Petee

There's still a lot of shoots there that could be dug if you still want them.

You may want to take a specimen with evident damage to the Clearfield County Extension Office in Clearfield. They will get it identified for you. I've taken a couple of things there and they'll call you if they can't figure it out right away.

Add them to your compost pile and they'll help it break down with no problems.

It is scheduled for the last weekend of May and the first weekend of June. I will post definite times and dates when we have them.

We will welcome any donations for the plant sale. This, in addition to the Mall gift wrspping at Christmas, are our major fundraisers to support the beds that we have built and maintain. Has anyone checked out all of the spring flowers on the new mounds? Thanks to Dottie who planted hundreds of bulbs last fall.

I have a genuine Crimson King Maple and it always looks dry and sun baked. It has grown very slowly into a nice sized tree but I would plant one of the newer varieties. Dogwoods aren't tremendously hardy around here but I see a lot of Magnolias now. The Redbuds going to Gettysburg this last weekend were gorgeous! Although they aren't normally considered hardy here either, the neighbor has a couple that flowered berautifully this year. I've always wanted a Scarlet Hawthorne but my last two attempts died. Be sure you get one of the newest varieties of flowering Pears, not Bradford. We got a couple dirt cheap, and while they grew fast and are beautiful, we lost a whole 1/3 of one last year in a mediocre storm that damaged nothing else.

You absolutely cannot beat a Sunburst Locust. It is agolden yellow canopy tree with medium shade, excellent for street or city lot planting, practically no leaf debris as the leaves are small and degrade almost immediately, and this locust doesn't have many, if any, of the beans. We've had one for about 30 years and have never raked or found more than half a dozen beans in the fall.

I found a great website on dividing bulbs. http://www.oldhouseweb.com/gardening/Detailed/345.shtml

OK then you're looking for Datura-Devil's Trumpet that grows about 2 feet tall and has a beautiful white flower that looks up. It's extremely toxic to dogs, cats and children so we don't sell them. You may be able to find some seeds or seed heads locally but remember that this plant only grows right out in your garden where it is nearly impossible to keep it away from pets and kids. Teens like to find it and use it as a hallucinogenic but it can easily cause major brain damage or death. http://www.desertusa.com/aug97/du_datura.html Angel's Trumpet, Brugmansia looks down (from Heaven) also toxic but not nearly as bad as Devil's Trumpet, so be sure to keep it away from little teeth too. This grows indoor in the winter and outdoors in the summer. Also there is a fragrant vine that is called Moonflower. http://www.angelfire.com/ia/moonflowers/description.htm I will have both Brugmansia and Moonflower vine at the BUDS plant sale.

Moonflower as in the annual vine or the one that grows up from the ground and reseeds itself? There is a mixed bag of plants when it comes to calling something Moonflower Angel's Trumpet or Devil's Trumpet. More info?

You can also set out little applesauce cups of sugar mixed with Boric Acid powder.

I'm glad your Passion Flower made it over the winter. The one I tried to save was a disaster from a local store and didn't make it.

If it dropped it's leaves because of too little water, you will probably want to give it a bigger pot as soon as possible. This is one plant that likes to be overpotted. It will not tolerate dry soil.

Can your husband mow paths through them or somehow create some openings so they get more air movement?

You may want to treat them organically by simply feeding them well and cutting out the worst canes. Make sure they get a lot of air movement and sun. Somewhere along the line you may start to see new canes that are more resistant. http://www.ipm.uiuc.edu/fruits/diseases/orange_rust/index.html

As long as the stem doesn't shrivel it's probably just looking for more water. If it has good drainage (absolutely no water sitting under the pot) it should come back. About May 1 start giving it fertilizer and stand back! Set it outside after ALL frost is done and keep it watered well. You should get flowers about August if not sooner.

I forgot to add that I have about 5 Brugmansia in the front window that need replanted because they are getting to be waterhogs! They should be really nice for the sales this year.

Your Wisteria will send out blossoms first if it is going to bloom this year. The leaves come right on the flowers heels, They are a little later because of our cooler temps. The flowers can be killed by the frost, so the later the plant starts growing for the year, the better. Last frost date is approximately May 31 but they can come later. One year my garden froze to the soil level on June 21.

Here's my newest blossom, and I have about 20 more plants that will be going to the May/June sale.

They had them at Lowes this week for about $12. My top bit the dust but it was a really ripe one that I decided to try anyway.

Well now aren't those the most gorgeous things!

Don't tomato plants smell good?

If you're really willing to spend some time in order to see your bulbs grow, and deer are the problem, you can make a wire cage to keep over them till they bloom. It kind of defeats the purpose of beautifying the garden but it's an idea! :-)

I tried my first experiment with teeny plug trays that have about 244 holes in them. I also planted a couple hundred seeds today. Some of them were smaller than salt. I think I'm cross-eyed now!

That'll be about the time they are being dug up and divided. Good timing.