DIY Network

Ahmed Hassan's Email Q&A Rapid-fire email responses from DIY's gardening expert Ahmed Hassan. From "The Dirt On..." episode DTDO-107

Ahmed Hassan, host of DIY's The Dirt On. . . is clearing out his in-box and answering your email questions — from planting in nightmare soil to a forsythia that refuses to flower. Here are the answers to three questions received via e-mail from gardeners in need of a little extra help:

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Figure A

Question #1: "My dilemma is that a clay and rock mixture is the source of soil in my yard. Add the full sun that totally bakes everything and it's a gardener's nightmare. What are the best choices for grass and plants in these conditions?"
— Sheila in Douglasville, Georgia

Ahmed Hassan: The first thing you need to know is that clay soil (figure A) isn't as bad as you might think. It does provide great structure and it holds in a lot of moisture. You can work with it but you have to amend it. Add manure or compost to the soil as an amendment, working it in and breaking up the clumps. When this organic matter decomposes it will create spaces in the compact soil, which will introduce necessary air.

Once your soil is ready you need to pick the right plants. There are some that are tough enough to grow in clay soils. Salvias are native to clay soil and they're very drought tolerant. Asters are also native to clay soils and they'll adapt easily to these harsh conditions. Indian Grass is a Georgia native that will tolerate both clay soil and full sun.
Lastly, Bermudagrass is very tough. It will grow just about anywhere and it will stand up to a lot of foot traffic too.

Basically your best bet wherever you live, whatever kind of soil you have, is to look for plants native to your area because they're already thriving in those conditions.

Figure B

Question #2: "I have several yuccas in my garden and I would like to know the best way to trim the old foliage off."
— Denise in New Jersey

Ahmed Hassan: Yuccas (figure B) are a great addition to the garden. They're a part of the agave family, Agavaceae, and they look like bushy palms.

When your yucca starts to get brown foliage don't reach for the pruners. Instead, gently pull on the brown leaves. If they don't come off when you pull on them, they're not quite ready so give them a little more time. Start at the bottom where you see brown leaves and work your way up. You'll only have to do this about once a year too so if you're not a fan of pruning —' this is the plant for you.

	Figure C
	Figure D

Question #3: "I have had a forsythia bush for years. It is an extremely healthy bush. I have even grown new plants from cuttings for friends, but I don't understand why my bush does not bloom. Is there something I can do to help the bush bloom?"
— Fiona in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Ahmed Hassan: This is actually a pretty common problem for a lot of flowering shrubs. A forsythia shrub (figure C) should produce beautiful yellow flowers but if it's not, there could be a number of problems going on. One very common reason has to do with the shrub's proximity to the lawn. If your shrub is located near your lawn, the lawn fertilizer may be running off into the shrub. Lawn fertilizers are high in nitrogen, which is great for keeping your lawn green but it doesn't help produce blooms. This is why you'll have a healthy looking shrub without flowers. You can either leave it there or transplant it to another area but make sure to feed it a separate fertilizer. Look for a fertilizer with a low first number, a high middle number, and a moderate last number (figure D). That middle number represents the amount of phosphorus in the fertilizer and that is what will encourage strong root systems, which in turn means the flowers you're looking for.