The 2023 Lawn, Garden, Landscape Party Discussion

[dendrite]

17 hours ago, tunafish said:

I get it.  Dandelion and clover aren't for everyone.  But would it kill people to throw a small polinator garden into their landscape design? 

That's a pretty happy median.  People keep their golf course but also help out the local polinators, which have a significant importance in our ecology.  

https://www.usda.gov/peoples-garden/pollinators

 

If people are spraying a lot of chemicals it may actually be better for the beneficial insects to find another yard.

[tunafish]

1 hour ago, backedgeapproaching said:

We garden. Lots of bees around most  summer months.  

 

Awesome.  This is the best of both worlds.

[TauntonBlizzard2013]

Couple of my evergreen holly bushes took a beating from the deer again this year. Last year they put out new growth and recovered nicely.

 

So far, no new growth on either plant. Don’t know what to do, because I’m not sure if they are “dead” or not.

[tunafish]

7 hours ago, TauntonBlizzard2013 said:

Couple of my evergreen holly bushes took a beating from the deer again this year. Last year they put out new growth and recovered nicely.

 

So far, no new growth on either plant. Don’t know what to do, because I’m not sure if they are “dead” or not.

Pics?

[tunafish]

[mreaves]

55 minutes ago, tunafish said:

Aw nuts! Now I have to mow my lawn.

[dendrite]

I just let the clover flower for a few days and then mow it. But yeah, I like what backedge is doing. Have a section dedicated to the pollinators full of native plants and flowers that you leave untouched.

[powderfreak]

On 5/6/2023 at 11:18 PM, TauntonBlizzard2013 said:

Lawn looks pretty good. Suddenly have a dandelion problem, though. What can I do?

Get a groundhog. Watched one of them absolutely vacuum dandelions off the lawn today.

[tunafish]

Just now, powderfreak said:

Get a groundhog. Watched one of them absolutely vacuum dandelions off the lawn today.

Ha, they're great for weed control.  It's keeping them out of the garden that's the challenge.

We have a little "dummy" garden set outside and away from the real garden that they ravage.  Between the "weeds" and the false garden, they no reason to burrow into the actual garden space.

Impossible to keep them away, otherwise, as we're adjacent to the town rec fields where they run rampent.  Can't shoot em and don't have the time to put chickenwire under the garden fence.

 

[mreaves]

9 hours ago, tunafish said:

The local 11:00 pm news just had a feature on no mow May. The people they interviewed were all encouraging it. 

[NSwx]

On 5/3/2023 at 2:39 PM, dendrite said:

It's only growing where I am weeding around my fruit trees and potted plants. Otherwise it's getting bullied about by grass and other weeds. I may just grow clover around the trees to nitrogen fix and prevent other deeper rooting weeds from growing.

The sorrel doesn't seem to be too deeply rooted though?

Nope sorrel doesn’t grow deep roots, it’s makes runner roots just below the soil that sprout new plants. If you miss a piece of root it will just grow a new plant. Easy to pull up anyways. I find like you said they like to take over around plants with nice amended soils. Sure beats goutweed any day, that stuff is a nightmare.

[TauntonBlizzard2013]

Bought a couple of thuja green giant arborvitaes today. Anyone have experience with these?

 

We have slowly trying to create pockets of trees and bushes that will give our yard a bit of privacy.

 

Description says they can grow to be 60 feet tall and grow 4-6 feet per year. That would Be awesome, but seems hard to believe.

[Chrisrotary12]

On 5/12/2023 at 2:51 PM, tunafish said:

Almost stopped reading after the “researched” typo in the 2nd line. But I suppose it makes sense. 

[tunafish]

On 5/13/2023 at 9:45 PM, TauntonBlizzard2013 said:

Bought a couple of thuja green giant arborvitaes today. Anyone have experience with these?

 

We have slowly trying to create pockets of trees and bushes that will give our yard a bit of privacy.

 

Description says they can grow to be 60 feet tall and grow 4-6 feet per year. That would Be awesome, but seems hard to believe.

I was serious about pics of the Holly.  Trying to help diagnose.

We have 3 of those green giants.  Planted 5 years ago and are now about 20-25 feet tall.  The last 2 years had the most growth.  

As a general rule, the first year after planting a tree they sleep.  Second year they creep.  3rd year they leap. 

Be patient and make sure in their first 2 years they have enough water coming out of and going in to winter.  You want the roots to grow deep, so don't over water, but if we're in Stein in late April or October, give them a few Gallons a week.

[dryslot]

On 5/13/2023 at 9:45 PM, TauntonBlizzard2013 said:

Bought a couple of thuja green giant arborvitaes today. Anyone have experience with these?

 

We have slowly trying to create pockets of trees and bushes that will give our yard a bit of privacy.

 

Description says they can grow to be 60 feet tall and grow 4-6 feet per year. That would Be awesome, but seems hard to believe.

The deer love those and emeralds too.

[tunafish]

56 minutes ago, dryslot said:

The deer love those and emeralds too.

You might be thinking of a different kind of arbor.  Deer haven't touched mine and I've got them walking through my yard at least once a week.

 

The Green Giant was bred to have superior pest-resistant qualities, and thus, it isn't a tree that deer will typically choose to eat. Keep in mind, however, that if there aren't other food sources available, deer will occasionally snack on them.

[tamarack]

Arborvitae is usually the trade name for Northern white cedar, Thuja occidentalis.  In its natural habitat in the forest, it's a favored food for deer, also an important tree for deer wintering areas.  What arboriculturists have done thru careful breeding, I've no idea, but sometimes a single branch can lead to trees with much different appearances and characteristics.  I've read that it was a single branch, a "sport" in the trade, that spawned all the Crimson King variety of Norway maple that one finds all over.

