1032 Wildrose Drive, Lutz, Florida 33549
813-909-2325
|
Ask Paul |
|
 |
Home |
|
|
About Us |
|
|
Meet our Professionals |
|
|
Services |
|
|
Landscape Presentations |
|
|
Lawn Estimator |
|
|
Ponds |
|
|
Pond Estimator |
|
|
Testimonials |
|
|
Florida Yard Fandango |
|
|
Related Links |
|
|
Ask Paul |
|
|
Florida Friendly Priniciples |
|
|
Site Map |
|
Here's your chance to ask questions regarding the care of your plants, yard, even ideas for landscaping or about your favorite fishing hole. E-mail your questions to Paul at: askpaul@wildroselawncare.com |
|
| Question: |
Hi
Paul,
I just bought some very colorful plants at The Home Depot called the "Cosmos" plant (pretty white and purple blooms almost resembling daises). There was no tag in it or on it as to how to care for it. Can you tell me about this plant? Sun? Shade? Moist? Dry before watering? Thanks so much |
| Answer: |
Thanks
for asking about the “Cosmos” plant. This plant is also known as a Mexican Aster. It is an annual that has fine feathery foliage. The Cosmos will grow from 1-7 ft tall depending on the variety. It has solitary red, white, pink or purple flowers that are 2-3 inches in diameter and up to 4 inches in some selections. Best of all it thrives in Poor soil conditions. They like rather lean, well drained, sandy soils. Please do not apply large doses of fertilizer as flowering will then diminished. Unlike Azalea or other flowering plants, Asters bloom better with less. The best placement is direct sunlight. The more sun, the better. They need adequate watering, and plan to water them a lot during times of drought. After watering the plants, allow the soil to dry to a level of slightly moist condition. Too much water and they will tend to get problems with the rooting systems. They are most useful and functional as a background plant in beds and borders. You will receive beautiful flowers all summer long and they will seed themselves and propagate onto the surrounding grounds. This plant is one of the best nectar plants for attracting butterflies to the garden. Be sure to check the root ball of the plant when you take it out of the containers. It may be root bound in the container. If so, then take your “cutters” and cut the bottom of the root ball in an X-cut to allow the plant to get the nourishment from the ground that it needs. It will also help the plant overcome the shock of transplanting. Enjoy and if there is anything else that you need, feel free to contact me. |
| Question: |
I
was inspired by the open meeting the company presented at the Jimmie
Keel library. I came home and after several weeks of real
hard work I created a butterfly garden. All is well except
the milk weed and I am having problems with one of the two plants.
I don't know if it is powdery mildew or what. The description
is a spider like web incasing the top of the three stems of the
plant. All the leaves fell off or had been "diseased'
away on the entire plant except the very top. Prior to this
there were aphids on both plants. I tried to kill them by
"crushing them between my fingers." I also put
some liquid dish detergent mixed with water. They either
died or were scared away. Ha, Ha. One plant looks pretty
and the other is trying to hang in there, so to speak. I
was afraid whatever I might put on them to kill the "stuff"
might not be good for the butterflies. That's to say, I
am getting some pretty butterflies coming. Thank you folks for all the good info at the seminar. Could you let me know what to do to save my poor milk weed and not scare the butterflies away? |
| Answer: |
First,
I want to thank you for attending our seminar. There is another
FREE workshop to be held on October 9th at the Jimmie B Keel Library.
Be sure to attend as there will be new and different topics. Your plants are being eaten by the very caterpillars that will be turning into those gorgeous butterflies that you want. The Milkweed is a host plant to the caterpillars, which supplies them with the nourishment to metamorphous into the next level. As Nature has intended, there is a symbiotic relationship between the two. Each needs the other to live and prosper. The caterpillar owes the plant for the nourishment to metamorphous and the plant looks to the caterpillar to help it with overgrowth and new shoots. The plant will probably die back to the ground, and then new shoots will appear and a whole new plant with beautiful flowers will replace the worn out leaves and stems. You can help the Milkweed recover quicker with a little time release fertilizer containing LOW Nitrogen (the first number) but a high Potassium ( the last number). The Iron will give the plant minerals that are generally lacking in our soil and build stronger cells, while the Potassium builds up the immune system of the plant to fight off diseases. The Middle Mineral is Phosphorous which helps in growing the thickness of the plant cell allowing a stronger stem to be formed. Sit back, don’t worry and enjoy the new friends that will be flittering across your yard in the very near future. |
| Question: | What is the proper way for building a wooden retaining wall? Everytime I make one, after six months it starts to bend forward, warp off the ground and looks terrible. “It looks easy, you can buy the material cheaply, and after hammering in a few stout nails into the landscaping timbers I am through”. Yet I see others that look like they never go bad. |
| Answer: |
There is an art to everything, even in building retaining walls. If you plan out the wall on paper before you even start then your chances of success will increase proportionally. You need to consider a couple of things first - What is the purpose of the wall? To hold back a higher layer of ground? To be a planter? Or maybe a corner for a plant bed next to a driveway. Each will be built slightly differently. A holding wall will have cables or reinforcement bar running back into the mound to maintain stability, a Planter needs to be stabilized from moving, and a corner has a combnation of both. One of the most important parts is the use of 3/8” or ˝” reinforcement bar which is driven down through the timbers vertically about 1/1/2 to 2 feet into the earth. This is the stability factor for all of the walls, A hole should be drilled through the timbers first to allow the rods to be inserted. The very top timber can be used as a cover cap to hide the other rods. A rod should be inserted every 4” from the end of the board and one through the corner to form a lock pin for the box. This allows for stability of the wall from moving laterally, and helps lock all the boards into a single unit that doesn’t warp. Be sure that the bottom board is buried into the ground the full depth of the board. This keeps your planting material from leaking out. Or you can always contact a professional and have them install it for you. |
|
|
||
 |
||
|
"We
LOVE to Play in the Dirt" |
||