Frequently Asked Questions
Should We Get A Doghouse For My Dog?
We Were Thinking About Getting One For Him, But He Is Already 2 Years Old! It Is Starting To Get Really Cold Where We Live! So My Question Is: Since My Dog Is Already 2, Would He Be Able To Get Used To Being Inside The Doghouse? We Dont Want To Buy One If He Isnt Going To Use It! Also, Where Can I Buy A Good One For A German Shepher?? Please Answer!
Of coarse dogs love being outside especially German Shepherds! If your worried he want use don't fret as it comes natural to some dogs as dogs seek dark areas to rest naturally but if the dog is unsure you just have to teach him how to use it. Use treats and toys but sometimes you just give them a shove in there. Petmate makes some of the best dog houses(especially their barnhouses) as I bought one for my American bulldog and I've had it for 5 years now. You can get them at Walmart and pet stores but also on Amazon, Ebay or other online stores. Tip: to keep him warm outside in cold weather you can stuff the dog house with straw or hay and you can sprinkle a little pine cedar in the bottom to repel fleas
Growing A Dwarf Azalea From Seed Can You Help Me Please?
I'M Planning On Purchasing Some Dwarf Azalea Seeds Someone Told Me They Are Hard To Grow They Are So Beautiful I Would Love To Start My Own Garden From Seed If This Is Possible How Long Will This Seed Take To Grow Into A Plant?Another Thing, I Live In Ca I Would Like To Purchase These Seeds Online Does Anyone Know Of Any Online Website I Can Buy My Seeds From? Thank You For Your Time.
Propagation of Azalea:
Azaleas are grown from seeds, cuttings or grafting. Most home gardeners do not start Azaleas from seed, as a new plant can take 2-10 years to produce the first bloom, depending upon variety. The vast majority of homeowners buy established Azalea plants while in full bloom from a gardenstore. The plants are often kept indoors, or on a deck while the plants continue to bloom. then, after the flowers have died, they transplant them into a flower bed, or along a foundation.
Planting and transplanting Azaleas is best done in the early spring or early fall. When transplanting, replant bushes at the same level in the ground was they were in their original location. Smaller bushes transplant best.
How to Grow Azaleas:
Azaleas are acid loving plants. They grow best in light shade, and need protection from midday sun and winter sun. They prefer a moist, well drained soil with a pH of 5.5.Check the soil pH before planting, especially if planting along a foundation where soils tend to be more alkaline. Adjust the pH, as needed. Mix in plenty of inorganic matter, and well rotted manure.
Selection of a location is important. Azaleas can be harmed or killed by sustained winds. Select a location out of the direct sunlight if possible. Protection from strong midday sun is important. Otherwise the leaves can dry out and/or burn. Northern exposures are best. It is also important to provide protection from winds. A low lying area, or one protected by a building or a hedgerow is a good choice.
Azaleas prefer a moist soil. It is important to water the plants during extended dry spells, even in the fall.
Using pine needles (acidic pH) as mulch works to help keep the soil moist, and maintain/add acidity to the soil. Roots are shallow, so mulching will help to keep the weeds down, without disturbing the root system.
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J. Jackson and Lindy Johnson, Trade TN have developed an approach to raising deciduous azaleas from seed to a full 3-gallon flowering shrub in three years, based on keeping the seedlings in active growth by repeatedly transplanting them to slightly larger containers when their roots reach the edges of their current containers. Here are the steps, in their words.
"We sow the seed on a common flat with a humidity dome in the late fall or early winter. Medium used is sphagnum peat moss that has been rubbed over a piece of hardware cloth to get the lumps out. These are placed under cool white fluorescent shop lights, 24/7 (we use 8' units). Fish emulsion is used as fertilizer every 14 days after germination. They must be monitored and watered.
"About 90 days later the seedlings are transplanted from the common flat into a 50 cell 10"x20" tray. Fafard 3B is the medium we have been using for several years with some success. The plants should be trimmed at this stage to promote branching. Place back under the lights 24/7 until danger of frost has past. They must be monitored and watered. Fertilize every 10 days with Peters Rhodo/Azalea solution.
