Saturday Gardening Thread: Doctor! Doctor! [Y-not, KT...]

Y-not: Good afternoon, gardeners! Today's thread is brought to you by The Thompson Twins:

Fun fact here.

Doctor! Doctor!

Our own CharlieBrown'sDi sent me pictures of his roses, which appear to be under attack.

SF Gate lists several pests that attack rose leaves, including caterpillars, beetles (such as the fuller rose beetle), sawflies, and leaf-cutting bees.

He tells me that they were planted last summer. Do any of our rose experts have advice for him? The moron (or 'ette) who provides CBD with the best suggestion wins a Platinum Membership to his Sunday Food Thread.

I got better.

A friend of mine was telling me that there is a hotel or restaurant (I think) in Nashville that features American Chestnut Trees. I wasn't able to confirm that it still exists, but in the process of looking for that I found out that the American Chestnut Tree is making a comeback:

One of the great autumn pastimes of the 1800s was nutting* -- where families, friends and farmers went around clubbing stately chestnut trees, or shinnying up 100-foot tall trunks to pound the branches. A fusillade of nuts would fall to the ground and be scooped up instantly, to be transformed into pan-fried bread, porridge, pickles, preserves, cream pie -- and countless other nutritious favorites of colonial times.

Then, in the early 1900s, a plague decimated American chestnut trees. The deadly fungus, known as blight, caught a ride to the U.S. on a much smaller and fungus-resistant Chinese chestnut. The stately, soaring American tree was utterly vulnerable. Almost overnight, a quarter of our Eastern forests -- 4 billion trees --vanished and with the trees went a nut that for centuries had nourished wildlife and humans alike.

But now, the American chestnut could return as a bionic, blight-resistant tree, thanks to genetic engineering and a group of dedicated forest "biotechnologists" at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry's American Chestnut Research & Restoration Project.

*No, not THAT kind of nutting. Pervs. -ed.

Here's a video about the project, courtesy of the American Chestnut Foundation:

With seemingly so many Bad Science stories in the news these days, it's nice to see a Good Science one.

Get Well Soon!

In the second half of the nineteenth century the pollution of urban centres made the divide between town and country startlingly clear to many. Bringing a little of the country and suburbs to the inner city, however, were the Flower Missions, voluntary organisations that distributed flowers to the sick and poverty-stricken with messages of hope and comfort.

I don't know if he's a missionary (frankly, the answer may be TMI!), but Misanthropic Humanitarian sent along some beautiful pictures from his flower gardens. Perhaps they will have a healing effect on CBD's sick roses!

What a beautiful garden! That's bound to make anyone who is under the weather feel better.

Now, let's see what KT and Weirddave have for us this week...

Last week, Dr. Mabuse reported that a large part of a tree had broken off as a result of high winds. Expensive. Ouch. I suggested that we could do more in the future on trees for the landscape.

I am afraid that this has sent my mind off on some serious tangents this week regarding the Sunset Western Garden Book, from which I have learned a great deal about trees and other plants. I liked the related Sunset Magazine more when I lived in Southern California. The South-Central San Joaquin is in the Northern California circulation area, and much of the gardening advice in the magazine is more applicable to the Bay Area than to us.

The Sunset Magazine has an interesting history which I think provides a window into American history and culture. "Sunset began in 1898 as a promotional magazine for the Southern Pacific Transportation Company, designed to combat the negative "Wild West" stereotypes about California."

From an early issue, here are some social notes from Pasadena: "The aristocratic residence town of Southern California and rendezvous for the traveling upper ten has enjoyed a remarkably gay season and the hotel accommodations have been sorely taxed."

The Sunset Limited which carried the "Upper Ten" to California once ran from New Orleans to San Francisco. It now runs on Amtrak lines from New Orleans through San Antonio to Los Angeles. Reminder: The only part of the transcontinental railroad that did not go bankrupt was the one that got no government subsidies.

