David52, yes I just started using osmocote this season in the pots. Unfortunately everything I potted up before winter did not get osmocote but newly potted or repotted stuff is getting it and there is already a difference. Gonna' use it from now on for any potted plants. I also started giving young plants/cuttings a little boost of what I guess is called liquid "starter" fertilizer for new transplants, seedlings, etc....Not as strong as normal fertilizer. Don't know if it's one or both of these but things seem to be doing much better than my previous potting attempts. Ryse -- I usually make cuttings at least 6 inches. Soft/semi-soft wood. I usually wait until after blooming. Mine are done now but the softwood tips and shoots weren't quite as long as I prefer so I was waiting to let them grow out a little more, then I'll prune the shrubs to size and take cuttings from those limbs. My Mom had 2 pathetic little 2 foot tall plants in the shade that she bought discount and planted in her yard. They never grew. When I moved out years ago I took a dozen or so cuttings which to my surprise rooted quickly. Planted those in a row next to my studio and within just 3 years they were HUGE!!! The ones on the sunnier end of the row are the largest and easily 9-10 feet tall. All that from those little cuttings off of those scraggly little Pink Princess specimens. Good luck with your cuttings!

Hi LG, I put instructions on "My Page" on how to root softwood cuttings. Weigela is a very easy one. Don't water, just mist the leaves once or twice a day. And Calistoga is right it needs to be in a mist tent. You can make a really fast one by getting a clear plastic/garbage bag, three sticks and a twist tie. Just put the cuttings in a pot of perlite mist just the leaves and make a tent with the bag and sticks and tie the top closed. But check out my instructions for a more detailed explanation.

Did you have a soil test first so you could add whatever nutrients were deficient (if any) to your soil before sprigging? Did you incorporate a starter fertilizer (or compost) into the soil before sprigging? I would have done the above first. If you did, your plants shouldn't need anything yet. Watch for good green growth on the sprigs. I think with sprigging the general recommendation is to feed every 2-4 weeks, but it depends on what shape your soil was in to begin with. Where I live sprigging is used more for establishing new hayfields than lawns. With a lawn area that is mowed more frequently, more frequent feeding of nitrogen might be needed while the lawn establishes and fills in. I found you some info on established a sprigged area. Fertilizer recommendations were on page 4, I think. Sprigging Bermudagrass

We decided to move only the one shrub shown on the left side of the 1st picture above. It was planted into a corner and hence it's roots would not be intertwined with the neighboring bush. My husband managed to dig out a fair size root ball, but had to break several tap roots. The first few hours the plant was a bit droopy, but now after having been planted in its new place for two days our new weigela is looking fresh and alive, see pics just taken . .. I cut out most of the dead wood but left the rest for now. I wonder if I should let it settle in a few weeks before pruning the branches that had been or are still blooming. There are several thicker old crooked stems that I want to remove as well, but think I should wait till early spring. My hope is to see new straight shoots come up from the bottom, sooner or later, so it will grow in at the bottom and won't look so bare....otherwise I will figure out what low growing plants would enhance the picture. Thank you Partim for mentioning the sale in Toronto at Victoria Park and Lawrence. We live now in Oshawa but were in T.O. yesterday and picked up two very healthy looking blueberry shrubs for $10 each, normally $ 30 each.