"In early- to mid-May (when danger of frost has past) we move the 50 cell flats to cold frames covered with 30% shade cloth. When the plants are "ready"(roots to the edge of the cell), about 90 days from transplanting into the 50 cell flats, it is time to move them into 4.5" square cups (15/tray). We use Fafard aged pine bark for the media at this stage (we are experimenting with some Pro-Mix Bark mixture w/biofungicide 1n 2006.) They should be trimmed twice during the summer to promote branching. Fertilize with Osmocote Plus 5-6 month; 1/2 tsp/cup. The seedlings are grown in the 4.5" cups under 30% shade cloth until the next spring. Most seedlings are "ready" (roots to the edge of the cup) to transplant after they break dormancy and flush out in the spring.
"In mid-May of the following season we transplant from the 4.5"square cups into a 3-gallon squat pot filled with Fafard aged pine bark. 1-2 tbs of Osmocote Plus 5-6 month, is top dressed. The plants need to be trimmed at least once prior to 6/21 to promote branching and still have time to set bud. These are also grown in the cold frames under 30% shade cloth. Most of these plants are ready after 1 season in the 3-gallon pots.
"We over winter these plants in the cold frames covered with white poly; just place the trays on the ground and/or "jam the pots" close together in the cold frame. We usually place a layer of white pine needles on seedlings that are still in the 50 cell flats."
Does Raking Light Pine Needles And Cones Help The Lawn Any For The Spring?
The Lawn Is Pretty Lame There Anyway Since It'S Under The Pine Trees. The Wife Says It Will Help. I Think We Need To Cut The Trees Down And Throw Them Into The Street.
In addition to being a natural mulch around the trees, the needles also change the ph of the soil, making it acidic. This may be why grass has trouble, and why moss may take its place.
You can get a soil test kit at your local hardware store for less than $5. Applying lime to the soil helps to restore a better ph balance.
Here are some ways others approach this problem.
Growing grass under pine trees can be difficult. So much so that it may be more desirable to create a mulch bed for ease of maintenance and a clean look.
Answer:
The easy answer is just don't grow grass there. Grass doesn't like to grow under pine trees, so why force it. The soil is acidic, it can be messy, there is little sunlight and competition for water is intense. Create a bed of mulch or pine straw preferably to the drip line of the tree. It looks good and saves the battle of trying to grow grass where nature insists otherwise.
If you must have grass under your pine trees there are some measures that can be taken to achieve success.
Clean the area of needles and debris
Apply lime to decrease the acidity of the soil
Remove all tree limbs below ten feet
Prune/thin the upper limbs to increase available sunlight
Use fescue seed for it's shade tolerance. In the southern zone, zoysia, bermuda and centipede grasses have been known to do well under pine trees.
Growing grass under pine trees is no easy task and will require constant attention. Subsequent applications of lime will need to be put down. Needles will continuously need to be cleaned up. Additional watering may also be needed due to competition from tree roots.
How Much Would A Pinestraw Baler Cost? 10 Pts?
Whats The Price For One New? Where Can I Get A Cheap Used One? I Live In Middle Georgia. What Price Should I Sale The Pinestraw For? Is Their A Way To Efficently Hand Bail It? How Many Bales Worth Do You Think I Could Fit Into The Back Of A Truck? What Quality Of Pinestraw Should I Look For When Im Collecting It? I Would Greatly Appreciate An Answer. I Know This Isnt The Most Exciting Question. I Dont Really Care To Have All My Questions Answerd, But It Would Be Nice Im 16, And I Like The Idea Of Working On My Own Rules. I Also Figure That If I Can Create 7 Or 8 Bales Worth An Hour, Im Making Well Above Minimum Wage. 7-8 May Be Wishful Thinking Though Is Firewood Another Good Avenue For Money?
Funny you should say you are from GA. there is a Pine Straw Baler on e-bay the is for sale in GA.
the description is as follows and may answer most of your questions.
