I planted Hippeastrum in October and it bloomed spectacularly in March. When it finished, I cut off the stem about an inch above the leaves. I would love to rejuvenate the flowers for next year. What do I do next? Leave the leaves on for now and fertilize twice a week until this fall? Is it better to plant it in my garden once the weather warms up or just leave it in its pot? How much sun does it require?

Hippeastrum, or amaryllis, is one of the most spectacular flowers for indoor forcing here in cold, bleak Michigan winters. You are on the right track for rejuvenation. Continue to fertilize until the foliage dies. Remove the bulb from the pot, dry it off, remove any side bulbs, and store in a cool place in dry peat moss. It is best not to put the bulb in your garden, as you will interfere with its natural life cycle. They are native to tropical zones, places whose winters are our summers. The bulb needs a period of rest, after the leaves have worked hard to photosynthesize food stored then in the bulb. Come October, you can repot the bulb in a well-drained container. Don’t water until you start seeing growth. Then water sparingly once you start seeing new growth from either the flower stalk or the foliage. They enjoy a sunny exposure, being the tropical beauties they are, but will admirably tolerate dappled shade or part day sun.

Amaryllis in containers can be placed outdoors in spring when all threat of frost is past. Just start it in a shady spot, gradually moving it into more sun over a week or so. Keep them evenly watered but not saturated, and fertilized once a month.

I have an 18-year old lawn from sod with assorted landscaping and irrigation. The soil is primarily clay. I have acquired a nighttime guest this spring in an area approximately 20 by 20 feet underneath a red maple tree. As soon as the snow was gone, I began to notice small holes in the grass in this area as if an animal was looking for food. The area has gradually been destroyed as if the soil were being prepared for planting. I have fertilized regularly, used weed control, grub and insect control and do not see any evidence of insects.

From the clues at the scene of the crime, it sounds like your midnight marauder is one very persistent skunk. You have a good news, bad news situation. The skunk is doing you a favor by eating plant-eating insects and larvae. However, their table manners leave your yard looking pockmarked. They not only love grubs but also worms and windfall fruit. They have no qualms about tearing up your lawn looking for them.

Skunks are creatures of habit, following a very methodical path in their foraging. You say you have applied grub and insect controls. You might check again under the lawn to see if they have been effective. The best way to discourage the skunk is to eliminate its food source. Remove a square foot of turf about an inch below the roots in the area being attacked to see if there are any grubs, cutworms or other succulent larvae drawing the skunk’s attention. If this patch test yields a grubless verdict, then you are dealing with animal habit. You may need to have the animal live-trapped by a professional and removed from the area. Please note this method isn’t foolproof because skunks are happy suburbanites. Another skunk can easily move into the vacated territory. However, with the current animal’s removal, you might break the foraging cycle long enough to eliminate the grubs and re-establish a healthy lawn, taking it off the skunk menu.

We are having an erosion problem with two large boulder walls in our condo association. We want to preserve the looks of the boulders and not cover them up completely, but yet need to retain the soil around the rocks. We thought about vinca, pachysandra, vetch, etc.

There are several ground covers or filler plants that would work well to control the erosion and compliment the boulder wall. The plants chosen will depend on the amount of available light. First review the four categories of light and then choose your plant or plants. All recommendations reflect low maintenance plants that will not completely cover the boulders, help control the erosion and will take dry soil, because of the hill condition.

The four light conditions are dense shade that has no direct sunlight, and is mostly reflected light under trees or evergreens, or against a north wall. Moderate shade is filtered or reflected light with almost no direct sun. Part sun has filtered sun and a few hours of direct sun. A minimum of six hours of direct sun is considered full sun.

Some nice plants for direct to part sun that also have wonderful blooms include the herb thyme (several varieties with fun fragrances like lemon or coconut), hens and chicks (Sempervivum) grown for their succulent foliage, low-growing sedums with red blooms like ‘Bronze Carpet’ or ‘Dragons Blood,’ and candytuft (Iberis sempervirens) with white blooms.

For part sun to moderate shade try the hardy and fleshy ice plant (Delosperma nubigerum) with nice yellow blooms in May.

Plants that will grow in many light and adverse soil conditions include sweet woodruff, which thrives in dense shade to part sun and blooms in spring. Also, several varieties of Lamium that thrive in full sun to moderate shade bloom in spring and sometimes rebloom in fall. My favorite is ‘White Nancy’ which has white blooms in spring and silvery foliage that “glows” in the dark.

Many of the plants mentioned above can be purchased by the flat to make them more economical to plant in large areas.

Of the plants you have already considered there are some things to keep in mind. Vinca spreads easily and will quickly force out native woodland plants if your wall is not in a completely landscaped area. Similarly, vetch is an extremely vigorous invasive plant. Pachysandra, although not as invasive as the other two, is just not very suitable for growing on a wall.

Whichever plants you decide upon, keep them well watered until they get established, and plant with a slow-release fertilizer.