The Sunset Magazine lost its offices to fire after the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. In 1914, the railroad sold the magazine to some of its employees, who made it into a general-interest magazine, politics and all, during the World War I era. It lost money and was sold to the Lane Publishing Company, which made it into something resembling the western answer to Better Homes and Gardens.

The editorial focus changed with the times. Over the years, the magazine has featured the work of famous authors, artists and experts in several fields. During the Great Depression, it became more "frivolous." The "Western Living" theme later made the magazine popular.

In 1990, Lane sold Sunset to Time Warner. Sunset was placed in a corporate division with Southern Living (sometimes linked on a Saturday Gardening Thread). Southern Living shows quite a resemblance to Sunset.

A while ago, we touched on World War II Victory Gardens and Olivia de Havilland's recollections of FDR’s views on gardening from a rival publication to Southern Living, Garden and Gun. During WWII, Sunset noted that the Victory Garden tips being issued by the federal government did not fit western conditions very well. Employees planted a one-acre Victory Garden near UC Berkeley so they could do first-hand reporting. Perhaps this Victory Garden was not too far from where Occupy took over a UC Berkeley research farm to create a...farm, as documented by our very own Zombie. Their version of a Victory Garden did not turn out particularly well. Cultural Marxism can be a strange thing.

Sunset thrived during the post-war era. In 1951, the magazine established its famous headquarters on a 9 acre parcel in Menlo Park, south of San Francisco. If you want to visit the gardens, better do it soon, because at the end of the year, they will be moving to Oakland.

Zoning Out -- Beyond USDA Hardiness Zones

As seen in Y-not's useful Saturday Gardening Thread Archive, one of the topics discussed in the very first Yard and Garden Thread was USDA Plant Hardiness Zones. This is the zoning system most people mean when they ask, "What is your climate zone?" And it is the system most often used by plant vendors. But there are other zoning systems with relevance to growing plants.

The original climate zones were Aristotle's Torrid, Temperate and Frigid Zones. Today, we know much more about where civilization can survive. The "Tropical, Temperate and Polar Zones" are modern equivalents.

In 1928, German climatologist and amateur botanist Wladimir Koppen introduced a general climate map of the world that took more factors into consideration. A modification of his map divides the world into six general climate regions with several subcategories. It is more sophisticated than the USDA system in some ways, but I have never seen it used in popular reference to gardening.

The American Horticultural Society devised a Heat Zone Map specifically geared to gardeners, like the USDA winter hardiness map. "The 12 zones of the map indicate the average number of days each year that a given region experiences "heat days" -- temperatures over 86 degrees (30 degrees Celsius). That is the point at which plants begin suffering physiological damage from heat. The zones range from Zone 1 (less than one heat day) to Zone 12 (more than 210 heat days)."

Together, the USDA and AHS maps can give Eastern gardeners a pretty good idea which plants will thrive in their gardens. But in the West, climate differences can be subtle due to marine vs. interior influences and other factors.

The best thing Lane Publishing did while it owned Sunset was to introduce the Sunset Western Garden Book, with its very specific Sunset Climate Zones. There were originally 24 climate zones designated for the Western United States and parts of Canada. Later, additional climate zones were added for Hawaii and Alaska.

The book also includes very useful information on specific plants, and guides to growing plants. The list of expert contributors to the early editions was extensive. It is rare to see people from different organizations cooperate so successfully today.

Like many gardening nuts, I have several editions of the Sunset Western Garden Book. Over the years, its planting guides and plant descriptions have changed. In the Plant Encyclopedia section of the book, the latest edition has replaced cross-references between common and scientific names of plants with photos of plants. I do not have the ninth edition, but if you want to buy it (or past editions) you can purchase them using Ace's Amazon thingy.

In 1997, Sunset published a National Gardening Book that extended its system of regional climate zones throughout the nation. The book never really took off, but you can still purchase copies at Amazon. You can find your nation-wide Sunset Climate Zone here. "Microclimates" you may find in your own yard are also discussed.

