I've never used a grub control product on my lawn and never had a grub problem. Am I missing something? My neighbors use this stuff.

Lawn grubs get blamed for dead patches in lawns but are not usually the problem. And because all insecticides, including grub control, can harm nontargeted insects, it's better to avoid them unless the cause is absolutely certain. Nature offers its own grub control to your lawn, including grub diseases and predators — especially a small native wasp. This tiphia wasp zips around lawns in April and May, hunting down grubs, stinging them to paralyze them and then laying eggs in them. In fact, a grub control ingredient — imidacloprid — sickens them so they cannot hunt grubs effectively. Acelepryn is a better ingredient. Apply it only to dead grass patches where grubs are located. If your neighbors water their lawns in the summer, they may be attracting egg-laying beetles — moist lawns give baby grubs a good start in life.

?

I got great flowers two years ago when I planted my rhododendron, but none since. Last year, I got big fat buds and zero blooms. Should I prune early fall? Can I prune now?

Plants that bloom before May 30 should be pruned immediately after they bloom. Over summer and fall, spring-flowering shrubs develop their flower buds for the next spring. If you prune in fall or early spring before blooming occurs, then you cut off all the flower buds for that spring. Your good buds that didn't open may have been damaged by the severe winter of 2014-2015 or dried up because their soil was dry. In any case, rhododendrons do not require annual pruning for good culture. If this one is too large for its space, it may be better to transplant it. They transplant well in early spring.

University of Maryland Extension's Home and Garden Information Center offers free gardening and pest information at extension.umd.edu/hgic. Click “Ask Maryland's Gardening Experts” to send questions and photos.