I am not sure how you store your potatoes. The ideal situation is a dark place with the temp between 2-5 C. Pick out the best looking potatoes; free of blemishes, solid and those which appear to have good eye selection. Handle the potatoes carefully as cold potatoes bruise easily. Put the seed potatoes separate in small units and be sure there is good circulation in the area where they are store; as this will delay spouting. Hope this is helpful and good luck. It should be fairly damp, about 80%.

~ Dyanne

Other than the article you mentioned I can find no listing for Red Alder (Alnus rubra) in the Prince George Area. in “From the Grown Up” which is a listing of most plants which grow in the Prince George area. There are listings for other alder including the Marchurian Alder (Alnus hirtsuta) which grows up to 15 meters high and the Mountain Alder (alnus tenuifolia) which grows to 10 meters high and is native to the area. The Red Alder, which is a coastal plant, grows from 20 to 35 meters tall. It turns red when the bark is bruised and has reddish male catkins in the spring. Its range is from Alaska to northern California within 200 miles of the coast with the additions of one area of Idaho. If you can positively identify it at Forests for the World it would stir interest.

~ Frances Mantler
Master Gardener in Training

The specialist in trees is an arborist. In the phone directory look under tree services but check their qualifications as many of the tree services specialize in tree removal and may not have the expertise to prune fruit trees. I am sorry but I cannot give you the name of a specific individual but these companies should have the safety equipment and the WCB coverage to do the job without putting your house insurance at risk.

~ Frances Mantler
Master Gardener-in-Training

I can find nothing on mason bees in Prince George. If you want them, you may have to import them and winter them away from the extreme cold that we get here. Even so they need some cold weather to know when to break hibernation. My research suggests that you import them before they hatch. Mason bees are solitary bees that do not return to the same spot but setting out clean blocks with holes drilled into them may keep them near especially if you have abundant sources of pollen nearby. You also need a source of mud available as they use it to plug their nest.

~ Frances Mantler
Master Gardener in Training

Roses can stand up to 50% of the soil at their roots to be compost/manure. The best fertilizer is either a balanced one 1-1-1 or a 1-2-1 depending which expert you read. The one warning I would give you is that peat is quite acidic and you need a slightly acidic soil for roses of between 6-7. So check the PH of the soil to decide if you want to add more peat or move to a less acidic compost/ manure mixture. Overall it sounds like you are doing a good job if you can grow zone 8 flowers.

~ Frances Mantler
Master Gardener in Training

I could find no plant called a rubus douglasiana. The research I have done suggests that is a rubus chamaemorus or cloudberry. It is tart then eaten when it is first picked which may be why the birds were not eating it.

~ Frances Mantler
Master Gardener in Training

The problem with your pumpkins may be lack of pollination. Pumpkins produce male and female flowers, using a q-tip or paint brush to transfer pollen from the male to the female flower can increase the chances of getting your pumpkins to develop.

What is happening with your apple tree is that the tree produces enough fruit in the good year that the tree needs a year to build up its energy reserves needed to do it again. Some types of apple trees do this normally but I could not find anything on the Norland apple tree to indicate that this is of that type. The solution is to prune the tree so you limit the fruit it produces in good years and leaving the tree with enough vigour to do it again next year. This is one case where finding someone with experience to come and see the tree and advise you may be worth the effort.

~ Frances Mantler
Master Gardener in Training

There are a number of types of tomato diseases that cause plants to wilt without actually seeing the plants it is hard to tell you which one was the problem.  Most of the time they are caused by fungi or bacteria. Changing the soil this year is a must. I would clean, to the point of sterilization, any tools or pots that you used last year that you wish to use again. I might also clean the greenhouse if at all possible. If the plants were outside I would suggest rotating the planting area and being careful of which plants you put in their place as some tomato wilts will affect other garden plants.

As far as some of your plants surviving, some types of tomatoes, and some individual plants, are more resistant to various diseases than others. The Brandywine tomato according to my research is not a prolific plant which means that the wilt may have had nothing to do with it not bearing fruit. When you buy your tomato seed this year look for varieties that bear the letters VFN as these are resistant to the most common diseases that cause tomato wilt. If you cannot find those letters then ask your supplier about resistance to disease and especially wilts.

If you take these steps then there is a good chance that you will be successful in growing tomatoes this year. I wish you a bushel full of tomatoes.

~ Frances Mantler
Master Gardener In Training

I cannot give you a single market garden or its location. What I can do is give you a website for gardeners who sell produce at the local Farmer's market http://www.farmersmarketpg.ca/web/vendors/ From this list you should be able to find local farms that sell directly to the public. I hope this helps.