Trees in the Sunset

One of the most useful parts of my Eighth Edition (and some earlier editions, and probably the Ninth Edition) of the Sunset Western Garden Book is the section on trees from the basic landscaping guide. Trees are divided into groups according to where they will fit best in the landscape:

Patio trees, deciduous or evergreen

Small to medium trees (may not be suitable near living areas)

Large trees, deciduous or evergreen

Other sections of the planting guide make tree suggestions based on things like foliage color, wind resistance and adaptability to special circumstances.

Sunset on the Web

Before the internet was much of a thing, Sunset produced a nifty interactive CD for selecting trees. That old Sunset tree selection CD seemed like a good idea to me, but I wasn't planting landscape trees at the time. In 2009, Sunset got ambitious and announced an online Plant Finder, which seemed to greatly expand this concept to include other garden plants. It allowed you to input desired plant characteristics such as height, width, color of leaves or flowers, etc. plus your zip code. Your zip code was linked to your national Sunset Climate Zone.

The idea was to provide a list of plants that would fit your needs. Unfortunately, it was frustrating to use. You had to play around with your search criteria to get meaningful results. The magazine has apparently quietly retired this online "tool." In its place, you find eye candy, mostly, like 50 dahlias to drool over.

Awe Shucks

The only vestige of the old tree selection CD I could find on the Sunset website was this piece on eight factors to consider when choosing a tree for your garden. It will be interesting to see if the National Sunset Climate Zones become more widely known and used in the future.

In the meantime, gardening Morons and Moronettes in the West will likely find the book easier to use than the website. Some may find the Sunset magazine or how-to books interesting, especially if building or landscaping projects are contemplated. For those in the East, there is always the Saturday Gardening Thread. Heh.

Weirddave

OK, well, last week I asked for garden pictures from Morons in the sidebar, and here's what I got:

First off, from poster sifty, we have this example of growing a lot in a small space:

I wonder if he's going to get any production from that corn patch? I've never had much luck with corn.

Next we have 3 different views of what looks to be a lovely and etensive garden from bossybarb:

Momom though a picture of her deer fence might be appropriate:

Cute, but wht kind of seeds ddi you grow them from Mommom?

And finally Gingy forwarded me some pics of day lilies, but I'm not sure from whom. The name of each variety is below the picture:

Night Beacon

Ruby Spider

Lounge Lizard

Even Stephen

And that's all I got, I had hoped for a bigger response, frankly I feel a little like Chris Knight in Real Genius:

We plan this thing for weeks and all they want to do is study. I'm disgusted. I'm sorry but it's not like me, I'm depressed. There was what, no one at the mutant hamster races, we only had one entry into the Madame Curie look-alike contest and he was disqualified later. Why do I bother?

Just kidding. Anyone that wants their garden featured in future threads, forward the pics to me.

Back to you Y-not.

Y-not: To wrap things up, here's a song inspired by Misanthropic Humanitarian's garden:

(By the way, did you know lupines are toxic?)

What's happening in YOUR gardens this week?

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 I'm partial to bluebonnet honey, myself. But that's not the same thing.
That's all I've got, sorry. 'S too dang hot here for gardening.

(Am I seriously first?)

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at July 18, 2015 01:44 PM (iuQS7)

2 !

*romps through the gardens and plays fetch with the doggies*

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at July 18, 2015 01:47 PM (iuQS7)

3 Nice post Y-Not, but I don't see how it celebrates the heroism of Caitlyn Jenner.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at July 18, 2015 01:49 PM (8ZskC)

4 Isnt that why you have the Garden District in NOLO? To cover the stink of the rotting corpses in the graveyard?

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at July 18, 2015 01:52 PM (iQIUe)

5 I don't think CBD's roses are under attack by bug.

Looks like a fungus to me. I get the same thing and use Spetracide to take care of it. (Although my roses are in poor repair this year, at least the tea rose is. The knockout would grow in the middle of the apocalypse.

Posted by: tsrblke, PhD(c) rogue bioethicst at July 18, 2015 01:52 PM (hhQEJ)

6 Sorry. Sick people usually dont stink.

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at July 18, 2015 01:52 PM (iQIUe)

7 I love the garden photos. Bailey is much fancier than any of our dogs. The deer fence looks very nice.

I'll be looking for updates from Sifty Poster.

