Here is the story... I got a buy one get one free coupon and bought some Hydrangeas. Too good a deal to resist--stupid me. I have been thinking of moving my Viburnum nudums to more sun anyway since they don't fruit well. Of course the best spot for the hydrangeas was where the Viburnum was, so voila! Now I am transplanting in order to plant. I know it's not ideal, but the temps will be a little lower this week and I have a soaker hose set up to keep them wet. Also, I thought they would survive better being moved now than trying to summer the hydrangeas in thier pot. I'm hoping that I am being overprotective since they are natives and should do well about anywhere, but would rather do it right than have to start from scratch with new plants. I think it will be ok, but the clay soil is tough. Thanks, TBT P.S. I just put them in and had to put in one small shovel full of compost (tell yourself that it was for the nutrients if that makes you feel better) in the hole and all the other organic stuff (bagged compost/humus, peat moss, a few coffee grounds, and mulch) all went on as top-dressing. I will try and remember to update as the summer goes on.

I understand, Seil. More than 25 years ago, I would leave an overhead, oscillating sprinkler going over large areas of my Newhall garden, requesting the community gardening staff to turn them off when they left for the day, on triple digit days. The horse manure mulch disappeared quickly. The foliage was huge, plants even more so, and they flowered amazingly. Water was cheap and plentiful, so not an issue there and then. There were no disease or insect issues. The plants were fully clothed in very dense, durable foliage and there was no such thing as sun scald nor Flat Headed Apple Borers which became great issues once that type of watering had to be discontinued due to availability and cost. Black spot and mites were frequent issues with the own root plants we propagated as volunteers at The Huntington. I learned early when bringing home any new plant such as those to pull off all of the foliage before bringing it into the garden. I had an area in filtered sun under a tree where I kept a pile of horse manure. I'd clump the newly arrived own roots in their pots together, surround and fill between them with the manure, often inside them as mulch, then overhead water until new foliage began developing. No mites, no diseases and the plants exploded into growth quickly. A bit of hardening them off in larger cans and higher levels of heat and light and they were ready for planting once they'd filled the five gallon cans. Growing them up in larger cans also permitted me to move them around to see what position was best to their liking. It often made quite a difference. At the beach, I had a number of customers who regularly used my "proprietary blend" of Ultra Fine and Miracle Grow sprayed every two weeks except between the middle of July through the middle of October. In the Perma Fog, it prevented disease, eliminated the constant aphids and saw flies and kept really terrible things there, like one lady's beloved and hated Paul Neyron, viable. He caught her heart in books and she was determined to grow him. He languished until I suggested the Ultra Fine and MG foliar application. She had severe bronchitis, but made sure she brought me a bouquet of beautiful Paul Neyron from her bush! Used during the heat, that mixture did burn, but when there weren't heat and light intensities to contend with, it worked wonders. NO way I could have ever used it in any garden at home! I tried it once, learned my lesson the hard way right there and then! Anything presented as being even slightly phytotoxic WILL burn here. I am in total agreement with your walking the roses daily. I can't imagine having them unless I wanted to walk them every chance I got. Each has its own personality, likes, dislikes, needs and will quickly let you know if you don't provide them. It's the best way not only to head off problems early, but also to detect sports. They can happen so quickly right in front of you and seemingly behind your back. A big part of the serendipity for me! Kim

Thanks for reply Ken. I appreciate your reassurance. Having 100 trees potentially go bad because of a mistake I made would have sucked. Yeah digging 100 holes is not fun. I did 10 of them today in about 2 hours. I figure it will take me a couple of weeks to get all of these in working around rain and work. My family and friends think I am nuts. Trying to shut out some annoying neighbors though so it will be worth it in the end. I have been doing a lot of reading the past few days and think I have a handle on the watering and mulching. Pretty much planning on watering once a week or if the soil is dry 2-3 inches down for the first year then just watching them in year two to make sure they do not get caught in any long droughts. Also going to fertilize in late fall with a good watering to get through winter then fertilize again in spring. As far as mulching, I haven't seen any specific instructions except to give it an inch or two to keep in the moisture. On planting the trees there seems to be a lot of conflicting info on fertilizing or not. What I have concluded is to not fertilize the plant with anything for a few months to allow the roots to grow. I've read that fertilizing too early will push the growth to the branches and not the roots like you want. My soil is very rich. Black and full of worms so thinking that will help as well. Thanks again Ken. Hopefully I can get this done before memorial day or before I break my back digging holes, lol.

Sometimes I wonder if people cannot function without a sign or slogan spreading the "truth" of the day. I agree that most homeowners don't have a clue, and many lawn companies (using that term loosely here) aren't any better informed. It does not help when the water districts actually advertise counter-productive misinformation about plants, lawns and watering. Most lawn areas are overwatered and/or poorly maintained. But it matters too the type of grass you have and soil you have under that turf. Our soil is sandy, and when it dries out, it actually requires more water to rewet it than it does to maintain a proper moisture level for the landscape. But many homeowners don't even understand basic things, such as how to program their irrigation timer or how to determine if irrigation is even needed. Additionally, restrictions vary by city and/or water district. Not all get 2 watering days/week. Fortunately, our restrictions didn't include irrigation days so we have maximum flexibility; restrictions are for total household usage. (Sometimes I will stretch the irrigation days to see if potential rain systems actually produce more than a drip. Irrigation day restrictions do not allow for that, because if you skip your day and the rain does not materialize, your landscape will suffer. Therefore set irrigation days is actually a less efficient water control method.) Our lawn is a nice green too, but it is pretty dang small (roughly 250sq' total). Growth regulators are another method for a nice lawn while cutting down on irrigation. But then prep is suggested for a change-up from the blank stares, to looks of horror for a product they don't understand. Our grass is in the back yard, so it does not come up in conversation often. Although some forum members have, on occasion, accusingly asked where I got the water that keeps it green in photos.