Where do you live? If you have St Aug and bermuda (wiregrass), you might need to adjust your expectations. Fescue is a cooler season grass and the other two are warm season grasses. Need to know where you live to assess which type of grass would be more favored. Fescue is a bunch type grass. It grows one plant for each seed that sprouts. Crabgrass is a sod forming grass. It can cover your lawn from one sprouted seed. Some conditions are necessary for crabgrass to sprout and take hold. One is that you have plenty of moisture for the seed to sprout. If the soil gets moisture every day, crabgrass seed loves that. Another condition is that you have bare soil for the germinated seed to get plenty of sunlight. Crabgrass doesn't thrive in the shade. Tall, dense grass will prevent crabgrass. Fescue, as I mentioned, grows only one plant per seed. If your seeds are not close together (lots of seed), you will have a thin turf that invites weeds to move in. All the warm season sod forming grasses turn brown in the cool season if you stop watering them. Most survive the cool temps with no water but crabgrass does not. It is an annual and must come back from seed every year. However, if you are in a warm enough area, you can often maintain St Augustine green all year long by keeping it watered every week. Really cold winters will send it to dormancy every time, but in the deeper south it can be green all year. Are you sure you need lime? Do you have a soil test that tells you how much lime to add? Most soils east of the Mississippi need lime and most to the west do not. There are exceptions, so you need a soil test to know for sure. If St Augustine will grow easily in your area, you can reduce your lawn battles by going with the flow. St Aug when watered weekly and mulch mowed at the highest mower setting, is pretty easy to grow.

Hi Marie!! So nice to see you!! I hope you are doing well and that your collection had rebound from your loss years ago. It was a hard winter again for us this year and I did have damage to a few Palm trees, but they finally made a come back.. Hoping they will again. You are so funny about my Plumeria collection! I do have it bad and I have been really good about trying to select and thin down, but its not working to well. I do have a few and thanks to LISA! ;-). She has called me out on how many I have since we had a fun contest over there at the Plumeria forum a few days ago. I had to admit how many I had.., It was a blast ! Lisa is a new Plumeria enthusiast and I'm trying to help her along .... We all remember those who come forward and help instead of lurking and being over helping out. It does mean a lot to them and it certainly makes me feel good. So Marie.. Are your trees doing well? Have you added to your COT collection too? I haven't been over to the Adenoum forum lately.. I really need to go over and say hi! I did count my collection the others day since we are changing up my backyard deck area. We made some benches to add to the side yard to place some of my trees on. Some of my friends call them bleachers LOL!!!! I'm really glad to hear from you. I haven't been on the forums to much and I try to get back to say hello to my friends. Just sent Pug a few trees last year and she just sent a pic of how they are leafing out.. I am so pleased.. Take good care!!! Laura

Thank you all for the very nice comments! i appreciate them all. knotz-what part of washington do u live in? Brooklyn- thanks again... yeah i was born in my mothers house here in va beach and still live in va beach. i got tired of seeing her house with the same landscaping as everyone else bushes and shrubs also huge trees, too many...anyway especially when i love palms so i changed her yard. I will start the greenhouse soon its kinda in my head haha. i bought the palms all over some down south personally, some e-bay, some online nurseries, friends. I definitely agree with you totally about the cleaning the trunks, i mainly did that washingtonia becase the trunk was sooo messed up anyway i couldnt look at it any longer. I will definitely have many cold protection methods eespecially the first few years, trust me i will have mrs laura's help for protection hesr are perfect as everyone has seen! My dogs name is Irie (jamaica...) and she is 71/2 months english retriever. shes always around with me everywhere obsessed with outside life.thanks jimhardy she has grown sooo fast! the banana is musa orinocco. i have a huge list of palms i want soon as im sure many of us do! so ill keep you posted thanks again for the comments! -Justin in VB

Hello Everyone, Hi Bo...you could probably see flowers the first year...they thrive in the sun and love to be watered...You will definately by the second year... Hello Joe...Thanks for the nice comments on my palms..they do not move from there present location!! I wish I had a greenhouse too! They have been in the ground for over 16 years...I'm Keeping my fingers crossed during this hard cold blast from the north...When they were first planted and for the next several years, I put heat cables around the hearts of the palms and tucked them in with Burlap..I would plug them in when the temps hit below 25...I am still alittle nervous though...I think all of us plant lovers Palms, Furits, tropical etc...are very nervous at this time of year!! Mango Kush...I have thought about the cold hardy Bananas...but I haven't really checked them out yet...TYhey are really beautiful in the yard and I have also seen them planted in large pots that looked pretty good as well. My neighbors have bananas and one neighbor had some actual bananas gow on his tree...That was pretty cool for our area... Hello Mike...Stay warm Pug...Are you going to protect your mango trees? Please let us know how you are...I'm feeling for you all down south...it's bitterly cold here in VB..Brrrrrrrrrr Take care everyone, Laura in VB