In Good Thyme - by Mariana Graham

Q: I have long had some questions concerning wild holly trees and your recent article indicates you would be a good source to put them to rest. We have quite a number of holly trees growing in our woods, most quite small, but some old enough to have blossoms in the spring. However, none ever develop red berries. The only exception is one that we purchased from a nursery. It has a few each year but is planted in an unfavorable spot - shallow soil and too much competition. I have always assumed that the wild trees were of a different species that didn't produce berries. Is this probable or is there some other reason - perhaps age - responsible? If they are of a different species, are they capable of pollinating our one (purchased) English holly? Hope you can put my cares to rest. - Bill Niles, Clinton

A: In most holly species, male and female flowers appear on separate plants. Only female plants, however, produce berries. The rule of thumb is that a male tree must be within 100 feet of a female tree of the same species for the bees to successfully carry the pollen from male to female blossoms and thus create those pretty red berries. There are some species that produce plants by self pollination, but they're certainly not as common.
So even if the hollies growing wild in the woods are, by chance, the same species as yours, and they are 100 feet from yours, if they're all male, they won't produce berries. If there are quite a few of them, there's a good chance there are both male and female plants. If they're not producing flowers (and are thus unable to be cross pollinated by bees) it could be the less-than-ideal growing conditions to which they're subjected in the wild. Hollies will grow as an understory shrub in light shade, but they would be happier in full sun. If the holly you purchased at the nursery is bearing, it's a female and is being pollinated, perhaps by one of the wild hollies, unless it's one of the self fertile types discussed previously. It sounds as though it would benefit from being transplanted to a spot where it can stretch its roots into better soil. If you decide to move it, do it soon, during dormant season. Try feeding it in early spring with a rhododendron-type fertilizer. Hollies prefer a cool, slightly moist root run, so mulching beneath it with leaves, shredded bark or wood chips isn't a bad idea. Don't mound mulch up around the trunk, however, and don't cultivate the soil around the roots. With a little TLC, you should be seeing red -- berries, that is -- by next autumn.

SPRAY PEACH TREES NOW
If you grow peach trees, you're probably all too familiar with the fungal disease aptly named peach leaf curl. The infection starts just as the buds begin to swell in early spring. As new leaves appear, they become curled, distorted and reddish. In severe cases, new growth dies off and fruit develops lesions. Diseased leaves will often drop early in the season. If left untreated, the fungus, Taphrina deformans, will return each year, weakening the tree and predisposing it to other diseases.
These symptoms are usually discovered in spring, when treatment has no effect. The ideal time to go after this disease is in late fall, after leaf drop, and again in mid winter (now!) before buds begin to swell. Once the buds swell it's too late. If you didn't use a dormant spray last fall, do it now and you'll probably be okay. Even if your tree showed no signs of the disease, dormant spray is good preventive maintenance. Fungicides registered for control of peach leaf curl include liquid lime sulfur, fixed copper or Bordeaux mixture, prepared according to label directions. Spray all parts of the tree, as fungal spores lodge beneath bark and bud scales. If you follow this twice-annual regime, you should be able to get the disease under control or better yet, prevent it from attacking in the first place. As with all fungal diseases, remove infected leaves and clean up debris beneath the tree. Dispose of the leaves; don't compost them.

In researching this subject, I read of a British gardener who covers his dwarf peach trees with tarps during the rainy season to repel rain-borne fungus. He says it works for him, but I'm not sure how practical that method would be on windy Whidbey Island.

Mariana Graham is a WSU-Island County Master Gardener and a member of the Garden Writers Association of America. Send her your garden questions, hints or comments via the Whidbey News Times, 675-6611; fax 675-2732 or wnt@whidbey.net.

MASTER GARDENER CLINICS (click on picture)
Master Gardener plant clinics are being held at various Island locations throughout the summer. On the North end, bring questions and plant samples to The Greenhouse Nursery each Saturday in July from 9 a.m. to noon, Cenex on Aug. 4 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or the Navy Exchange Garden Shop June 30th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. In Central Whidbey, it's at the Coupeville Farmers Market each Saturday through the end of July from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. South end clinics include Freeland Ace Hardware from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on June 23, July 28, Aug. 25 and Sept. 22. You can also find Master Gardeners at South Whidbey Tilth on July 7, Aug. 4, and Sept. 1 from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. Clinics are held at Bayview Farm and Garden June 30th, July 7, 14, 21, 28; Aug. 4, 11, 18 and 25. Clinics may be scheduled at other locations when volunteers and resource materials are available. 'Can't make it to a plant clinic? Call the Master Gardener hotline (360) 679-7327 each Monday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. through the end of September.