Why are bees in my bird bath? Dan Gill's mailbag

Bees use water to cool and regulate the temperature of their hives. ( | The Times-Picayune archive)
on September 27, 2013 at 5:04 PM, updated September 27, 2013 at 5:09 PM

Q: I have a lovely bird bath, and honey bees are always hovering over the water. It appears they are drinking. I've never had this happen around the birdbath before. What is up? The grass in front of my house is St. Augustine, and in the back of the house is trash grass. Can I throw St. Augustine seeds on top and hope it will fight and kill the trashy grass? --  Cathy Vidos

A: Bees use water to cool and regulate the temperature of their hives. During dry weather when other sources of water may be unavailable, a bird bath would be a vital source of water to nearby hives. Unfortunately, there is no St. Augustine grass seed. You can kill off all of the weeds with glyphosate (Killzall, Roundup, Weed and Grass Killer and other brands), remove the dead material and lay St. Augustine sod. This should be done by mid-October at the latest, so time is short to get this done this year.


Q: I planted Hilda Niblett azaleas facing east. Three of the eight died. The others are doing well. Are they hard to grow? Once established, are they hardy? When is the best time to plant them, as I need to replace those three? Also I have two large hanging baskets on my front porch, facing east. What type of flowering plants would do well during the fall/winter season? Would trailing geraniums thrive during this season?          -- Trish

A: Losses are common in new plantings for a wide variety of reasons. Regardless of the types of plants -- from trees and shrubs to perennials and ground covers -- it is common for some of the plants to fail to establish and die. If five of the eight are growing well and thriving, the indication is that the area and bed are likely suitable for these azaleas. So it would be reasonable to replace the ones that were lost. I would do this in November. These azaleas are completely hardy and will never be bothered by cold.

Trailing geraniums are an option as long as the location gets sun for at least half a day or more. Trailing pansies (like Cool Wave or Wonderfall pansies) should work. Or you might consider trailing petunias, like Vista Bubblegum Pink or the Wave types, which would also look nice. You can find many other options at your local nurseries. If the area gets less than four hours of sun, I would stick with the pansies as they can tolerate some shade.


Q: Recently it appears that the trunk area by the roots of one of my Canary Island date palms is being disturbed. I suspect either raccoons or opossums are doing this. I have seen both in my yard. My concern is whether or not these vermin are taking the bark off the palms to get to the roots and, if so, is this going to damage my trees? This started occurring in the last few weeks, and the palms are producing fruit, which is what I originally thought the vermin were coming for. Would you please share your thoughts with me? -- Alison Rogillio

A: I think you can relax. Canary Island date palms (Phoenix canariensis) have the odd habit of producing adventitious roots on their lower trunk. These roots form underneath the outer layer of the trunk. As they grow and develop, they push out the outer layer, which typically begins to break or slough off. At this point you can begin to see the roots that are causing this to happen. This is what I see happening in your photos. This is natural, although it can look alarming. It does not hurt the tree. It is certainly possible an animal might dig in or remove some of the outer layer as it is detached (although I can't imagine why), but this is not an issue. The layer is detached and will eventually fall off and be lost anyway. I think the trees look healthy and fine. I think your original thought that the animals are mostly after the fruit is correct.