Posted by: KT at July 18, 2015 01:58 PM (qahv/)

8 With seemingly so many Bad Science stories in the news these days, it's nice to see a Good Science one.

Lies! GMO is evil. Its awful. GMO always bad

Posted by: liberal idiot that claims to hate invasive species and extinction at July 18, 2015 02:08 PM (zt+N6)

9 tsrblke, PhD(c) rogue bioethicst at July 18, 2015 01:52 PM (hhQEJ)

I think you may be right about CBD's roses. Here is what shot hole does to stone fruits. One of the reasons for spraying with copper in winter in the case of fruit trees.

http://tinyurl.com/nw3fmbn

Posted by: KT at July 18, 2015 02:11 PM (qahv/)

10 Ahhhhhh. I just came from Hotair where I was screaming at and cussing out other commenters. I won't say what the topic is--if and when the topic gets here I'll no doubt lose my shit again.

So this is a nice change from that. I'm still going through the links of these great topics. Y'all have really outdone your always excellent selves today.

Posted by: stace at July 18, 2015 02:17 PM (CoX6k)

11 I have been a Chestnut since about 11 years old.
My Mom had a young neighbor friend who was very Chesty and she always gave me the best hugs any 11 year old boy could get..if she only knew...

Posted by: Chesty where ever you are at July 18, 2015 02:27 PM (/WmRg)

12 Why doesn't San Francisco outlaw pests? No NO!!! Make San Franfaggo a Pest Free Zone?

Both of these ideas should work.

Posted by: Jukin, Former Republican at July 18, 2015 02:28 PM (f+6Pd)

13 So this is a nice change from that. I'm still going through the links of these great topics. Y'all have really outdone your always excellent selves today.

Posted by: stace at July 18, 2015 02:17 PM (CoX6k)

Did the topic have to do with why Ed Morrisey and Jazz Shaw suck balls?

Also, this is the gardening thread. No politics pretty flowers.

And on that subject, my zucchinis are growing like crazy for anyone who is curious. Like, out of control. Was not expecting that when I planted them.

Posted by: mynewhandle at July 18, 2015 02:30 PM (AkOaV)

14 We finally got some produce from our garden. Radishes and Onions. My vertical Potato garden is showing promise also.

Posted by: Ronster at July 18, 2015 02:31 PM (47wTX)

15 14 We finally got some produce from our garden. Radishes and Onions. My vertical Potato garden is showing promise also.
Posted by: Ronster at July 18, 2015 02:31 PM (47wTX)

Did you do the tire trick, or use a barrel?

Posted by: mynewhandle at July 18, 2015 02:33 PM (AkOaV)

16 Tom Petty is a cabbage....

Posted by: KWDreaming at July 18, 2015 02:37 PM (Y00o2)

17 I used some concrete wire with straw to the outside to hold in the dirt. I planted in layers, hoping the lower plants would come out the side. That part didn't work as well as I hoped.

Posted by: Ronster at July 18, 2015 02:37 PM (47wTX)

18 Posted by: KT at July 18, 2015 02:11 PM (qahv/)

What should I use...assuming that it is Shot Hole or a similar fungus?

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at July 18, 2015 02:41 PM (Zu3d9)

19 Y-not,

There are some edible lupine seeds (edible by humans). I have some seeds of Sweet Lupin, but I was kind of leery about planting them, because other species are toxic, especially the seeds.

One large-seeded lupin is eaten brined in Europe and the Middle East. Some others must be leached before eating.

It also looks like some species are OK for livestock when young, but toxic when older.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lupinus

Posted by: KT at July 18, 2015 02:42 PM (qahv/)

20 Review of that early Christmas present in the sidebar.

http://www.realguns.com/articles/726.htm

Posted by: rebel flounder at July 18, 2015 02:43 PM (Vf5rR)

21 What! Genetically modified chestnut trees. Burn them! And burn the witches that created them!

Posted by: deepred at July 18, 2015 02:44 PM (xv5cf)

22 Yesterday, I found that a small rabbit had got in the garden. I enjoyed watching it bounce off the fence trying to get out. Went to the house to get my gun, but it found its way out before I got back.

