Dear Helen: This year my wife and I decided to try growing artichokes. So far, they are doing well except that some of the leaves are curled around a mass of foam. Inside the foam is a tiny, pale creature. What are these things? Will they damage the plants?
R.D.
Your mystery creatures are spittlebugs (spitbugs, froghoppers). They suck plant sap, but rarely do any significant damage. I just wash them off plants with a spray of water.
The little nymphs create the foam (called “cuckoo spit") using a bellows-like action to expel the frothy substance out their back ends. They then sweep the foam over their bodies as a covering.
I presume your plants are the thistle-like globe artichokes with large, arching, silvery green leaves and big, edible buds. Watch out for black aphids on the backs of the big leaves. You’ll see ants moving up and down the leaves and stems as they “farm” the aphids for the sugary honeydew the aphids excrete.
If you find aphids, keep them washed off the leaves with a brisk stream of water from a hose nozzle. Left unchecked, the aphids end up congregating on and inside the flower buds you will want to eat.
Dear Helen: Last summer I collected seeds from a tree I admired in a friend’s garden — an Arbutus unedo, or strawberry tree. I gave the seeds a period of cold before planting and was surprised that over half germinated. I potted the seedlings in 15-cm wide pots and left them out over the winter. In March, I was horrified to find them all dead. I have no idea why. The plants could not have dried out. There was plenty of rain over the winter.
L.C.
Exposure to winter rain and a resulting wet soil probably killed the young plants. I’m surprised you had such quick germination. Shrub and tree seeds are usually sown in early autumn, in pots, and left outdoors but protected from rain over the winter.
I put mine on the bottom tier of outdoor shelving. The boards of the top shelf shield the seeded pots from rain. I’ve grown a camellia, a magnolia, peonies and daphnes that way.
With spring germination, the little plants have a summer and early autumn to develop. Unless they rapidly outgrow their pot(s) early in the season, I wait until the following spring for repotting or planting into the garden. It’s best to avoid sending newly potted plants into the winter.
Dear Helen: Is it possible to grow pineapple broom from seed? I had to leave my lovely shrub behind when I moved.
L.D.
Pineapple broom (Cytisus battandieri, Argyrocytisus battandieri, Moroccan broom) is prized for its silvery foliage and large upright cones of golden flowers in early summer. Propagation by seed in late summer or early autumn is recommended.
None of the catalogues I have list the seeds, but I see sources for them on the internet.
Dear Helen: My mother and I enjoyed your column about being sent seeds of oregano-scented, fernleaf lavender and discovering how easily (and fast) they grew. We would like to try growing this interesting plant. What company sent them to you?
K.D.
The company that sent me the seeds no longer lists this lavender. A current Canadian source for the seeds is Richters Herbs in Ontario (Richters.com). This is a fascinating catalogue, listing many interesting plants not available anywhere else. They sell seeds, transplants, seed and plant collections, dried herbs, herbal tea blends and gourmet vegetable seeds.
Dear Helen: I have been using compost bins for years and never had problems with ants, but this year I found a nest in my finished compost, even though I was still turning it. If I use the compost in the vegetable garden or perennial beds, will they cause problems?
A.W.
Probably not. Ants help to process materials in a compost mass, and they boost aeration as well. They are considered, for the most part, to be beneficial to garden soils and compost heaps and bins. Ant colonies in compost sometimes indicate the compost is too dry.
I have certainly come across more congregations of ants than usual in the garden this year. I deal with them by repeated dispersal. They can become a problem when they guard and protect aphid colonies on our plants in return for honeydew the aphids provide.
