Charlotte is Blooming! Answers on Gardening & Home Landscaping

July 21st, 2008 categories: Charlotte Living

Whether you’ve got questions about which azlaea blooms twice? which culinary herbs thrive in Charlotte or what’s the deal with Charlotte’s famous red clay soil, Nancy Brachey probably has the answer! Nancy has been The Charlotte Observer’s gardening guru for over 3o years and guess what YOU CAN ASK HER A QUESTION!

I found this hidden gem recently — The Charlotte Observer has a Q&A section, your own private expert, where you can skim through the hundreds of gardening queries — who knows you might find the answer to a question you didn’t even know you had!

Here’s an example about one the Charlotte areas most prolific and beautiful plants the crepe myrtle:

Submitted by Brenda from Taylorsville N.C.

Q: One of my dwarf crepe myrtles was frozen in the BIG EASTER FREEZE but there are signs of life coming out from the bottom of the tree. Should the original trunk,which looks dead,be cut off or left alone?

Answered 06/27/08 23:02:54 by Nancy Brachey
A: If the original trunk is dead, cut it off to the base of the plan. Then choose the most vigorous looking shoots rising from the ground. You should have three to five of these, evenly distributed around the plant. Make these stems the foundation of the new crape myrtle. Cut off the weaker ones, especially if they bump into or cross the ones already selected to form the framework of the tree. You want to create a multi-trunk plant.

So now you know. Once you buy your home in Charlotte you’ll be able to have a yard or garden that will be the talk of your neighborhood! Can you say Yard of the Month?

Rhonda’s Flower Garden

Authored by Donna Johnston | Discussion: Your Comments Please »