Q: I'm busy looking at seed catalogs to plan my garden, but remembered how blight took over my tomatoes this past summer. You answered a question for another person concerned with the same problem, but I misplaced the information. Can you help me? - Julie Zachariason, Lake Park, Minn.
A: I'm frequently trying to remember which unforgettable spot I tucked things, so don't feel bad about losing the information. Keeping our tomatoes healthy is a top gardening priority, so blight prevention is worth repeating frequently.
Some tomato varieties are more resistant to disease, and that characteristic is usually listed in its description. Celebrity, Big Beef, Mountain Spring, Park's Whopper and Defiant are resistant to several diseases, but no variety is completely immune. That's why cultural practices are so important, no matter what tomato type you plant.
Tomato blight diseases are caused by fungi or similar organisms that need wet foliage to attack and multiply. Disease organisms are splashed from the soil onto lower leaves where the disease establishes and progresses upward.
Prevention is the key to blight control. Once leaves are yellow and spotted, they will not be cured. Diseased leaves will remain disfigured and will not return to normal.
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Practice prevention by watering the soil only, and avoiding overhead sprinkling so foliage remains dry. Water in the morning rather than evening so foliage and stems dry quickly. Soaker hoses laid on the soil reduce splashing. Mulching around tomato plants with dried grass clippings, straw, cocoa mulch or woodchips conserves moisture and reduces infection from splashing soil.
Garden disease preventive fungicides containing the active ingredient chlorothalonil can be applied to healthy foliage to prevent disease from starting, or at the very earliest symptoms to discourage further spread. Tomato blight organisms survive winter on old tomato vines, stems and leaves. Fall sanitation is important. Remove and discard plants, followed by deep tilling.
Q: I'd love to be able to find seeds for Brocade Fire Geranium. A few years ago I had Skies of Italy, a variegated leafed variety that I tried to propagate from cuttings but ended up killing the plant. Also I'd like to find a honeysuckle shrub that has pink flowers. Do you know where to purchase them? - Carol Becker, Eagle Bend, Minn.
A: The 2016 All America Selections award winner Brocade Fire Geranium has two-toned leaves and orange flowers. They're multiplied by cuttings rather than seed, so it won't be possible to locate a seed source. Plants will need to be purchased.
Patience is often required in obtaining new award winners because it takes time to increase stock after a variety wins. Sometimes there's limited availability the first season, but they're usually plentiful the following year.
Coaxing geranium cuttings to root is a fascinating project that seems to work best when cuttings are taken in late August and early September. When the time is right, we'll pass the techniques along again.
Honeyrose honeysuckle was introduced by the University of Minnesota in 1994. Deep rose-pink flowers cover an upright rounded shrub that can grow to 10 feet. Its attractive blue-green foliage is resistant to the honeysuckle aphid that causes problems on older varieties.
Honeyrose is an easy-to-care-for shrub where a large specimen or privacy screen is desired.
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Wholesale production nurseries such as Bailey Nurseries of St. Paul offer it for sale to garden centers who purchase nursery stock from them. Check with locally owned garden centers. If they don't stock it, they might be willing to order it, if requested soon.
Q: I've read that apple tree pruning should be done during the dormant winter season, but can I wait until it's not so cold? - Ben Winston, Bismarck
A: For your comfort, as well as the apple tree's, wait until winter's severest months are over. Late February through early April is ideal for pruning fruit trees and other deciduous (leafy) trees and shrubs.
Finish pruning before "bud break," when buds expand and begin to open.
If you have a gardening or lawn care question, email Don Kinzler at ForumGrowingTogether@hotmail.com . All questions will be answered, and those with broad appeal may be published, so please include your name, city and state for appropriate advice.
