Gardener hedging on barberry plants> Flowers cut for vase need special treatment

Readers: A few questions have trickled in during the past month. Keep them coming!

I have a 15-year-old barberry hedge which has been declining in the last three or four years. Each spring some branches never leaf out. Please advise. — D.R., Holden

Sometimes, when we grow woody plants (and even herbaceous perennials), we believe they will last forever. Although some plants last for generations and generations, this is not true for all plants. Given the advanced age of your barberry hedge, I’d say the decline is a natural, progressive decline which eventually will result in death of most or all of the shrubs. Barberry shrubs aren’t terribly long-lived. To gently phase your hedge planting into a new one, consider replacing individual shrubs as they die. This way you’ll have mature shrubs creating much of the hedge while immature shrubs grow and fill in the vacant areas.

My daughter has befriended a frog from our farm pond. Sometimes she takes it for a walk through my garden. Will it harm my plants? — D.W., Brewer

Frogs aren’t generally considered garden pests. They feed on insects of all sorts, so they actually may benefit us by eating insect pests which feed on our crops (and those that feed on us for that matter — they dine on mosquitos, too).

My garden is full abloom with beautiful flowers. I cut some snapdragons, roses and daylilies to put in a vase in my kitchen, but after a day or two, all the flower heads drooped and wilted. Are some flowers more suited for a bouquet than the ones I chose? — P.D., Fairfield

Some flowers are indeed more long-lasting in a vase than others. Roses and snapdragons are among the hardiest in a floral arrangement, though. It’s my guess that perhaps you didn’t treat the flower stems properly once you cut them. After cutting them in the garden, bring them inside and recut the stems in a bowl of tepid water. Some people cut the stems on an angle to help the stems take up water; others crush larger stems to achieve the same effect. Recutting the stem under water ensures that no air bubbles (or embolisms) will be taken up through the stem, causing the plant to wilt prematurely. To help preserve the flowers, use an acidic solution — a couple of teaspoons of lemon juice to 3 quarts of water usually makes a bouquet last a few days longer.

Day lilies present a different problem from snaps and roses; they are generally no longer-lasting in a vase than they are in the garden. They look wonderful the day they are cut and decline the next day.

Diana George Chapin is the NEWS garden columnist. Send horticulture questions to Gardening Questions, 1243 State St., #2, Veazie 04401. Selected questions will be answered in future columns. Please include your name, address and telephone number.