Question: The leaves on my tomato plants started out looking good and then they sort of rolled into tubes. The new leaves always look fine, and the plants keep growing, but after a while, the leaves roll together. What should I do?

Answer: Your tomato plants may have physiological leaf roll. Some varieties are more prone to it than others. It is a stress response that has been pretty common this year, probably because of our extreme summer weather. The plants will continue to grow and set fruit, but because the leaves are rolled, they won’t provide as much sun protection as the fruits need and the tomatoes themselves may develop some sun scald on the sunny side of the fruit. They are still perfectly fine to eat.

You can protect the tomatoes by wrapping them with single layers of newspaper, wrapped “taffy-style,” or by pulling small paper bags over any exposed tomatoes.

Take steps to reduce plant stress next year by giving good plant care:

Apply a little nitrogen at four weeks and eight weeks after planting — about one-half tablespoon of 21-0-0 per plant, several inches away from the stem, to promote good leafy growth, but do not overfertilize.

Weed carefully to avoid root damage.

Don’t over prune.

Water deeply and consistently every 3-7 days, depending on your soil type and the season.

You can also use a 1-inch layer of compost over the soil once the soil has warmed for the season.

Some gardeners use a 20 percent shade cloth to reduce plant stress and protect the tomato fruits from intense afternoon sun.

Q: My Linden tree is dropping old flowers all over my lawn and driveway. I’m tired of cleaning up the mess every year and I’m thinking about replacing the tree. Can you recommend a tree that won’t drop stuff on my yard?

A: I’m afraid there isn’t a tree that doesn’t drop something at some time during the season. Deciduous trees will at least drop leaves in the fall and even conifers will drop some needles every year. The key to living in harmony with a tree is to decide what you expect from the appearance of your landscape and how much you are willing to do about it. Once you know those things, you can choose trees that fit your style and expectation. Here are some things to think about.

Conifers will drop some kind of cone or cone parts in addition to dropping old needles each year. Most of these can be cleaned up with a mower when they land on the lawn, but pine cones can be heavy, don’t break up easily and tend to remain on the lawn.

Flowers and flower parts can drop from trees at any time of the season. The larger the flowers, the more noticeable they will be. Most flowers can be managed with a mower, but some larger flowers, like the ones that drop from Rose of Sharon, drop daily and require frequent cleanup if you don’t like to see them on your lawn or walkways.

Soft fruits are a messy problem in lawns, so it’s best to avoid planting fruit trees, including fruiting crabapples, in the lawn.

Some trees are weak-wooded and will drop twigs and small branches frequently. Willows, cottonwoods and some maples are good examples of trees that are considered “trashy” because of this habit. Avoid planting trees like these in areas where appearance is important.

If you have trees in mulched beds, wait until after your trees have dropped their flowers and seeds before you refresh your mulch each year.