Generally, September is a slow month for consumer gardening questions, however, I still receive a variety of gardening questions. Below are a few inquiries from the public about various issues that may be of interest.

Question: I have a fescue lawn that has a lot of clover. Should I kill the clover and then plant the grass seed or wait?

Answer: Really depends on how much clover you have. If it’s nothing but clover, then spray with glyphosate and kill it completely, then reseed. If you have sparse clover in the lawn, then I would over seed and then kill the clover a later with a lawn weed herbicide. You generally need to wait until your newly seeded lawn has been mowed a couple of times before spraying with post emergence herbicides.

Question: I have a holly bush that is growing too large, almost like a tree and I want to cut it back. I don’t want to kill it, but I want to severely prune it and let it come back as a smaller shrub. When is the best time to cut it back severely?

Answer: The best time would be in early spring during mid to late March. Cutting it back in the fall may subject the plant to temperature extremes causing damage to newly emerging summer sprouts.

Question: I have daylilies and other perennials in my garden that need to be divided. Is now a good time to divide these plants?

Answer: Now is a good time to divide and replant perennials. Dividing them now gives the plants time to re-establish an extensive root system necessary for good growth in the spring and summer months. Daylilies, hostas and coneflowers must be divided every three years to maintain vigor and bloom production.

Question: I recently had a crape myrtle cut down and the stump ground. Now I have sprouts coming up all around my lawn. What can I do to eliminate these sprouts? They keep coming back even when I mow them back.

Answer: There are brush killers that will kill the sprouts, but it may take a while for this to work. Brush killers that contain 2,4-D, and Dicamba will kill the shoots and not kill grass. But it will probably take multiple applications for complete control. It some cases, depending on the stumps, roots, etc., it may take a couple of seasons.

Darrell Blackwelder is the retired horticulture agent and director with the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service in Rowan County. Contact him at deblackw@ncsu.edu.