FOR SALE ~Star IHI square pinestraw/hay baler. makes bales 17 in wide, 12 in thick, and between 15 and 60 inches. this item is only 6 months old in great working condition, field ready, makes good tight bales, makes between 250-300 bales per hour. this machine is only 6 feet wide and fits easily down rows of planted pine trees to harvest pinestraw. this machine sells for 22,500 brand new on agriquip.com in rome,ga, you can get this for less than 14,000. i prefer phone calls (seven seven zero) eight six nine - five seven four four. jamie Instead of paying for shipping it can be picked up in albany,ga or Rome,ga or the Atlanta,ga area thanks.
http://cgi.ebay.com/pinestraw-hay-baler-STAR-IHI-/270737053654?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f092f97d6
oh and yesssss... firewood is a great avenue for extra cash. as an alternative to that, you can tie them in bundles ~ Bundles of warmth ~ we call them up north here, and just put a sign up at the end of the driveway for $30.00 a bundle or so... extra cash to burn I say.
Well best of luck to you and your endeavors!!!!
How Often Should I Water My Rose Bushes?
This Is The First Time I'Ve Purchased Roses. I Know How Often To Feed 'Em Because The Directions Are One The Box. 
Spring Rose Care
Step 1:
Prune roses in early spring once the rose starts to show signs of new growth, usually in the form of tiny red buds swelling. These buds will become new branches.
Step 2:
Cut out any obviously dead or damaged branches first. Then cut out all but four or five healthy stems, each ideally about as thick as a pencil.
Step 3:
Cut the rose bush back by 1/3 to 1/2, depending on how tall you want it to be. Make these cuts right above an outward facing bud - that is, a red bud that's on the outside of the rose bush. This directs the bud to grow up and out, leaving the center of the rose bush open for a prettier shape and better air circulation.
Step 4:
Fertilize roses regularly during the growing season. Roses are hungry plants, demanding lots of nutrients for best growth and flowering. Each rose grower has his or her own favorite method. One of the easiest is to buy a slow-release granular rose food and work it into the soil so it can feed the plant all season long. Otherwise, you'll want to fertilize the rose with a liquid fertilizer every three to four weeks during the growing season (stop in early autumn) or according to package directions.
Step 5:
Water diligently. Roses need a steady source of water during the growing season, about 1 inch a week from rain or watering. In arid regions of the country, if you have several roses, consider installing a do-it-yourself drip irrigation system.
Summer Rose Care
Step 1:
Mulch. Roses need less weeding and watering and have fewer diseases if you mulch. Lay down 1 to 2 inches of organic mulch, such as wood chips, pine needles, grass clippings or other biodegradable material.
Step 2:
Deadhead. This simply means trimming spent roses off the shrub to encourage it to produce more. While some roses bloom only in one big flush in June, others are bred to keep producing off and on all season long.
Step 3:
Spray. If your rose becomes diseased or has an insect infestation, you may want to deal with it by spraying. (However, first try simply trimming off the diseased portion of the plant and giving the plant a good strong blast from a hose.) If you choose to spray, first identify the problem by trimming off the diseased part and taking it to a reliable garden center, where the staff can prescribe the correct pesticide or herbicide.
Fall and Winter Rose Care
Step 1:
Stop fertilizing roses in early autumn, at least one month before your region's first annual frost date. Fertilizing too long into autumn encourages roses to produce tender new growth that will get nipped by cold.
Step 2:
Protect roses as needed in late autumn, after your region's first hard freeze. In regions where temperatures don't fall below 20 degrees F (USDA zone 9 and warmer), no additional winter protection is needed. In cooler regions where temperatures don't fall below 10 degrees below zero (zones 6 to 8), a simple mounding of several inches of soil over the base of the rose should suffice. In cold-winter regions where temperatures get colder than 10 degrees below zero (zone 5 and colder), mound to about a foot about a month after your region's last average frost date; additionally, two weeks later, the entire plant should be wrapped in burlap to protect the upper parts.
Brown & Dying Pine Needles? It Could Be Dothistroma Needle Blight
Visit Our Local Pine Straw City for information on installation
Charlestonfrom
http://pinestrawlandscaping.com/brown-dying-pine-needles-it-could-be-dothistroma-needle-blight/
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