Advice on Eucaliptus tree in Charlotte area
tomatomike
14 years ago
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (6)
claudia_sandgrower
14 years agoRelated Discussions
New Lawn in Charlotte, NC
Comments (5)Start now to improve your soil. The clover has already started for you. 1. Fertilize with alfalfa pellets (rabbit chow) at a rate of 10 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Follow that up in 3 weeks with 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. 20 is normal but 10 is needed to help the soil microbes get ready for the 20 later on. This is much more valuable than the starter fertilizer and the compost combined. You might still want starter (personal choice) but you definitely will not need compost if you do the alfalfa. Alfalfa is much cheaper, easier to apply, and more beneficial than compost. 2. Water deeply, 1 inch, all at one time. Do that once every week from now until mid August. 3. Mulch mow the yard on the mower's highest setting once per week. Get used to doing these three things because those are the basic steps for lawn care. Then in late August (or when the summer heat just starts to cool off) 1. Spray RoundUp on everything. 2. Water daily for 4 days trying to get new stuff and weed seeds to germinate. 3. After a week rake off all the dead stuff. 4. Water daily again for 4 more days. 5. Spot spray RoundUp on everything that is still green or has sprouted. 6. Rake up anything else you need to but otherwise do not disturb the soil. You are going to seed right onto the surface. 7. Spread the seed. 8. Roll the seed down with a water filled roller. 9. Start watering 3x per day for just long enough to moisten the soil and seed. That should be about 5-10 minutes each time. If you plant only fescue you will need to continue this for 2 weeks before you see any grass seed sprouting. Continue with the 3x per day until you get about 80% germinated. If you add 10% Kentucky bluegrass to you grass seed (which I strongly encourage for the sunny areas), then you will need to continue the 3x per day for at least 3 weeks before the KBG sprouts. 10. After you have about 80% of the grass sprouted, start to back off on the 3x per day. Go to 1x per day but water 3x longer (15 minutes). When the grass is tall enough to mow at the highest setting on your mower, then back off on the daily watering to every other day for 20 minutes. Next time you mow back off again to every third day for 30 minutes. While you are doing this, use some cat food or tuna cans to measure how long it takes your sprinklers to fill the cans. That time is going to be your target time for watering. When you have mowed the grass 3 times, back off again to once per week and apply a full inch. If you decide the grass is too thin in the shady areas, NOW is the time to remedy that with more seed. Do not seed in the spring as that will bring crabgrass in. 11. Spot spray broad leaf weeds with Weed b Gone. Mist not drench. 12. After you have mowed 3 times, then consider another fertilizer app. It can be alfalfa again or it can be a starter fert. When you fertilize bare ground, there are no roots there to do anything with the fertilizer. It will wash through the soil before you have roots. I believe waiting is better. If you decide to fertilize with chemicals, you should apply once in late spring, once in early fall, and once in late fall. If you do this right you should not have to worry about crabgrass or other weeds. If you decide to continue with organics like alfalfa, you can apply those any time of year, rain or shine, without fear of hurting anything. They work completely different from chemical fertilizers....See MoreTree selection....
Comments (1)If you are saying you want them to quickly grow large enough to be in scale with the oaks then the maples would be the ticket, and not the redbuds....See Morewould Charlotte support another garden center
Comments (34)Oooh Erin..you and Farmer J's are sorely missed. There I could find the unusual varieties and colors and the prices..I'd have paid more if it would have helped keep J's open. If Blueangel wants to open a center I hope he will stock it with annual/perennial plants and not garden supplies and certainly not giftware. Stock the unusual trees (like J's did). Stock the zone 9 annuals..although I still have jacobinia(sp) that has come up every year for 6-7 years now that I originally bought at J's. Finding the unusual trees is the hardest now that J's is gone. Garden Secrets used to be my other source but since they moved by SouthPark Mall, they have no room for trees. They also had great roses and marvelous perennials. Like J's, they cared what their clients desired in plants and they took good care of the plants for sale. Looks like Banner on Monroe and 51 will be the next to go. I see the zoning change sign up there now. Me..I'm at that age now where I need someone knowledgeable to help me. Someone who cares that it's planted in the right location and planted properly in soil that's been properly prepared. You don't need a degree in landscaping to be a skilled gardener, in fact the degreed 'landscapers' I've fired in the past 20 years..well it's disheartening how little they care for anything but an income. It's disturbing how much they rely on the computer for research and design. Even more disturbing how the degreed guys aren't the planters. Sometimes they aren't even there to supervise....See MoreFruit trees and berry bushes
Comments (13)For flavor, Cherokee is my favorite. Other good blackberry varieties that have thorns are Brazos, Kiowa and Rosborough. Thornless varieties that do well here are Arapaho, Apache, Quachita and Navaho. For anyone who has not grown berries and wonders what the difference is, the thorny blackberries tend to be higher producers. That makes up for them being harder to pick. There's a relatively new development in the blackberry world that involves varieties developed to produce fruit on the current year's growth. Traditionally, blackberries produce berries in summer on the previous year's growth, called primocanes. Three of the new varieties that produce on the current year's growth are Prime-Jim, Prime-Jam and Prime-Ark 45. I have not grown any of them, but may plant some of them in a trial planting next year. Blackberries, whether they are thorny or thornless get about 5' tall and need something to lean against, if not a trellis, then at least a fence or wall. My brother grew them along the west wall of his house. He enriched the soil really well with lots of cow manure and they grew and produced like gangbusters. I've seen them grown along fencelines, planted about 3' or 4' away from the fence, and I've seen them grown on trellises. If you don't support them, they have trouble staying upright but they're happy leaning against a fence or wall if you don't put up a trellis....See MoreUser
14 years agombuckmaster
14 years agogusolie
14 years agotomatomike
14 years ago
Related Stories
TREES11 Japanese Maples for Breathtaking Color and Form
With such a wide range to choose from, there’s a beautiful Japanese maple to suit almost any setting
Full StoryLIFEYou Said It: ‘Lower Your Standards’ and Other Quotables
Advice, tips and other comments that struck a chord in the run-up to the holidays
Full StoryTREESGreat Design Plant: Coral Bark Japanese Maple, a Winter Standout
Go for garden gusto during the chilly season with the fiery red stems of this unusual Japanese maple
Full StoryLIFEYou Said It: ‘Rather Than Remove Them, They Framed Them’
Design advice, inspiration and observations that struck a chord this week
Full StoryREMODELING GUIDESBathroom Workbook: How Much Does a Bathroom Remodel Cost?
Learn what features to expect for $3,000 to $100,000-plus, to help you plan your bathroom remodel
Full StoryDECORATING GUIDESAsk an Expert: How to Decorate a Small Spare Room
It can be difficult to know what to do with that tiny extra room. These design pros offer suggestions
Full StoryMOST POPULARSpring Gardens Are Blooming — Here’s What to Do in April
Get the guide you need for gardening in your U.S. region, with tasks, climate-appropriate plantings and more
Full StorySPRING GARDENINGSpring Gardens Are Waking — Here’s What to Do in March
Excitement fills the air when gardens come back to life. These guides will help you make the most of yours
Full StoryLANDSCAPE DESIGN6 Driveway Looks Take Landscapes Along for the Ride
See how to design a front yard that makes your driveway its own destination
Full StoryMOST POPULAR8 Backyard Ideas to Delight Your Dog
Cue the joyous soundtrack. These pet-friendly landscape and garden ideas will keep your pooch safe, happy and well exercised outdoors
Full Story
DYH