<p>Slugs and voles are the worst enemies of hostas. Voles (and moles and gophers too I assume) burrow underground and eat the roots. In the south many gardeners plant hostas with a wire basket around the roots to prevent the munching. I have tons of hostas, however, and have never had a problem with root chewers. The slugs can be taken care of by removing all leaves and mulch from around the plant, using a commercial slug killer, sprinkling diatomaceous earth around the plant, or putting out saucers of beer at night (you’ll have to remove the corpses in the morning and replinish the beer). </p>
<p>Note: Diatomaceous Earth is the hard shells of sea creatures. These shells have sharp edges and tend to tear an insect up from the inside out. Diatomaceous Earth is not harmful to humans or other large animals. </p>
<p>I do have chipmunks that have eaten most of the roots of a dogwood tree. The thing is leaning at a precipitious angle, but still blooms like crazy every spring. It won’t hurt anything when it finally falls, so we’re leaving it alone.</p>
<p>The black caterpillars are most likely going to turn into something beautiful. They can be destructive, but worth it in my opinion.</p>
<p>If they are little caterpillars and you are in the eastern U.S., they could be tent caterpillars. Definitely apply pressure to them.
I am also a hosta junkie, a dangerous and potentially expensive habit.</p>
<p>worrywart - If you have deer around, some of the plants, especially the hostas. WILL be eaten to the very root. You have to be very diligent to protect them. </p>
<p>There are some good deer repellent products on the market, but I would apply them more often than instructed.</p>
<p>Hi JM, that much I do know which is why I’m finally planting a garden after 22 years of living in deer country-- we put in a 6 ft fence this year. Of course, I still check first thing each morning to make sure no one has jumped it during the night.</p>
<p>1moremom: Tent caterpillars do not crawl around on the ground. They make tents up in the trees. Gypsy moths, however, do. But they’re not black.</p>
<p>I have a question that I am embarrased to ask[Ciscoe]( <a href=“http://www.ciscoe.com/”>http://www.ciscoe.com/</a>).
about 18 years ago my husband planted a doug fir that had been a living xmas tree by our front walk ( in a really bad place but that is another story)- the tree had been in a cardboard pot, but despite my warnings- my husband thought it would disintgrate and he wouldn’t have to remove it from the pot so he didn’t!</p>
<p>It has been growing, but it just seems narrow for a evergreen- is there anything I can do?</p>
<p>EK, have it taken out before it gets any bigger! If it’s in the wrong place now, it’ll only get worse – those puppies get huge, and it’ll eventually need some expensive branch thinning so it won’t drop branches on your head. Of course by then it’ll likely have buckled the walkway.</p>
<p>Maybe the marmots from SA will drive a car into it so your husband will see that it’s damaged and needs to be removed before trunk rot sets in?</p>
<p>Okay, I’m back for more advice. Which fertilizer do you recommend for perennials? Which proportion of nitrogen to other stuff? (That’s the extent of my technical-eese). My plants are blooming beautifully (minus a couple of bleeding hearts that seem to have rotted out) and I’d like to keep them that way. Thanks all!</p>
<p>Look for a balanced fertilizer, where the numbers are roughly the same, like 4-4-4. I like a mild, organic-type fertilizer. Go to your local non-chain, upscalish nursery and talk to someone on the staff. They will be very knowledgable and helpful about brands available in your area.</p>
<p>Worrywart: many (most?) experienced perennial gardeners will tell you not to use commercial fertilizer, but instead to add to your soil to improve it through natural methods. This means adding an inch or so of compost (you can buy it in big bags) to your beds each season. This is really better for your plants…your garden’s future…the planet…</p>
<p>Ok, bookiemom, I’m truly a novice here. When you say to add an inch, do you mean to the top surface or do I need to work it in? If the latter, how do I do that without uprooting my plants? I need a step by step.</p>
<p>Oh, dear, I’m not any sort of expert. I don’t know about peonies. All plants need their surrounding dirt renewed so they have fresh nutrients in there. The dirt gets depleted and so needs to be amended. If you work on improving the soil, then you don’t have to keep pouring fertilizer on your plants.</p>
<p>You are supposed to spread the compost all around the plants on the surface and lightly work it into the soil with one of those fork-shaped gardening tools, I believe. Not right around each plant, so you don’t disturb the roots. In the fall application, this will get washed down into the soil somewhat by the rain. </p>
<p>When you plant new plants, that is why you dig the hole larger than the root ball, and then put the best dirt you can afford in with the plant. That is your best time to influence the future growth of the plant.</p>
<p>There is no need to work compost into the soil if you have earthworms. If you don’t have earthworms, you’re using way too much fertilizer. I add two-three inches of compost at least once a year–twice a year if I’m feeling flush–and it gets worked in nicely by my earthworms. About once every three or four years I use a nice organic fertilizer like Whitney Farms.</p>
<p>The most common reason peonies will bloom lightly is too much fertilizer, not too little.</p>
<p>Oh, and I find it cheapest to have 10 or 15 cubic yards of compost delivered, not buy it in those little bitty bags!</p>
<p>I use compost as mulch… bark mulch leaches nutrients from the soil and is terribly expensive besides. I also like to plant fairly closely–to keep down weeds. My sister (in upstate NY, a totally different gardening experience from our mild climate) like to winter-mulch with straw.</p>
<p>Good to know. Right now I’ve got cedar bark in my beds and suspect it may be retaining too much water. My impatiens are turning yellow and dropping leaves.</p>