Bees become a bother near berries

We have so many bees trying to get all our raspberries. Do you know of any spray or such that would help them stay away? Thanks.

Fern Farrell

The first question is what kind of “bees” are they? Honey bees, yellow jackets or wasps? Regardless, they are merely looking for food and a source of moisture because it’s been so dry. Controlling them really does depend on what they are. If they are wasps or yellow jackets the best thing would be the hanging traps that are baited with a pheromone they can’t resist.

Hang the traps a short distance from your berries. I wouldn’t advise spraying for two reasons. First your berries are a food crop and can easily be contaminated by the spray. If you read the label it probably says not to use it around food. Secondly, if the bees are honey bees, they are not likely to sting you unless you trap one close to your body. Lastly, we want to do everything we can to help the honey bees. Their numbers have been decimated in the last few years and they are critical to pollination of many of our local crops. Just brush them aside.

Can’t tell the difference between a honey bee and a yellow jacket or wasp? Catch one and bring it into the Master Gardener Clinic at 222 N. Havana St. in Spokane.

Pruning clematis

I have a question regarding my clematis. I have two well established plants, five to six years old. They appear to be different varieties. One has hundreds of blooms every year and the other has none. The well-blooming one has a single woody stem that thickens every year. The nonblooming one has many reddish stems that produce an extremely healthy bushy plant, but no flowers. Each plant receives the same sunlight and water, and I feed each one several times in the spring with a good rose fertilizer. Any idea why the one won’t bloom and how I can get it to produce? Thanks for your help.

Cathy

It could be that the one that isn’t blooming hasn’t fully matured yet, it can take five years or more. Second, it may be getting too much nitrogen which produces great foliage but not flowers. Lastly, if you are pruning them at the same time, you may be cutting off the wood that would produce the flowers on the nonbloomer. Clematis fall into one of three groups when it comes to pruning so find the name of yours and then look up when it should be pruned. If you don’t know what it is, leave the plant alone this year and next and see if/when it blooms. Early spring bloomers should not be pruned until after they bloom. Those that bloom in the summer or fall can be pruned in the early spring.