ArcaMax

Q: We have several tall perennials that flop over when they go into bloom. When we try to straighten up the iris, peony and delphinium plants, they crack and break. How can we keep them growing straight up without having a whole bunch of poles sticking up in the yard?

A: Check with your local garden center for a horizontal fence, sometimes called a peony hoop. They usually come in circular rings of a wire grid. They have a variety of diameters and leg lengths. In the early spring, stake the legs into the ground with the grid hovering over the base of the plant. The plant stems will grow up through the grid, helping to hide it. As it gets taller, the legs can be pulled up and out of the ground or new, longer legs can be added.

Staking the plant early will allow the foliage to grow around the support, so it will look much more natural than trying to stake a bent-over stem. The bent-over stem will rarely straighten up again. Taller and bushier plants such as delphiniums can be placed in tomato cages.

Q: Many of our garden vegetables are developing holes in the leaves, but we can't find anything eating them. The leaves are not showing any discoloring as though a disease is involved. What can we do?

A: Check the plants at night. There are a surprising number of pests that roam around at night. Slugs and snails leave slimy trails that are sometimes visible in the daylight but are often easy to see at night when they are fresh. There are also beetles, cutworms, earwigs and weevils that all feed at night. Once you find out the culprit, you can decide on a treatment. For most of them, insecticidal soap will get rid of them and leave the plants safe to eat when you harvest them.

Q: I have a spot in my garden that will be soggy for a day or two after heavy rains. Currently, there are privets in this area, which form a privacy border between our home and our neighbors. They haven't died but are not thriving either. Is there another plant you might suggest that can tolerate having its feet wet? Thanks for your help.

A: Some hibiscuses are very tolerant of wet soil. Hibiscus moscheutos (common names include rose mallow, swamp mallow and wild cotton) is a 3- to 8-foot-tall shrub in the Southern states and a 3-foot-tall perennial in the Northern states. It has red, white or pink flowers as big as dinner plates. If you have a wet area, this is a great plant.

Many shrubs, trees and perennials will easily grow in soil that stays wet for a few days or weeks at a time. Your local nursery will have many suggestions for native plants.

The following trees are good for wet locations, and most can be grown just about everywhere in the country: red and silver maples, alder, serviceberry, birch, larch, sweet gum, sycamore, poplars, swamp white and pin oak, willow, and bald cypress. Shrubs include chokeberry, some bamboo, buttonbush, red-twig dogwood, several hollies, bayberry, some azaleas, arborvitae and some viburnums. Some common wetland perennials include monkshood, sweet flag, astilbe, marsh marigold, elephant's ear, several iris, lobelia, monkey flower, forget-me-not, cattail and some violets.

Any homeowner or commercial property owner shouldn't have any trouble turning a problem wet area into an easy-to-maintain and beautiful area. Wet areas from downspouts, basement sump pump outflows or low-drainage areas can be turned into a rain garden. If it is occasionally too wet to mow, try turning that into an advantage.

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Email questions to Jeff Rugg at info@greenerview.com. To find out more about Jeff Rugg and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Copyright 2025 Jeff Rugg. Distributed By Creators.