~ Frances Mantler
Master Gardener in Training

To grow horse chestnuts from seed, place sand and compost, or very fertile soil in a plastic bag or a pot, if in a pot then you have to keep the pot damp but not wet, if you use the bag then you do not need to add additional water after dampening it the first time. Place the bag or pot outside so that the seed can freeze and thaw with the weather over the winter. The seeds should germinate on their own by spring. Afterwards place them in well-drained soil or ground slightly on the acidic side of the PH scale.

Once you are ready to plant them in the ground make certain you have a large area for they will get to be a good sized tree.

~ Frances Mantler
Master Gardener in Training

According to my books fuchsia is zone 8b to tender (will not take any frost). I do not know which kind of fuchsia you have. If they are the hardy kind of fuchsia covering the plants with an insulating material to protect them from the wind and cold might work but a severe frost may still kill them. Another option with an out of zone plants is to dig up the plants and bring them inside for the winter; which can be a lot of work and take up inside space but some gardeners get very attached to what they consider to be their special plants. I wish you the best of luck either way.

~ Frances Mantler
Master Gardener-in-training

The answer to this question depends on your soil conditions where you wish to plant the shrub. Some plants like acid soils, or are more tolerant of clay, or moisture laden soil. (The forest around Prince George tends to be acidic unless you have limestone rock in your yard.) Placing a plant in its preferred conditions makes it more maintenance free.

The best shrubs for little fussing are small evergreens as they need little pruning. Your best choice might be dwarf varieties of spruce (picea), pine (pinus) or fir (abies). These are usually listed by plant sellers as alpine varieties.

If you prefer leafy trees then you will have more maintenance. Lilac, dogwood, potentilla, the larger spiraea, Viburnum (cranberry), and a number of others do well here.

Whatever you choose be certain that you understand how big the plant will get and the conditions it likes. It will save you problems later.

~ Frances Mantler
Master Gardener in Training

The bulbs can be dug when then the weather gets cooler, and if stored in peat or some other dry, loose material in a dry place warm enough for them not to freeze, they should keep over the winter.

~ Frances Mantler
Master Gardener in Training

The real problem is that you need to find some kind of trellis or other support to keep the wind from damaging the rose stem. Other than some compost or fertilizer there is little you can do to help this rose. I do not however suggest that you fertilize your rose too close to freeze up as the new shoots will be frost sensitive.

~ Frances Mantler
Master Gardener-in- Training

In practice most plants have two names; their scientific name and their common name. The scientific or Latin name is the one that crosses all cultural boundaries so you can order plants or look up a specific plant on the internet and be reasonably certain you have the right plant. Unfortunately plants can have any number of common names and these change with the language and the dialect of the speaker. Even in English, a plant may have a variety of common names depending on the cultural background or geographical location of the speaker. Any of the names you found might be right depending on your listener.

In the scientific name the genus in this case Erythrina is capitalized and the variety variegata is properly written in italics. Common names follow the common lanaguage rules that is not unless you have a formal or truly specific name for a tree.

Any shrubbery which is dormant, or on which new leaves have not yet opened can be moved easily simply by potting them up. If they will not be out of the ground for more than a few days, (up to a week or so) even stuffing some in a cardboard box will do. Lining the box with poly will extend that time, and keep soil from dropping where you don't want it. If the shrubs are fully dormant, you won't need much soil. Evergreen shrubs can move too, use nearby deciduous shrubs to guage dormancy. Giving the shrubs a fairly hard prune will improve your chances, and save space.

Potting them up is a good way to move the shrubs and perennials, but it takes a lot of space to move them (relatively), and I'm assuming that space is at a premium.

Perennials are more forgiving. The carboard box routine will be sufficient even if they have started growing. They will hold longer than the shrubs, too, so replant the shrubs first.

If you will need to store the shrubs for more than a week or so, cut them back enough that they will fit into poly bags which you will transport in boxes (you do not want twigs to poke holes in the poly). Pack some moist peat or shavings around the roots rather than retaining soil - less weight, and holds the moisture better. Seal the poly bags, keep them as cool as possible without freezing and they will keep this way for up to a month or so. You can open the bags once a week and check for new growth appearing. Once it starts, you have about a week or so to plant them without weakening them to the point where it is a problem. When you open the bags, if you see signs of mould, plant the shrubs as quickly as possible, even if it means potting them up temporarily.

Plants with tuberous roots, such as peonies can only be moved until the new leaves unfurl, after which the best you can do is cross your fingers or pray. Otherwise, treat them as the other perennials.

The bulbs are your biggest problem. Some will transplant now, some will not. Unless you have some which are sentimental favorites, or which are rare enough to be difficult to replace, your best bet is to start fresh in your new location. If you really want to move some, move them with as little disturbance as possible into a poly lined box or plastic flat and transport them that way. Expect to lose some no matter how careful you are.

