Native Plants

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Monday - July 12, 2010
From: West Monroe, LA
Region: Southeast
Topic: Non-Natives
Title: Fertilizer for non-native Althea in West Monroe LA
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
What type of fertilizer is best for Althea BushesANSWER:
Hibiscus syriacus, Althea or Rose of Sharon, is native to China and Taiwan and therefore falls out of our range of expertise, which is plants native not only to North America but to the area in which they are being grown. We found one reference to fertilizer which recommended a slow-release fertilizer for trees and shrubs in early Spring. Don't use fertilizers heavy in nitrogen, such as lawn fertilizers, as this encourages green leaves but not flowers. We also found references to this plant as invasive, seeding profusely and being difficult to control.More Non-Natives Questions
Watering a vegetable garden in San Marcos TX
March 24, 2012 - Can you give me a general idea how long to run my drip irrigation on my raised vegetable garden? Currently I use it twice daily for one hour. The soil feels slightly moist but not very damp. Should...
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Pruning of non-native abelias in Fair Oaks Ranch, TX
January 24, 2011 - I have some old established Abelias that are leggy at the bottom. Can I cut them back, and if so, how far and best time to do so?
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Rust spots on non-native red tip photinia
July 10, 2008 - I live in Oklahoma and my red tips have rust spots on leaves and some plants are losing leaves. This is a clay soil; can you give me any info. on how to solve this problem?
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Houseplant identification
October 15, 2014 - Had a houseplant with leaves that were green on the top and purplish on the bottom. The leaves were velvety to the touch. Would like to know what it was.
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Care for non-native Kalanchoe from Belton SC
December 23, 2012 - The leaves on a Kalanchoe that we bought from Logee's has leaves starting to curl. It has been this way since I bought it. It is in a south window, it's cold out so I put the plant inside. Besides c...
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