Over the course of the past year, readers from all over Maine have shared their thoughts on gardening, relayed their experiences and provided advice for other gardeners through this column. Being at the hub of such generosity and kindness has meant a lot to me. In 1998, we’ve connected people across the state with similar interests in gardening. Together we’ve helped people find information none of us could find alone.

Many times people have sent me packages of seeds, plant materials and paper clippings to be relayed to those who had questions. It has been truly heartwarming to see how readily Maine people are willing to help out those they don’t know and probably will never meet. I hope that in the coming year this column will be even more interactive.

If you have questions about gardening, I invite you to send them to the address below. Also, if your group or organization would like to announce items of interest to the general gardening public, please be sure that you submit your information to me at the Bangor Daily News at least three weeks in advance.

As always, some interesting reader mail has come in over the past month. In this week’s column, I share some questions from my mail with you.

Q: I have an area of my yard that next year I plan to plant with a mixture of ground covers. I have most of the plants picked out, but am wondering if I should give the ground any special treatment before I do the planting. — D.O., Ellsworth

A: Using a kit provided by your local Cooperative Extension office, take a soil sample and have it analyzed. The results will let you know what the soil requires as far as fertilizers and will suggest amendment levels.

A new perennial bed will always benefit from the addition of well-composted garden debris, peat moss, or composted animal manures. These soil amendments will help retain water and will improve drainage and fertility in poor soils.

Other than that, generally speaking, the only thing you really need to be concerned about is whether or not all your plant selections are compatible in their environmental requirements for sun and moisture. For example, ajuga, a prolific groundcover with lovely green or purple foliage, prefers partial to full shade and moist soil, while day lilies prefer full sun and grow just fine in dry areas.

Spend some time before you plant researching the cultural requirements of each plant to be sure that they will all live in the desired location.

If you are converting an area that is currently lawn into the ground cover bed, consider killing the turfgrass through mulching with black plastic. Cover the area with 6-millimeter black plastic first thing in spring. Lay heavy stones or boards around the edges of the plastic to prevent it from blowing away.

By the time you are ready to plant your new ground covers, the grass will be thoroughly killed, thus reducing the chance of competition with your plants. This technique also provides ample organic matter: The dead grass tissue will provide lots of nutrients and soil-building components to the new perennials.

Q: I grew some cayenne peppers in my garden this summer and was a little disappointed with how hot they were — or weren’t, actually. I thought cayennes were the hottest in the world. Do you know if there is a hotter pepper? Is there a certain trick to growing the pepper to make it hotter? — T.S., Glenburn

A: Growing techniques have little effect on the “heat” produced by various peppers. Some peppers are simply hotter than others, meaning they will naturally contain the oils that produce the hot sensation.

Experts rate the intensity of peppers through Scoville Heat Units (SHUs). According to this rating, the ordinary bell pepper rates zero units, and the cayenne rates about 35,000.

Several peppers are hotter than the cayenne, including the Tabasco pepper (rated up to 50,000 SHUs) and the hottest pepper in the world, the Habanero (rated at an amazing 200,000-300,000).

Q: Is princess pine a protected plant? — T.B., Montville

A: According to state horticulturist Anne Gibbs, princess pine is not a protected plant. However, if you are interested in using the plant for holiday decorating, use prudence when harvesting.

When walking through the woods, you’ll notice the low-growing evergreen plant grows in groups or colonies, especially where lots of softwood trees grow. Some colonies are large in numbers, others small. Some are deep green, others seem to be yellowing and stressed.

When you go to harvest, be certain to select plants only from prolific, healthy colonies, and harvest lightly to retain many members of the population to ensure that plenty are left behind to regenerate.

Cut the plants at ground level — never pull them up by their roots. This allows the plants to regenerate from the root structures left behind.

Readers, I wish you the very best for 1999. Thank you for reading!

Diana George Chapin is the NEWS garden columnist. Send horticulture questions to Gardening Questions, c/o Maine Weekend, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402-1329. Selected questions will be answered in future columns. Include name, address and telephone number.