Ask the Gardener: Native grass, safe cleaners, garlic and more

Gardening editor Doug Oster gets asked a lot of questions. A lot. And he doesn’t mind offering gardening advice. But rather than just limiting those answers to the person who asked, we thought it might be a good idea to share that wealth of knowledge with everybody.

There are three ways to send in your questions:

Email askdoug@535mediallc.com
Submit your question on our “Your Garden” section of our site
Send us a message on Facebook.

(The questions may be lightly edited for grammar/clarity/etc.)

native grass

Question 1: Native grass

Holly: I am wondering if you could suggest native grass seed that is low mow and low maintenance. (No cutting would be fine too.) I am trying to naturalize my garden to be as environmentally friendly as possible.

Doug: Most native grasses aren’t grown to be cut, they are used as full-sized plants. American Meadows has a great collection here.

But there is a trend of converting the lawn using native varieties not normally considered “turf” varieties. Red fescue is a cool season variety, meaning it’s good for our climate and will be green from spring until fall. Plants from the care family called sedges are also being introduced as alternatives to conventional grass seed. Check out this article about native lawn conversion.

Since no cut is an option, look at some images online of the grasses when they are left to grow, they are really beautiful. I see them in public gardens all the time, especially in Europe. I did a garden consult the other day and there was a steep bank covered with a type of grass. My suggestion was to just let it grow as opposed to trying to cut it or changing this huge area into a succulent garden.

Question 2: Safe cleaner

Becky: Can you recommend a good vinyl siding cleaner that won’t harm plants?

Speaking of plants, I should just leave my hydrangeas alone and not trim or prune them at all, correct?

Doug: Simple Green is a great, safe cleaner for siding and other surfaces.

Never touch those hydrangeas until June and then all you want to remove is deadwood. They put buds on right after blooming, so improper pruning will remove those buds and, in turn, next year’s flowers.

Question 3: Garlic

Don: About two weeks ago, I removed the leaves on my garlic, then all the scapes grew about 12 inches tall. I tried to pull them off with no luck so I cut them all down and piled the leaves on them again. Am I OK until July? There are 15 hardneck and 11 music.

Doug: You don’t want to remove all the garlic leaves, they give the bulb energy. They are harvested sparingly. The scapes are always removed, but those don’t appear around here until June. I would leave them be and hope for new growth. Bulbtone would be a good fertilizer to apply, too.

Question 4: Blueberry cuttings

Michael: I have taken blueberry cuttings and put them in Perlite, and the buds are starting to grow. When should I transplant them to a pot with potting mix in it?

Doug: Just gently pull on the cuttings. If they resist, they are ready to be potted up.