Q-My vegetable garden produces an endless bounty except for peppers. The blossoms fall off before producing fruit or develop only small ones. What can I do? -Kankakee
A-Peppers can be finicky about setting fruit. When given too much fertilizer they produce all foliage and few or no fruit. Also, uniform moisture is essential. Peppers are warm-weather crops, but hot, dry wind and soil can prevent fruit set. Flowers fall off when night temperatures are too cool (below 60) or too warm (above 75). Peppers will produce flowers, set fruit and continue to develop best during moderate weather with no extremes in either direction. Grow peppers in a spot that gets sun for most of the day but not all day, and keep them mulched and evenly moist during dry weather.
Q-Do the seeds of the carrot come from the top greens or from the orange root section? -Palatine
A-Carrots are considered biennials, which means they take two years to complete their life cycle. If you leave the carrots in the ground over winter and mulch them deeply, they will send up foliage and stalks the following summer that will hold heads of flowers that look like Queen Anne's Lace. These flowers eventually produce seeds.
Q-The leaves on my dieffenbachia are turning pale yellow. What should I do? -Wilmette
A-Dieffenbachia will yellow under stress. Stress can be caused by overwatering, underwatering and cold temperatures (near window panes). Also, dieffenbachia will become washed out in appearance if it is in too much direct and intense sun. You will need to evaluate the conditions under which this plant is growing to identify and correct the situation. The plants grow best in bright light in winter and partial shade in summer and use little water (or fertilizer) in winter.
Information is provided by the Chicago Botanic Garden. Send your gardening concerns to Questions, Plant Information, Chicago Botanic Garden, Box 400, Glencoe, Ill. 60022.