Q&A: Planting oleanders in a protected area helps them thrive

Q. I planted three oleanders beside my driveway with a northeast exposure when we built our home seven years ago. We are at the northern end of their growing zone. After two years, we lost one. Every other year, the remaining two get zapped by cold weather. I have had to do major trimming of damaged branches each spring but they always come back and do very well by the end of summer, with lots of blooms.

I am contemplating moving them to the back of the house with a southwest exposure where they will be more protected. Should I plant them close to the house for even more protection or would they survive in a stand-alone spot? I'd like to move them only one time. Do deer like oleanders? We have lots of them trooping around our yard at night.

- Linda B. Rahilly, Edenton, N.C.

A. First the good news: Deer do not like oleander. It is poisonous to them so they leave it alone.

You do need to move your plants to a more protected area. They are only semihardy where you live and even less hardy in Virginia Beach. They like the warmth of New Orleans winters compared to the freezes of North Carolina. Plant them close to your house for even better protection, remembering that they grow into large shrubs. The late Fred Heutte used to say that if you want to grow oleanders, you need to prune them back to ground level each spring and hope the summer is warm and long enough that they will bloom.

Growing problems

Q. I had hoped to fill a section of my townhouse yard with dwarf mondo grass. The area has many roots and gets no sun in winter. Soil is clay. I planted four plants two years ago and four more in 2007. I watered last summer. Although all the plants are still alive, none have grown or spread very much. Do they need fertilizer, is the location wrong or do they just grow very slowly?

- Susan Wagner, Virginia Beach

A. You have named the reasons why plants won't grow in the area you describe: tree roots, no sun in winter, lack of fertilizer, clay soil. Two possibilities are to lift your mondo grass, cover the area with two inches of compost and till it all in. Then replant the mondo grass and see if your luck improves.

The other approach would be to replant with tough, small native plants and fill in with mulch around them. Most townhouses in this area have poor soil and little drainage - two severe problems.

Bad kitty

Q. My neighbor's cats have been using my flower beds as their litter box. They use the mulch like kitty litter. I have tried different products without success. One was a spray you use once a week and the other was a granule you spread around the area.

I looked online and put Vicks VapoRub along the boundaries of the flower bed but that did not work either. My next thought is to get rid of all the mulch and put down new mulch, but there is no guarantee the cats will not do the same thing. Any ideas?

- T. Young Virginia Beach

A. I frequently receive letters asking for help with this problem. If you remove the mulch, remulch with one of the rock mulches, such as Vole Bloc, which will be hard on the cats' feet and might deter them. I have been told that scattering citrus peels as well as gum balls throughout your flower bed will help keep the cats away.

The real problem is cats should be controlled the same as dogs. There are more cats in this country now than dogs so that multiplies the problem.

Ask us No gardening questions are taken over the phone. For a faster reply, e-mail rstiffler@dejazzd.com and include your city. Or, write to Robert Stiffler, The Virginian-Pilot, 150 W. Brambleton Ave., Norfolk, VA 23510. Fax to (757) 446-2963. Limit letters to one or two questions. For an earlier reply, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope.