HA! During WWI, for the war effort, my great great great grandmother would get permission to cordon off short sections of paved streets, on which she scattered rubber bands of varying diameter. Under her miraculous care, within days the rubber bands grew into trees so laden with tires for various types of military vehicles that often she and the neighbors couldn't harvest them all before they became larger than intended; this, necessitating that they be trimmed back to a usable size. She would then have the trimmings ground into powder, which she mixed with white milk. When the slurry of rubber and milk was heated under pressure in small molds (like sinker molds or toy soldier molds, if you've ever made either from lead), the result was Ficus elastica seeds which were sold to tree farmers all over the world and served as the propagules for essentially every rubber tree plantation currently in existence. I sure do miss that lovely and determined old gal. ....... at her 100th in 1966: She sure was something. Sad that we have to wait until next summer to see her again. Michelin has kept her so busy at headquarters in Clermont-Ferrand, France for the last 49 years, she hasn't been able to get back to the states to see ANY of her great, great, great, great grandchildren. Fortunately for us, her employer is picking up all expenses and footing the bill for her bash back in the states. Keep your eyes peeled for pictures. Al

I have a hedge, composed of about 6 holly bushes (I believe it is holly, not totally sure) that always looked great- leaves were dark green and the bush was always thick and full. Today I noticed that the bottom half of these bushes are bare, as if all the leaves fell off. The remaining leaves are now turning yellow, and the tips of many of them are dark brown. I have included a photo. Does anyone know what the culprit may be, and if there is anything I can do to mitigate the problem? Thank you in advance. Image link:

The tree ( around 6' in height and 4' width) is in the full sun area in front my house . I water it once every few days but as it has been raining quite a lot so I don't water when it rains . I use transplanter that nurseries recommended once every 2 weeks for the root development . Will take more pix of the tree and trunk thank u !

keep in mind.. its a deciduous tree.. and its basically sept .. and the leaves will be falling off soon enough ... there is a good chance.. the bugs are gone by now .. or will be at first frost ... [ma natures pesticide.. lol] .... so there probably isnt anything to spray anyway ... even a leaf that damaged.. if it remains green.. is doing its job of converting sunshine into plant food ... ken