Posted by: Ronster at July 18, 2015 02:45 PM (47wTX)

23 I would go with the advice of the rose growers here, CBD. tsrblke used Spectracide.

Posted by: KT at July 18, 2015 02:45 PM (qahv/)

24 Where's the village smithy?

Posted by: Bertram Cabot Jr. at July 18, 2015 02:45 PM (W5DcG)

25 Night beacon? I'd hit that.

Posted by: Georgia "Beefy" O'keeffe at July 18, 2015 02:46 PM (6qR/9)

26 Posted by: Ronster at July 18, 2015 02:37 PM (47wTX)

Interesting.

My neighbor takes old tires, and fills each tire with dirt and potatoes, then puts another tire on top and repeats. Stacks them like 6 high, then when they're done he just knocks the whole thing over.

Seems to work well. Never tried it myself.

Posted by: mynewhandle at July 18, 2015 02:47 PM (AkOaV)

27 I'm not a missionary. Not my style.

Posted by: Snoop Doggy Dogg at July 18, 2015 02:51 PM (6qR/9)

28 Those daylilies came from a specialty vendor, didn't they? Beautiful.

Posted by: KT at July 18, 2015 02:52 PM (qahv/)

29 CBD -
Im surprised Carol hasn't been by yet to diagnose your roses & recommend a solution. Hopefully, she'll see this post soon.
I think she's our resident rose expert (no offense to KT or anyone else).

Posted by: Chi at July 18, 2015 02:53 PM (+Gmvw)

30 Heh, is it due to the content of this thread that ads for Chestnut Exploration are atop my screen?

Posted by: logprof at July 18, 2015 02:56 PM (bLXqW)

31 Who's up for a garden party at bossybarb's?
The garden looks ready. Lovely.

Posted by: KT at July 18, 2015 02:58 PM (qahv/)

32 Looks like rose slugs to me, it's a larva of some sort of fly.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 18, 2015 02:59 PM (DI417)

33 I should have taken a pic a couple of weeks ago when my Vegtrug (raised bed on legs) was lush. Now it doesn't look so hot as the Yukon Gold taters are starting to die down.

Y-not we too have a Bailey, yellow lab. In the 5 yrs we've had her we've run across a number of Baileys.

Posted by: Farmer at July 18, 2015 02:59 PM (3hlFs)

34 They have an antifungal, but they also have a stump remover, which looks like much more fun!

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at July 18, 2015 03:02 PM (Zu3d9)

35 I am so happy to see flower gardens and they are gorgeous!

Mine are pretty well played out or full of weeds! I can't keep the weeding up once it gets over 95, just cannot do it. It's all I can do to keep my hanging baskets watered and they got all tore up in a windstorm a few weeks back.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 18, 2015 03:03 PM (DI417)

36 For a while, leaf cutter bees were used to pollinate seed alfalfa around here. Honeybees really don't like alfalfa blossoms because the flower bops them on the head or something. If they have another choice in nectar sources, they'll take it.

Those leaf cutter bees loved cutting holes in rose leaves (at a different house). They have some other favorite leaf sources, too.

I once went to a slumber party on a friend's patio and was kept awake most of the night by a leaf cutter bee flying back and forth over my head. I thought it was a wasp that was obsessed with my ear. Sleeping bag was too warm to keep my head covered. Found out what it really was in the morning.

Posted by: KT at July 18, 2015 03:05 PM (qahv/)

37 Was not expecting that when I planted them.
Posted by: mynewhandle at July 18, 2015 02:30 PM (AkOaV)

So, first time you've planted them, eh?

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 18, 2015 03:08 PM (DI417)

38 Posted by: KT at July 18, 2015 03:05 PM (qahv/)

I love those critters, very fascinating little beasties.

