Advice for the Home Gardener from the Help Desk of the
UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County

Gardener's Request:  Can I plant mint and thyme together?  Thank you for your response.

Help Desk Response:  Thank you for contacting the UC Master Gardener Program Help Desk.

Mint and thyme are wonderful herbs to have in the garden; both herbs have a lovely scent and their flowers are attractive to many beneficial insects.

Mint is considered a rather aggressive herb; therefore, it is best to plant mint by itself in a pot, not in the ground. You can try to plant both mint and thyme together in a pot; however, please realize over time the mint will probably take over the thyme. Mint and thyme also have different water requirements, thyme requires less water than mint.

Hope the above addresses your question. You can find further information regarding mint and thyme in the links below. Both links reference Sonoma County but the information should apply to Contra Costa County as well (we assumed you live in Contra Costa County).

Mint:  http://sonomamg.ucanr.edu/The_Kitchen_Garden/Feature_Vegetables/Mint/
Thyme:  http://sonomamg.ucanr.edu/Food_Gardening/Feature_Vegetables/Thyme/

Please let us know if you need further assistance with this or other herb gardening.

Happy Gardening!

Help Desk of the UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County (mlk)

---

Note: Contra Costa's Help Desk is available almost year-round to answer your gardening questions.  Except for a few holidays (e.g., last 2 weeks December), we're open every week, Monday through Thursday for walk-ins from 9:00 am to Noon at 2380 Bisso Lane, Concord, CA 94520. We can also be reached via telephone:  (925) 608-6683, email: ccmg@ucanr.edu, or on the web at  http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/Ask_Us/. MGCC Blogs can be found at http://ccmg.ignore.edu/HortCoCo/ You can also subscribe to the Biog.

Advice for the Home Gardener from the Help Desk of the
UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County

Gardener's Request  I've discovered that carpenter bees are nesting in holes they've created in my roof beams. I'd like to get rid of them, but I don't want to harm them when I repair the holes. What can I do? Thanks for any information you can provide to solve this problem.

MGCC Help Desk Response:  Thank you for contacting the UC Master Gardener Program Help Desk. You asked about carpenter bees boring a hole in your roof beams and how to get rid of them without killing them. From your description and the description of the holes, it does indeed seem likely they are carpenter bees, but we would recommend getting a positive identification before taking control measures. These very large bees with a loud buzz are quite obvious, the females being large and shiny black. The males are those beautiful golden fuzzy 'teddy bear' bees. You may also see pollen-laden bees entering the hole to feed their babies!

Only the females build nests, boring a tunnel into soft wood, leading to one or several nest cavities. They do not create hives, but several females may use the same tunnel for the nest. They mate and lay eggs in the spring, the young bees developing over several months - there is only one generation each year. These bees can indeed damage wood structures, but unless there are many holes you probably have time to consider control methods. As you do not want to kill them, and there may be young brood inside the nest at this point, you might want to wait until late summer after the bees have emerged. Then you can plug the holes and paint or stain the wood to discourage any further nesting.

Here are some UC links with more information on this bee, and how to manage them.
http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7417.html 
https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=8049 

We couldn't find any information on how to remove them without killing them - it also seems that even if the adults are excluded, the young bees can chew their way out of the nest after they hatch. So if you can wait, I think you would be fine waiting until later in the summer to paint and fill the holes, and then hopefully they will cause no further problems. Meanwhile, enjoy these beautiful and useful creatures in your garden.

If you are a DIY person, there are plenty of articles found via Google for fixing the holes as well as techniques to assure that the bees don't come back (they can be homing to their birthplace). And there may be contractors around that specialize in "fixing" the problem.

Good luck with this!

Help Desk of the UC Master Gardener Program ofContraCosta County (SMW)

---

Note:  UC Master Gardeners Program of Contra Costa's Help Desk is available almost year-round to answer your gardening questions.  Except for a few holidays (e.g., last 2 weeks December), we're open every week, Monday through Thursday for walk-ins from 9:00 am to Noon at 2380 Bisso Lane, Concord, CA 94520. We can also be reached via telephone:  (925) 608-6683, email: ccmg@ucanr.edu, or on the web at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/Ask_Us/. MGCC Blogs can be found at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/HortCoCo/ You can also subscribe to the Blog.

Advice for the Home Gardener from the Help Desk of the 
UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County

Good Bug for Milkwood
 
Client Gardener from Mid-County:  Hello Master Gardeners, can you tell me who this guy is, and whether he's a friend or foe?  Thanks,
Client Gardener from Mid-County (Again):  Actually, never mind, it's the nymph of a small milkweed bug, isn't it?  Finally found it online - wasn't seeing at first because they mostly have pictures of adults. Will continue to ignore them since they are harmless.