Good luck
~ Ron

This actually a tough question because regardless of your choice, it may be the wrong one.

If you break them off, you risk damaging the eye so that a new shoot can't grow. If you leave them on, they may be so weak by mid May that you won't get a decent plant out of it.

We left ours on, partly because it is less work, and usually got good results, although they can be difficult to plant, and some break off anyway. That is, when they were for our own use. When we were market gardening back in the 60's, we started with fresh seed potatoes.

New seed potatoes gave better results than either choice, but you have to buy them, and if the others are already there...

~ Ron

Yes. Plants have a much higher tolerance for chlorine than animals.

There aren't many reasons why a flower will change shape.

The most likely is that the plant has hybridized with something else in the neighborhood. Some plants will hybridize even across genera, so what it might have hybridized with it is sheer guess. Usually, the resulting flowers will have some characteristics of both parents, so you can look around and see if there is something in line of sight that would fit the bill. Unless there is something really obvious close by, this is at best suggestive, not a proof. The other parent could even be something you had in a planter last year, but are not growing this year. (The hybridizing would have occurred last year.)

Less likely is that its not the morning glory blooming, but something else growing and entwining with it. You can confirm or negate this possibility with a close inspection.

Even less likely is some sort of micronutrient toxicity or deficiency (manganese most likely). However, such a nutrient problem would almost certainly affect the leaves even more than the flowers.  Soil characteristics would be more likely if it were flower color which had changed, rather than shape.

~ Ron

The amur maples do not need any prep for winter.

More generally, trees and shrubs which are being grown in regions where they are pushing the limits of their winter hardiness may be helped by a late August or early September feed of either high phosphate or high potassium (or both). The theory is that this will induce a deeper dormancy and a bit better ability to withstand cold.

Extra phosphate will cause soft new growth to stiffen up, but otherwise there is no rigorous science to back up the theory. If you don't overdo it, though, it won't hurt.

Withholding water after mid-August will induce dormancy, but the weather has to cooperate. If it is rainy, it won't help. Earlier dormancy will help trees like sugar maples which are susceptible to
unusually heavy fall freezes, even though they will take pretty much whatever January will deliver. If you do this at some time, be sure to give the trees a good soaking once their leaves turn color.

Once trees are established, they do not need watering unless the climate is arid or semi-arid. Even then, only during long dry spells. Tree roots run deep enough that the ground does not dry that deeply except in dry climates.

~ Ron

Vanilla planifolia (V. fragrans) is a terrestrial orchid, so it needs to be growing in a soil based potting mix with lots of humus. You can also use a commercial terrestrial orchid mix if you add extra organic matter, and some extra bark.

It does not want to be too wet, or too dry. Watering from underneath works quite well as the capillary action keeps the soil moist but not soggy. Its ok to water from the top if your mix drains
quickly.

Humidity can be a problem, especially in a drier climate. Misting a couple of times a day will probably be necessary. Room humidifiers are useful. If the leaves start turning brown at the tips,
you definitely need to increase the humidity.

It wants bright shade, or bright filtered sunlight (like through a curtain), with an optimum range of 1000 to 3000 foot candles. If you don't have a light meter, pass your hand between the plant and the window on a bright day. If you can just barely see your hand's shadow on the plant, your light levels are about right.

Fertilize in spring and summer only, using a fertilizer with about a 1-2-3 ratio. (4-8-12 for example). The commonly available 4-10-10 would be close enough. Vanillas need a dormant period each year. Fertilizing in fall or winter, or using grow lights to increase day length will interfere with the dormancy, prevent it from enjoying its natural cycles, and may inhibit or prevent the hormonal changes needed to trigger flowering.

If you wish to propagate it, cuttings taken near the end of the dormancy cyle work not too badly if they are allowed to dry for 2-3 weeks prior to sticking in the rooting mix. Lastly, at 3 years old, its still a pup. Orchids are notorious for taking a long time for seedlings to bloom. 7 years is not unusual.

~ Ron

I have successfully planted perennials and shrubs up until freeze-up. The only ones which ever gave a problem were really small ones, say, basket stuffer pot size. The little guys had a significantly higher failure rate than 4" on up. Without actually having measured the rates, it would be 2-3 % for the larger, and maybe 7-8% for the little ones.

A tree depends on whether you are moving it or planting one that has been growing in the pot. If they are being moved, there is often die-back especially if the tree is larger. Digging it up cuts off some of its winter storage tissue, so it abandons some of the top (in spring, it has time to regrow roots). From pots, I've not planted later than about October 20 or so, with good results. Probably they too are good until freeze up.

~ Ron