Walter Reeves: moon vine seed easy to harvest

By Walter Reeves

For the AJC

Q: I’m the community moon vine grower. What’s the process for harvesting and storing the seed until next year? -- Jimmy Terrell, Winder

A: Moon vine, Ipomoea alba, is a great annual vine. I love how the big white flower opens late on summer afternoons, spends the night attracting pollinating moths and then wilts by mid-morning the next day. The seeds can be harvested each fall and kept until planting time in late April. I wait until each purple/green pod has dried completely and then crack it open to find 1-4 ivory-colored seeds inside. Keep dry and cool until next spring.

Q: Eight years ago, when our house was built, the builders left a pile of pine trunks in our backyard. Today, it is a crumbling heap of free organic material. Can it be used for mulch or top-dress? -- Lisa Scoville, Colbert

A: Decomposed tree trunk is no different from decomposed tree leaf. In other words, you have compost and it can be used freely in your landscape. If the material is composed of chunks smaller than quarter-inch on a side, you can dig it in as soil conditioner. If the particles are larger, use them as mulch. Or you could separate the materials with a rake and have both conditioner and mulch.

Q: We recently planted several deodar cedar trees. The other day I noticed a group of yellow caterpillars gleefully chewing the needles. What are they? -- Russ Watson, Gainesville

A: Though it’s really late to see them, I think you have red-headed pine sawfly larvae. They aren’t caterpillars. The sawfly is a wasp-like insect and the eggs may have come in with the trees. Since they are not caterpillars, products containing Bacillus thuringiensis won’t kill them. Spray the trees with any garden insecticide instead.

Q: I have several miniature roses growing in containers. Should they be moved indoors for the winter, or will they be all right left outside on a sunny deck? -- Nancy Groves, Lawrenceville

A: Miniature roses are often sold as houseplants but they are not at all suited for indoor conditions. They are plenty hardy enough to be outdoors in winter. I worry about leaving them on a sunny deck. It may be warm enough there to force tender new growth in winter. Instead, find a sunny spot in which to dig a trench two inches deeper than the pots, but just as wide, and place a single layer of bricks in the bottom. Put the pots on the bricks and stuff pine straw around them. The bricks provide good drainage and the straw insulates the roots. Put a thin layer of straw around the plants and let them be until you retrieve them in March. If there is much foot traffic near the planting spot, insert a section of bamboo next to each pot to protect them.

Listen to Walter Reeves Saturday mornings on AM 750 and 95.5 FM News-Talk WSB. Visit www.walterreeves.com, or join his Facebook Fan Page at xrl.us/wrfacebook for more garden tips.