Response from the MGCC Help Desk:  Thank you for contacting our UC Master Gardener Program Help Desk about identifying your insect. You are correct - this is an immature Milkweed Bug (Lygaeus kalmii). They are primarily seed eaters, but they are also opportunistic and generalists. They will get protein wherever they can find it. Milkweed Bugs will also eat monarch butterfly eggs, larvae and the immature stages of other butterflies. They also feed on nectar and if the opportunity arises, they'll eat other small bugs as well.
 
These bugs have few predators as they feed on toxic milkweed that makes them distasteful. Their red and black coloring also sends this same warning signal to predators.
 
Below are two links with additional information.
 
https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=22729
https://bugguide.net/node/view/460
 
Please let us know if you have any questions.

Thank you again for contacting our office!

Help Desk of the UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County (JMA)

---

Note:  UC Master Gardeners Program of Contra Costa's Help Desk is available almost year-round to answer your gardening questions.  Except for a few holidays (e.g., last 2 weeks December), we're open every week, Monday through Thursday for walk-ins from 9:00 am to Noon at 2380 Bisso Lane, Concord, CA 94520. We can also be reached via telephone:  (925) 608-6683, email: ccmg@ucanr.edu, or on the web at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/Ask_Us/. MGCC Blogs can be found at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/HortCoCo/ You can also subscribe to the Blog.

Advice for the Home Gardener from the Help Desk of the
UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County

Client's Request:  I'm trying to grow Mimulus in ground and in pots the last several years and not having any success. Would you please provide me guidance. Thank You.

MGCC Help Desk:  Thank you for your inquiry to the UC Master Gardener Program Help Desk about growing mimulus plants. I am sorry to hear that your plants have been dying off, whether you planted them in pots or in the ground. A number of years ago when I lived in Oakland, I grew them in pots and in the ground and I do remember that I considered them to be rather delicate and short-lived but with the most delightful flowers. After doing a bit of research today on how to grow mimulus, I may have some answers for you. One article that I read said that the flowers might be hard to find in many nurseries and that to grow them, one should consider growing from seed. They like moist soil and do well in shade. The hybrids are not drought tolerant and will even tolerate soggy soil that would kill other flowers. Some mimulus that you can find in nurseries and seeds are garden hybrids and are annuals that grow 8-10 inches tall.

To successfully grow most flowers, it is important to follow these basic guidelines:

• Choose the right plant for where you plan to plant.Use the best and most suitable soil for your plant.
• Read the tag for the watering requirements. Some plants need water often, while others require it only infrequently.
• Make sure your plant has the right light exposure.
• Remove faded flowers to encourage more flowering. Pinch off growth tips to encourage a bushier plant.
• Follow guidelines for fertilization and preferably use organic fertilizers.
• Consider using a mulch to keep soil cooler, retain moisture and limit weed growth.
• Watch for and manage pests.

On the other hand, there is a mimulus species that is a California native and is drought tolerant and a perennial. Bush monkeyflower, or sticky monkeyflower (also spelled monkey flower), are erect or sprawling woody perennial mimosa plants. They get their name from the funnel-shaped, two-lipped flowers that are said to resemble grinning monkey faces. Monkeyflowers bloom in spring and summer and have exuberant 1 to 2 inch blossoms that range in color from white to yellow, orange, or red. They flower better in full sun but will tolerate part or even full shade. The 1 to 3-inch leaves range in color from green to silver, and can sometimes be sticky and hairy. Monkeyflower is native to southwestern North America, from southwestern Oregon and south through most of California. It's important to be careful when choosing a monkeyflower species for your yard because some varieties are native to the coastal areas and aren't as drought tolerant. The Mimulus diplacus species is the drought-tolerant woody perennial you should choose.

Here are several links that provide additional information:

• growing Mimulus: http://mgsantaclara.ucanr.edu/garden-help/water-wise-plants/full-plant-list/?uid=64&ds=833.
• How to grow mimulus from seed: https://homeguides.sfgate.com/grow-mimulus-40769.html.
• http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/GARDEN/PLANTS/monkeyflower.html.

I hope this information is helpful and let us know if you have any further questions.

Help Desk of the UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County (EKP)

---

Note:  UC Master Gardeners Program of Contra Costa's Help Desk is available almost year-round to answer your gardening questions.  Except for a few holidays (e.g., last 2 weeks December), we're open every week, Monday through Thursday for walk-ins from 9:00 am to Noon at 2380 Bisso Lane, Concord, CA 94520. We can also be reached via telephone:  (925) 608-6683, email: ccmg@ucanr.edu, or on the web at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/Ask_Us/. MGCC Blogs can be found at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/HortCoCo/ You can also subscribe to the Blog.