So you are recommending Scott's sun and shade, yet you posted this on a different thread that you started: Posted by dmoore66 6 (My Page) on Wed, Aug 18, 10 at 13:09 I have been using KBG and fescue mixes for the last 40 years. My bluegrass lawn is expensive to maintain and the heat and drought knocked the hell out of it this year. What can I use to overseed, that will be close in color and less affected by heat and drought, as I do not want a mutlti colored lawn. Seems strange that you are recommending a product (Scott's Sun and Shade) that contains KBG, PR, and FF's when the OP is clearing looking for a TTTF mix to overseed with. Also you say you have been using Sun and Shade for 40 years, but you also say you are using KBG and TF for 40 years. From your post I get the impression that you are unhappy with your lawn, yet you are recommending the same lawn?

Thanks so much for finding that info on the Scottsville Rose! I'd had no luck finding it in my search, and knew I recalled something about it being the oldest rose in Texas..... They really have some good things in that sale - Greg Grant [whose brother is my horse veterinarian - talented family!] is always coming up with some new and interesting plants. I have a Pink Marechal Niel [hope to see it bloom this year] and a climbing sport of Belinda's Dream, now called Farmer's Dream. Hope it blooms this year - Greg thinks its a once bloomer only, but foliage is really healthy looking. This year they are offering Fragrant Snowflake Rose, a single of the white banksia double one, Queenie rose - a rambler [wichuraiana], Thousand Beauties Rose [Tausendschon], Big Momma's Blush Tea Rose and Satin Cream Tea Rose - cant wait to get my hands on every one of them! I will post photos of them as soon as they bloom. If any of you all are within driving distance of the sale - April 5 - you REALLY should try to make it. Its really a hoot - they make you stand back of a long plastic ribbon until the exact stroke of 9am....there is a blue grass band from the college that starts playing Foggy Mountain Breakdown when the sale starts - the announcer begs everyone not to run over the helpers [people tend to stampede, its like the Oklahoma land rush], there are hundreds of people, all dragging various contraptions to haul plants in - rain or shine, there is a huge turnout. I wouldn't miss it for anything! I pore over my list for days, then print it out. I have 2 hard core plant friends that come with me - I load my golf cart up and bring it with me - I can haul more stuff on it and its a really long walk to get from the parking area to the plant sale. We have this wagon we pull behind the golf cart. We usually go the day before and find out where everything is that we want - we are always there early to get up at the front of the line. This is one of my absolute must do things of the year - they have one in fall too. Plus.....the Mize Azalea Garden, when in full bloom [who knows when that is going to be this year!] is unbelievable! Then in fall, the Japanese Maples are a sight to behold. I have some good photos somewhere of both seasons that I will try to find and post. I wonder if anyone has this Scottsville Rose, never heard it mentioned. Once mine gets going, I would be happy to share cuttings with anyone that wants them - same with the other roses. Judith

Gypsum is Calcium sulphate dihydrate. It replaces sodium in the soil and increases infiltration rates and decreases dispersion/erosion of clay particles. There are formulas on how much to use. An expensive solution to heavy clay soil is to excavate it and replace it with Sandy Loam soil with 20% compost. The expense is in the labor to remove the clay. Or build an 18" berm/little hill of Sandy Loam on top of the clay soil and plant on the berm. Be sure to till a little of the sandy loam into the top few inches of clay first. Adding compost, not mulch, to the soil also will help. Adding mulch, on top of the composed clay, to keep the soil covered is beneficial. Adding cheated iron helps to release the calcium in the soil so the plants can 'drink' it.

Hello from Lafayette, LA. We were the fortunate ones in the middle of South Louisiana, or at least so far, as Hurricane Season is not over yet. Lili nailed us a few year ago, this time it was Katrina to our east and Rita to our west. We got 50 knot winds, but really suffered minimal damage here as compared to less fortunate areas. My greenhouse was scattered across 4 neighboring yards. I still have a 4 wheeler chained to our Parkinsonia (very special to us) after pulling it back into a vertical position. Not a lot of fun by the way since they have thorns. We lost a few small shrubs that were less than 2 years old, literally blown out of the ground, and quite a few need to be straightened and staked. I had been working in New Orleans helping my professional counterpart there rebuild the IT portion of the city. Other than extensive tree loss I think most of the gardens might be OK in areas that did not get and keep water for a week or more and where the plants have a little salt tolerance. Areas where the water stayed for a while look totally dead. The trees, shrubs, and the grass are all brown both from the being under salty water and other things. Well, you have heard about the water. Let me just say nothing on TV can do justice to the reality of the situation. The smell is something I will not soon forget. Things with a lack of salt tolerance may die eventually too, even though they look OK right now. Hard to say. Here is a link that might be useful: Gardens and Life of Keith Thibodeaux