By Oscar Philips, For The Guardian

Q. I purchased a tangelo tree from one of the local nurseries last year. I enjoyed the fruits from the plant. After a hurricane, I picked some fruits and they were lumpy, sour and do not look like the same fruit. Can you tell me what has happened to this plant?

— T.L., Seabreeze Estates

A. It would appear that your tangelo tree has sprouted from its root stock. This branch being of juvenile wood was aggressive and fast growing, crowding out the tangelo portion of the tree. When this branch matured, it started producing the lumpy and sour fruit. In your tree, the tangelo bud wood was grafted onto a rough lemon root stock. Find the point of origin of the rough lemon branch and cut it from the tree. Be careful to remove any other sprouts from below the graft union of the rough lemon root stock and the tangelo scion. The bark should have a different color or texture on the root stock than it does on the remainder of the tree. In time,the less vigorous tangelo graft should fill in and produce a new tree. Remember to seal all wounds on the tree with pruning paint or sealant.

Q. I have been told that I unwittingly killed several of my house plants by over-watering. Can you tell me when it is the right time to water indoor plants?

— K.C., Eastern Road

A. A good way to tell it is time to water your indoor plants is by inserting your finger two to three inches deep into the plant potting mixture. If the soil feels moist at that depth, there is no need to water. if in doubt, d water. Plants can tolerate low moisture much better than moist conditions. Over watering is the number one reason why many house plants die.

Q. Each year I have noticed that I have a lot of disease problems in my vegetable garden, What am I doing wrong? Is there anything I can do other than use insecticide sprays?

— F.I., Winton Heights

A. You can use several methods to reduce diseases in your garden. Such methods include spacing your plants far enough apart to allow for good air circulation, buying disease and nematode resistant varieties, using mulch, and watering in the morning so the foliage of the plant dries quickly. You may want to buy healthy transplants instead of growing from seeds.

Q. I received asa birthday present gift a small frangipani plant growing in a pot. Will it bloom or should I give it to my daughter for her to put in her garden?

— A.C., Stapledon Gardens

A. Your frangipani plant will flower and do quite well in a pot on a balcony. The deciduous slow-growing, salt-tolerant, small tree will flower when quite small. It will even flower the first year from small rooted cuttings, in a pot or in a garden.

Planting guide for April

Vegetables: Beans (lima, pole, snap), cabbage, cantaloupe, collard, corn, cucumber, eggplant, okra, peppers (hot and sweet), sweet potatoes, radish, summer squash, tomato, watermelon.

Flowers: Aster, balsam, batchelor's button, begonia, candyturf, celosia, cosmos, cornflower, dahlia, daisy, gaillardia, marigold, periwinkle, portulaca, Queen Anne's Lace, verbena, zinnia.

Grasses: Centipede, St. Augustine, Zoysia

n For help with your garden problems, write to Garden Korner, P. O. Box N-3011, Nassau, Bahamas.