And I have fond memories of Sunset magazine and the incomparable Garden Guide. That and Pat Welch's Gardening in Southern Ca were invaluable to me when we lived there.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 18, 2015 03:12 PM (DI417)

39 Well, the deer fence known by Thor and Loki just chased the same deer twice in the past hour. She's determined to eat up my rose of sharons just as they are beginning to bloom, as are the japanese beetles.

Thanks to KT for the link about pests. Finally figured out that powdery mildew on tomato plants is not powdery nor mildewy at all, but looks exactly like what I hadn't been able to identify.

And apologies to WeirdDave because Momom=OldDominionMom=lazy. Grabs phone and heads outside

Posted by: OldDominionMom at July 18, 2015 03:17 PM (GzDYP)

40 Posted by: OldDominionMom at July 18, 2015 03:17 PM (GzDYP)

I would dearly love to borrow your deer fencing, if nothing else just to spoil them rotten. They could pick up Bailey along the way....

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 18, 2015 03:20 PM (DI417)

41 Also, would the daylily expert know of any reliably repeating daylilies besides the Stella d Oro bunch? (Happy Returns, etc)

I have a mix that is supposed to be repeating, but most pretty well play out by the end of July, if not sooner.

I have a mix that is supposed to be specifically for the South, but maybe even they only bloom so long before the heat gets to them?

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 18, 2015 03:26 PM (DI417)

42 31 Who's up for a garden party at bossybarb's?

Count me in! Beautiful pictures. Mint juleps maybe? Maybe Barb can teach me how to cut back the plant that I want to call a snowball bush so my blooms aren't too heavy to stay upright. I am terrible at pruning.

Posted by: OldDominionMom at July 18, 2015 03:27 PM (GzDYP)

43 Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 18, 2015 03:20 PM (DI417)

Oh, they wouldn't know how to act if they got spoiled. Cough cough.

So then the dog party is here, at Thor and Loki's, I mean our pool. We'll bring both Baileys, too!

Posted by: OldDominionMom at July 18, 2015 03:34 PM (GzDYP)

44 Corn grows best in patches where each plant thrives in competition with neighboring plants for sunshine. They grow taller in the midst of a patch, while the outermost row often yields less. This is also true for pine trees and other conifers in terms of an upward growth pattern (not an expansive one) when spaced closely together.
Picture a lone pine tree...generally a shorter tree with many branches and a full, rounded crown, This differs greatly from the same species planted in the middle of a crowded stand, which will exhibit a taller, straighter trunk with a much smaller crown and nearly no branches in the understory.
This growth patter makes good lumber.
Plant your corn like it's a small pine stand and let the competition for sunlight inherent in the plant create a much healthier (taller, shadier) plant and succulent ears.
Too small of a corn patch, planting rows too far apart, and planting each row's plants too far apart are three different means to the same end: poor corn yield from too small of a plant.
I hope this helps budding corn enthusiasts.
And, get your soil tested each year.

Posted by: Orange Mule at July 18, 2015 03:35 PM (zTyEE)

45 Tammy, the daylilies specifically for the South may be evergreen or nearly evergreen. You may want to cut them back in winter even if evergreen so they don't start looking ratty.

Daylilies have some heat tolerance, but they are not the best choice for a really hot exposure. You may get some rebloom in the fall.

Posted by: KT at July 18, 2015 03:38 PM (qahv/)

46 Posted by: Orange Mule at July 18, 2015 03:35 PM (zTyEE)

I had no idea! Thank you so much.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 18, 2015 03:39 PM (DI417)

47 Couple of other points on corn, Orange Mule:

If you have a small stand of corn, you may want to hand-pollinate by dusting pollen over the silks.

The "stand of pine" analogy is good, but if corn planst are too close together, they may not form full ears. Might take some trial and error to see what spacing is best for your cultivar. Some are bigger than others.

Posted by: KT at July 18, 2015 03:44 PM (qahv/)

48 KT, mine don't stay evergreen, I am all but on the Missouri border, so even though I'm in the South, I get a fair bit of Midwest winter!

