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Greg Quinn's Thought For The Day: Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not for the toy.

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How do you stop balls from growing on gumball trees and what are best plants to put on north side of home. Debbie

The same way you stop roses from growing on a rose bush! Sorry, but I need a lot more information before I can make a recommendation, for example, sunlight, desired height, how much space, soil type, wet or dry, etc.

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Hi Greg, We have about a dozen fruit trees - cherry, peach, pear and apple trees. The flowers are beautiful in spring time. Due to squirrels we don't get to taste any fruits from the tree. Squirrels will eat them before the fruits ripe. What can we do about the problem? Any suggestions will be very appreciated. Thank you.

Perhaps the only 2 good methods if the squirrels are that much of a problem is to either net the trees or tie a Rotweiler to each trunk. Seriously, you may also try feeding the squirrels during the season to compete with your bounty.

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Dear Greg--I have to tell you how much I enjoyed your Saturday morning program on WLNA (which I can't pick up anymore). Those early morning hours are the perfect time for sleep learning--Although I've never had a big problem with slugs, I know exactly what I'm going to do when my hostas finally succumb to them: I'll encircle the plants with diatomaceous earth. Anyway, I have a question concerning a lovely shopping bag of bulbs that my sister gave me for my birthday in the fall. They are tulips and daffodils, and I never got them into the ground. How can I keep these until next fall? Is there a way? We have a cold, relatively dark storage room area behind our house where I am keeping them now, but I don't want them to start blooming in the bag this spring. I feel terrible about not getting them planted and I hate to waste them. Any suggestions? Thanks! Just wanted to add a note to your discussion of planting near septic fields. We recently had to cut down a very large white oak tree that was sitting near our septic tank (the drainage field is further down the hill) and while it was a seemingly healthy tree (severe storm damage caused it to crack and fall over), we were amazed at the ODOR that emanated from the wood. I wanted to take a disk cut from the bottom of the trunk and donate it to our elementary school for ring-counting, but the smell was so bad that we couldn't do anything with it. Although this tree was obviously exposed to the unpleasant elements in the ground a lot longer than any green plant would be, I still believe that it might not be wise to do much of anything with plants that grow in a septic area. Ann Moritz Chesnut - Lake Peekskill

Hi Ann, First, thanks for the kind words on my Saturday show. You can't get my Saturday show "The Nature of Things" because, unfortunately, it was canceled. I really miss doing that show. It was very popular and I loved speaking with all my friends each week. As far as you bulbs, You can actually plant them as soon as the ground thaws in the spring and you can even expect, in most cases for them to bloom this year. They will probably be late but will be just as beautiful and will get back on track for next spring.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * we have a thorney vine that grows around the trees and in the rock garden in the woods along our backyard. we have sprayed them every year, tried pulling them, and they still come back.how do we get rid of them-they are a danger because of the thorns. suziq Suziq, The best way to control the vine is to cut it down to the ground, then when it comes back up, spray or paint the new foliage with "Weed-b-Gone." You may have to do this several times during the season and be very vigilant for new sprouts. Also be careful not to get the herbicide on any of your desirable plants. * * * * * * * * * * * * * Hello! I started a Christmas Cactus from cutting about 1.5 years ago and have yet to get a bloom. It continues to have new growth and appears healthy. I have it in a southeast facing window and water it about once a week, and every second week with 10-15-10. What am I not doing? It may take a couple of years for your cactus to push blooms. The flowering mechanism of the Christmas Cactus is spurred by very cool (but never freezing) nights as low as 40 degrees. for a few weeks.

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Greg Quinn's thought for the day: Borrow money from pessimists-they don't expect it back.

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My tree (ficus tree) is about 5 years old and all the leaves have dried on it. It was in a room that was too warm but has been moved. Is it possible it's just gone dormant for the winter? It is a very special tree. What can I do to save it?

Ficus trees don't go dormant but it's common for them to loose their leaves if their environment has changed. Water it well with a water soluble fertilizer and keep it watered, and if it's not dead, it will push new growth and come back just fine.

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HI GREG---LISTEN TO YOU OFTEN ON THURS. NOW I HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU. HOPE YOU CAN HELP. I HAVE SEVERAL WILD BLUEBERRY BUSHES ON OUR PROPERTY IN DEPOSIT,N.Y. ( 22 MILES EAST OF BINGHAMTON ) THEY PRODUCED BLUEBERRYS THIS YEAR---NOT SO BIG & NOT VERY MANY. QUESTION---WHAT DO I FEED THEM ? WHEN DO I FEED THEM ? AND MOST IMPORTANT, CAN I PRUNE THEM ,IF SO WHEN ? THANKS, JOHNNY

Hi Johnny, Blueberries may be lightly pruned in March. I feed mine with a 5-10-5 fertilizer at that time, again in June and again in November.

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Check out your age in the WHUD bio. You're so knowledgeable and yet so young! I enjoy your Thursday spot on the Ed Baer affair. It's helped us out a lot. Thanks,Vic.

Thanks Vic. So what's wrong with being a quick study?