[DavisStraight]

On 5/13/2023 at 9:45 PM, TauntonBlizzard2013 said:

Bought a couple of thuja green giant arborvitaes today. Anyone have experience with these?

 

We have slowly trying to create pockets of trees and bushes that will give our yard a bit of privacy.

 

Description says they can grow to be 60 feet tall and grow 4-6 feet per year. That would Be awesome, but seems hard to believe.

I planted some a few years ago, they do grow like weeds, not sure if it was 4-6 feet but it was quick. I planted 6 burning bushes too, they really grow fast. Two years ago I cut them down to 3 feet high, they're already 7 feet high this year.

[TauntonBlizzard2013]

On 5/12/2023 at 5:34 AM, tunafish said:

Pics?

Sure enough, both bushes are putting out new growth as of this week. Have to find a way to get the deer to stop eating them 

[TauntonBlizzard2013]

7 minutes ago, DavisStraight said:

I planted some a few years ago, they do grow like weeds, not sure if it was 4-6 feet but it was quick. I planted 6 burning bushes too, they really grow fast. Two years ago I cut them down to 3 feet high, they're already 7 feet high this year.

Sweet, I got a couple of bushes on clearance in like November 2 years ago from Home Depot. I don’t even remember what they are, but they literally shoot our feet of new growth a year, I’ve had to trim them each year so far. They get out of control.

I’m hoping the green giants stay full, because I don’t want the crap look towards the bottom that those type of trees can give.

[dryslot]

1 hour ago, tunafish said:

You might be thinking of a different kind of arbor.  Deer haven't touched mine and I've got them walking through my yard at least once a week.

 

The Green Giant was bred to have superior pest-resistant qualities, and thus, it isn't a tree that deer will typically choose to eat. Keep in mind, however, that if there aren't other food sources available, deer will occasionally snack on them.

All the ones that are white cedar, They will have a field day with, Just looked up the green giant It is a red cedar so they will generally leave them alone.

[radarman]

Lets hope that freeze watch is a bust thx.

I know... should not have planted sensitive stuff this early.  

[tunafish]

1 hour ago, DavisStraight said:

I planted some a few years ago, they do grow like weeds, not sure if it was 4-6 feet but it was quick. I planted 6 burning bushes too, they really grow fast. Two years ago I cut them down to 3 feet high, they're already 7 feet high this year.

Burning bushes provide great privacy in warm season and offer wonderful color appeal in fall, but they are incredibly invasive.

 

1 hour ago, TauntonBlizzard2013 said:

Sure enough, both bushes are putting out new growth as of this week. Have to find a way to get the deer to stop eating them 

How big are the bushes?  To keep the deer off our young apple trees we simply put three stakes and two wires, about two feet apart in height, going around the trees.   Barely noticeable from 10 feet away but enough to keep the deer off.  They hate touching anything unnatural or unexpected, and so they don't dare to try feeding on them.

 

What's the secret to uploading photos on this place?  I'd love to post more pics, but even my screen shots often exceed thr file size.

[TauntonBlizzard2013]

40 minutes ago, tunafish said:

Burning bushes provide great privacy in warm season and offer wonderful color appeal in fall, but they are incredibly invasive.

 

How big are the bushes?  To keep the deer off our young apple trees we simply put three stakes and two wires, about two feet apart in height, going around the trees.   Barely noticeable from 10 feet away but enough to keep the deer off.  They hate touching anything unnatural or unexpected, and so they don't dare to try feeding on them.

 

What's the secret to uploading photos on this place?  I'd love to post more pics, but even my screen shots often exceed thr file size.

They are small, they are mostly like ground cover type holly bushes. And I send them to my email and can resize from there.

[SJonesWX]

13 hours ago, TauntonBlizzard2013 said:

Sure enough, both bushes are putting out new growth as of this week. Have to find a way to get the deer to stop eating them 

there are products that you can spray on the plants to keep the deer away. Just don't smell it, it is horrific, but the smell goes away quickly

[DavisStraight]

11 hours ago, TauntonBlizzard2013 said:

They are small, they are mostly like ground cover type holly bushes. And I send them to my email and can resize from there.

I have that problem when I try to post pics from my phone, is there a way to resize on the phone?

[dryslot]

Freeze watch up here, Temps tomorrow morning in the 20's, Plants are coming indoors tonight.

[radarman]

We water and cover and hope for the best.  Point and click has 27 here, which would be less than ideal but we may be able to withstand it.  Much lower and we'll be starting over.

[QCD17]

Hoping the coldest temps only last for an hour or two before sunrise.  If we can skate by with temps between 29 and 32 for 2 hours I think we'll be okay.  I only have peppers, cilantro, and basil that I'm worried about.  I'm going to water them this afternoon and then throw a sheet over them and keep my fingers crossed.  The rest of the stuff is in pots that will come in for the night.  I just hope this doesn't mess up the fruit trees, as they all were pollinated and set fruit.  Apparently they can go down to 28 without much harm.

[dendrite]

Hoping for 30+ here and only a couple hours of it. Better yet, keep the wind up and stay above freezing. The apples and pears are pretty tough so I'm not too worried about them unless we start getting into the 20s. The orchards in the MRV may be a different story...especially CON/Loudon. I'm worried there will be no PYO peaches at Carter Hill Orchard this year.

I haven't had a lot of experience with this much cold this late with my pawpaw trees, but I think they'll be fine too. It is what it is. Most of the potted plants will be coming in...even the figs and avocados. I did have the avos outside for that May 2020 snow/cold event and they survived despite a little leaf burning.