I think you're right and they just din't do real well int he heat. They've been there 2 years and I"ve never gotten any rebloom, even when it cools down.

I am perfectly happy with the patches I have, but I was hoping to find some for our front garden along the road that were more ever-blooming. Thor prefers a more manicured look for the front of our property, and when they aren't blooming they look a little stringy.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 18, 2015 03:46 PM (DI417)

49 Posted by: OldDominionMom at July 18, 2015 03:27 PM (GzDYP)

Do you know if your bush is a viburnum or a hydrangea? I have heard both called snowball bushes, but I tend to think of viburnum as the truer snowball bush.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 18, 2015 03:48 PM (DI417)

50 If it is a viburnum, I'd treat it like a lilac and cut out several old branches (after blooming) all the way to the ground each year. You can actually take a third of the branches out safely; my grandma used to whack her entire bush down to three feet every year, but just thinning out a bunch will help. Start with branches that are dead or way bigger than others, or crooked or whatever, just to get used to the idea.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 18, 2015 03:57 PM (DI417)

51 Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 18, 2015 03:48 PM (DI417)

Yeah, mine is a hydrangea so it's not a true snowball. I bought it from the clearance bin and had it in the wrong place for a couple of years, moved it, deer eat it and puppies still think they fit under it for a shady hiding spot. It's had such a hard life, I hate to take shears to it!

Posted by: OldDominionMom at July 18, 2015 04:01 PM (GzDYP)

52 Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 18, 2015 03:57 PM (DI417)

Thank you, I'll remember that advice because I really should get a viburnum in memory of my grandmother, as she had one, too. I wish I had been interested enough to ask questions when I was young..

Posted by: OldDominionMom at July 18, 2015 04:13 PM (GzDYP)

53 KT
We are doing blueberries in containers. I thought you may like to see. We have maybe 15 acres in the ground and some aren't doing very well. Ground is too heavy.
http://tinypic.com/r/2btc9e/8

Posted by: CaliGirl at July 18, 2015 04:25 PM (BHl9S)

54 I look forward to reading the gardening post every weekend. Thanks for all your hard work!

Posted by: YourMomKeepsTexting at July 18, 2015 04:35 PM (vexAN)

55 Posted by: OldDominionMom at July 18, 2015 04:01 PM (GzDYP)

If I remember correctly, and that is NOT a given, I think you don't have to prune your mophead hydrangeas unless you feel they've gotten too large or whatever.


And I know there's one kind that you cut down every year if you want a lot of smaller flowers, or leave it be for less but larger flowers, but I'm if not sure that's the mopheads or the PeeGees.

And yours could be Pee Gees, too, come to think of it.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 18, 2015 04:42 PM (DI417)

56 Ot what's the Annabelle one... is that a different species than the mopheads? KT?

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 18, 2015 04:43 PM (DI417)

57 On growing corn in a small garden:

I sprout the kernels between layers of damp papertowels placed into a clear sandwich box, which I put on top of the refrigerator. This usually takes only 24-48 hours. (!)

The root is only about 1/2 inch long by this time, and ready to transplant into small pots for 2-3 weeks of sunny windowsill (or outside in warm sun, indoors at night) before going into the garden.

*Birds and rodents loooove the kernels, and this has been the best way to achieve Plantdom from our seeds. The yummy kernel is gone by final transplant.

Our soil is fairly rich but clayey, so we plant them about 18 inches apart, in blocks at least 5 x 5 rows. I also 'help' the pollen onto the silks by hand-- it really works-- and we get nice full ears.

We like white and bi-color the best. Silver Queen is sweet and tender, and I can't recall the bicolor's name....think it was a Northrup King variety we bought at local store.

Posted by: JeanQ Flyover at July 18, 2015 04:45 PM (rhjQp)

58 Cali Girl, I am in awe! They look very healthy.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 18, 2015 04:45 PM (DI417)

59 Oh, and I've staked our corn plants because we usually have at least *one* wind storm before they're fully rooted, and *several* later in the season.