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Please help....I have the funniest looking Pear tree you ever did see. I had a previous one that blossomed beautifully but 2 years ago during the ice storm it was destroyed. We replaced it with another which was peculiar looking to begin with...it had a very tall middle branch and a very tall trunk....well anyway it did blossom this year but during the summer/fall it grew pears that were so big it made the branches droop terribly...people even commented on our funny looking tree...we picked as many of the pears as possible to ease the droop of the branches and we cut back the long middle branch and a couple of others...now...is there any hope?...should we just wait to see what happens in the spring?...will it ever be a normal blossoming Bradfor Pear Tree? Thank you...I always listen to you on Thursdays with Ed and Mike but I didn't want to call up and go through all of this on the radio? Suzanne Hafner

Hi Suzanne, I think you have done all the right things for your pear but I must tell you, it will never be a normal Bradford Pear because it has never BEEN a Bradford Pear. Bradford Pears are sterile and don't produce fruit. so you have some other specie of pear. I would just hang in there and enjoy it and continue to do what you have been doing.

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Hi Greg, we hope you can help us. Several months go a skunk moved in under our front porch. We have searched through many gardening catologs looking for a repellant but can find nothing. Do you have any suggestions? Sue and Rita

Hi Sue and Rita, I don't have a good repellent for the perfect repeller! There are several general animal repellents on the market which you can try but I'm afraid the best thing to do is to contact a Nuisance Wildlife control officer to remove it. They will do this without harming the animal, will give it a couple of bucks and enter it into the witness relocation program.

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Greg: My wife and I live in Putnam Valley and are interested in planting apple trees. This is actually a multi-part question so please bear with me. First I would like to know if one variety grows better than another in this area. The spot we would like to plant faces Southeast and is quite rocky in places. Do we need to have the soil Ph tested or can we do this ourselves, and is this important to choose a variety? And finally, should we plant seeds or saplings and where is the best place to get them? Thank you so much for your time. Rob and Chris Waechter

Hi Rob & Chris, New York, from Westchester County up, is "apple country" so most varieties will do well in Putnam. Your soil should be about 6.5 - 7.0 (you can test this yourself) and I would definitely plant the largest saplings you can afford to be able to begin harvesting apples as soon as possible. Many local nurseries have selections.

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Greg, I have several hemlocks in the back of my yard and one of them is losing its needles and it looks like it is dying fast. There is no sign of any substance on it that would indicate some sort of disease. I broke off a small branch that already lost its needles and it obviously was dead since it was dry and brittle in the middle. I've had this tree for about 10 years and its about 15 ft. high. About 50% of its needles are gone. Up until last year it was doing fine. Any suggestions on how I can re-juvinate this tree or is it a lost hope ? Also, if I decide to cut it down, I'm considering planting a pine tree in its place (maybe 10ft. from the site). Do I need to be concerned about the decomposing stump robbing the new tree's roots of nitrogen ? What do I do about that ?

It's hard to diagnose without seeing it or more information but it doesn't sound good. Look carefully for little white specks on the living needles especially in March. These would be Wooley Adelgid / a common and devastating insect pest to Hemlocks. If you replace it with a pine, I would feed it with a 10-6-4 for a couple of years to replace any nitrogen that the decaying stump my steal. Good luck.

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Hi Greg, I was wondering if you could answer a question. I have a 10 foot magnolia bush at the entrance to my driveway. It's branches are covered with bumps. I believe it is scale which is something I've always encountered on my houseplants (mainly my ficus trees). These bumps on the Magnolia cover practically every inch of every branch. Is this a cause for concern? I have planted another Magnolia on the opposite side of the driveway nine months ago. I'm aware how contagious scale is to houseplants, is it also as contagious to outdoor plants as well? If so is there anything I can do to alleviate this problem? Thank-you, Nancy Iaccarino, Monroe NY

Hi Nancy, Scale is a common and destructive insect to many plants including magnolia. I would spray the plants (both) with dormant or horticultural oil now according to label directions. If there are still a lot of critters in the spring, use an insecticide with Acephate in the active ingredients again, always according to label directions. Good Luck.

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Greg Quinn's thought for the day: Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm

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Hi Greg I like the fact that you do something like this it's great I received a beautiful plant called Asplenium antiquum and it did well for 15 months but now all of a sudden the leaves are laying down and the center where new growth comes from has dried up is there any hope? Thank You Elaine G.

Hi Elaine, The complete name of what you have is Asplenium antiquum Makino and is one of about 100 species of Asplenium. These ferns are native to China and, as you say, this one is quite beautiful and one of my favorites. Unfortunately, from your description it doesn't sound good. If there is no new growth it may be a goner. They are susceptible to several insects as well as a few diseases. You should inspect it carefully. I would, as a last ditch effort, cut out any brown foliage and, assuming it might be a disease, mix up 1 teaspoon per quart of room temperature, dechlorinated water (let it sit out for 24 hours) and spray it on the plant then cover the whole plant with a clear dry cleaner bag and leave it in this "ICU" for about 1 week to 10 days and see if that does the trick. Good Luck!