of August. You can aerate the soil and plant new grass seed as close to Labor Day as possible.

Q:After twenty-five years of growing roses, I have finally decided that it is not worth the time, effort, cost, and above all, the chemicals required to get optimum results. I would like to turn my rose garden into an easy maintenance perennial bed. How long do I have to wait? What do I have to do to the soil in order to replant in a space previously occupied by a rose bush?