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| Q. A viewer wants to know how to get
rid of ants in containers. |
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A. Well, if they’re
fire ants, that certainly is something you need to get rid of. You
can use baits around the container. They’ll find it and bring
it in, and that way, you’ll destroy the entire mound. If it’s
just other types of ants, you may consider leaving them. You know,
ants don’t eat plants; they may bother you crawling around
a little bit, but if they’re not biting you, I would just
ignore them and go on watering the plant.
However, if you want to get rid of them, you’ve got a couple
of options. Of course, you can use an insecticide in the container
and drench it down to get rid of them. You may also find that you
can just take the container and set it in a larger container full
of water, and essentially drown the entire root system. Leave it
there for about 30 minutes. You may have to hold it down or weight
it down, because it will want to float. When the soil is totally
saturated, the ants will either drown or leave. Remove the container
from its bath and let it drain well, since plants don’t like
to stay soggy for a long time.
The next time you pot your plants, place crossing layers of wire
screen at the bottom to cover the drainage hole to reduce invasion
from below.
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<<view past Questions of the Week |
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 Firecracker
Plant or Cigar Flower (Cuphea ignea)
Need a plant that will blaze right through a Texas summer like
a Fourth of July firecracker? Cuphea ignea goes by
the common name firecracker plant or cigar flower. Its fiery
bright reddish orange 1" tubular blooms are a magnet for
hummingbirds and several types of butterflies. Give this Cuphea
lots of sun and moderate soil moisture for best results. When
the first freeze burns the foliage back, cut the plants down
to a couple of inches high and mulch it well to protect the
base and roots over the winter season. The cultivar 'David Verity'
is preferred by many gardeners for its dense habit and prolific
blooms on 2-3 foot plants. A close cousin, tall cigar Plant
or candy corn plant (Cuphea micropetala), sports larger
2” orange and yellow blooms on 3-4 foot plants in late
summer to fall. It is equally attractive to hummingbirds.
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<<view past Plants
of the Week
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- Keep in mind that summer sun is really dangerous. Number one,
it’s a cumulative problem, and a lot of folks, as they get
older, find the results of all those hours and years of being
out in the sun, can really take a toll. Use a strong sunblock
, wear a hat, and perhaps a long sleeve shirt to protect you.
And don’t work when it’s so hot. You know, heat stress
really sneaks up on us, and you don’t know you have a problem
until you’ve got a big problem on your hands. Drink lots
of water, take care of yourself. We want to keep you around as
viewers!
- Raise the mower blade on your mower. If you’ve got it
down too low, the shorter you mow your grass, the shorter the
root system is going to be, the more often you’re going
to have to water, and the more stress-prone it’s going to
be. So give your grass a chance to survive and get that mower
blade on up.
- If you’ve got some roses that are susceptible to black
spot, you may have noticed that they spend most of their time
looking pretty bare and pitiful. It takes a lot of energy out
of the plant when the black spot takes all the leaves off of the
plant. So if you’re going to keep a variety that’s
susceptible, you’re going to have to spray them periodically
in order to provide some protection to those plants. There’s
organic controls, synthetic controls… do something to protect
your roses, keep those leaves on them, and they’ll bloom
much better and look better in the landscape.
- You know, caladiums are great for the summer shady areas, they
provide us color on into the summer, but if you give them a little
water and fertilizer, they’ll continue to grow vigorously
and stay strong and look good.
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