Posted by: JeanQ Flyover at July 18, 2015 04:51 PM (rhjQp)

60 All this corn talk is making me hongry.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 18, 2015 04:52 PM (DI417)

61 All this corn talk is making me hongry.

Yeah, me too-- and we're not even doing a garden this year. Got to kill all the bindweed...

Posted by: JeanQ Flyover at July 18, 2015 04:54 PM (rhjQp)

62 Got to kill all the bindweed...
Posted by: JeanQ Flyover at July 18, 2015 04:54 PM (rhjQp)

I do not envy you that job.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 18, 2015 05:02 PM (DI417)

63 Well, Tammy, we should've done it *before* we started the garden-- it'd be done by now, lol!

I spray the glyphosate, watch the vines die...

Then it rains, most (but not all) of the sh!t resprouts and I spray the glyphosate, watch the vines die...

I'm s-l-o-w-l-y winning.

Posted by: JeanQ Flyover at July 18, 2015 05:10 PM (rhjQp)

64 Posted by: JeanQ Flyover at July 18, 2015 05:10 PM (rhjQp)

Yea, somewhere down there are taproots that can go twenty feet! Evil stuff.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 18, 2015 05:17 PM (DI417)

65 Evil weed, indeed.

I doubt this will kill it all, but next year's garden will at least stand a chance-- compared to last year's, which was nearly stangled because I couldn't keep up with the vines.

Posted by: JeanQ Flyover at July 18, 2015 05:28 PM (rhjQp)

66 *strangled* heh

Posted by: JeanQ Flyover at July 18, 2015 05:29 PM (rhjQp)

67 Caligirl,
Your blueberry set-up looks fantastic.

Posted by: KT at July 18, 2015 06:07 PM (qahv/)

68 Mophead hydrangeas:

There are some white ones, but I think you might have something different in your yard, OldDominionMom. Most mopheads bloom on old wood, so you cut off the potential blooms if you prune them much in summer, fall, or winter.

http://ace.mu.nu/archives/356371.php

Posted by: KT at July 18, 2015 06:10 PM (qahv/)

69 We'll be doing a segment sometime on the hardy hydrangeas that bloom on new wood. They can take more serious pruning than the mopheads. I started a segment but I haven't accessed it from backup after my computer went down.

You might have Annabelle, a selection of H. arborescens.
http://tinyurl.com/qjr4bhp

The Pee Gee is usually seen as a large shrub or small tree. I think people sometimes call it a "snowball bush" like some of the viburnums.
http://tinyurl.com/nsbw96k

The only viburnum I remember discussing is the Highbush Cranberry. But it is a lacecap, not a "snowball".
http://ace.mu.nu/archives/353214.php

Posted by: KT at July 18, 2015 06:26 PM (qahv/)

70 Hate to say this, but I'd say those poor roses have multiple attackers. It's VERY difficult to diagnose from pictures.

What I would advise is that a few of those leaves should be carefully clipped, put in plastic bags and taken to the best local garden center in the area. They'll know what's been attacking the local area and they know the local pests and diseases.

The internet can't solve everything, although it can give you some good hints. Sometimes you need to go local.

Posted by: Kathy Kinsley at July 18, 2015 07:54 PM (P1Mfe)

71 LOVE the Sunset Garden book, so full of plant info and the linkage with the 24 zones is so very helpful.

Posted by: Hal Dall at July 18, 2015 07:55 PM (L2Afs)

72 Lmao at my own stupidity. Digging thru old saved plant tags revealed what I was suspecting; I'm growing a climbing hydrangea as a shrub. It's a hydrangea anomala petiolaris. Doh! So under the circumstances, it's actually doing quite well!

Posted by: OldDominionMom at July 18, 2015 09:03 PM (GzDYP)

73 Not sure, OldDominionMom,
It might be mislabeled. That species is usually a lacecap. Very interesting plant, if that's what you've got. Slow to start, then really takes off.
http://tinyurl.com/o9nhhcr

Look for aerial rootlets. White Flower Farm says it blooms on old wood.

Posted by: KT at July 19, 2015 02:06 AM (qahv/)

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