Hi jaybizzle: Welcome to the garden web. Your picture looks like it could be a perennial called Astilbe Here is how you grow plants from cuttings Taking cuttings is the same for most plants. First you must make sure everything you use is very clean. In a clean pail mix your soil with the water so you make sure the soil is damp right through. Use a soilless mix like pro mix or one that is formulated for seeds and cuttings. Just make sure it has no fertilizer in it. You want the soil wet but not too wet. Squeeze a handful and some moisture should come out but not a lot. Fill your pots and make a little hole in the center with your finger or something else that will make a small hole. Take your cuttings: With a sharp knife or razor blade cut a 5 or 6 inch piece from the growing tip, cutting just below a leaf. All roots and branches come from a leaf joint. Remove all but the top 5 or 6 leaves. Dip about 1/2 inch of the cut end in rooting hormone. It comes in powder or gel, either is OK as long as it's for soft wood cuttings. I use Stim-root NO. 1. After it's dipped put it in the hole and cover it in, and you're done. Keep the soil moist but not overly wet. They will look wilted at first but that will change as it starts to grow roots. You will know it's rooted when it starts to show new growth. Wait until it is rooted well before you set it out.

1) Check with your state's Extension Service. Each county should have it's own Cooperative Extension Office which provides free publications and information for the asking. They will have valuable vegetable/gardening tables available specifically for your area determined by universities, and horticultural research scientists have collected data from growing those crops in your state. See how detailed these examples are: Vegetable Planting and Planning Calendar for Missouri (download the pdf) complete with spring and fall planting dates (underneath the spring planting dates for appropriate crops), how much to plant per person, etc. They can also tell you the average last frost date for your area and ideal planting times for specific crops and varieties in your area. Here is an excerpt: 2) Get your soil tested by a lab. You actually save time and money by only adding what you need based on an accurate soil test. Check with your state's Extension Service. They'll tell you what you need to do to get it tested. It's usually only $6.00 -$12.00 (mine was only $9.00) which is comperable to what home kits cost but don't tell you nearly as much as a lab can tell you. Then you won't be guessing as to what state your soil is in or wasting money on amendments you don't need. They'll tell you exactly how much of what elements you need to add to your soil per square foot (if any). 3) Do you want to ingest pesticides? Do you need to take antibiotics if you're not sick? If you grow your own vegetables, then you can actually control what you put in your body. The only reason to use pesticides or herbicides is if you have a problem and do not want to use natural methods of control. Just start browsing the existing threads in this forum. You'll learn a ton.

It sounds like the roots are saturated, which will eventually result in a condition called root-rot. This is caused by poor drainage or too much water. The end result is that the roots are unable to draw in nutrients, which will gradually starve the plant. Be sure to only water when the soil dries out. I water my seedlings once or twice per week at most. I wait until the soil is dry to the touch. I then water deeply, ensuring water runs out of the drainage hole. This seems to keep the plants healthy, and also helps prepare them for similar conditions outdoors. Finally, never fertilize seedlings until they have developed their fourth set of leaves. The salt content that is present in most commercial fertilizers can burn the roots. If you use a fertile potting medium, fertilization is not needed at the early stages of growth.

I read somewhere that one way to get rid of wild onions would be to dig the dirt up and pass it through a screen, then you can toss the bulbs that get screened out. I'm thinking this would be best done when the soil is dry and crumbly. As for improving the soil tilling is one option but be aware that it can bring weed seeds to the surface and next thing you know you have a weed plantation. Clay is usually quite fertile, and if you have or can attract earthworms they will do a great job of breaking up the soil. In your place I would just put a layer of wet cardboard or wet newspapers as a weed barrier, then put organic matter or mulch over that. Then start planting, pushing holes through the cardboard/newspaper. I like to put a bit of one of the Espoma Tone fertilizers in each planting hole since they are slow release and also have good bacteria in them. As for plants, I have clay soil, and all sorts of plants love it. Perennials: In the sun I have purple coneflowers and black-eyed susans, sedum, lamb's ears, bachelor buttons, lily-turf; in the shade there's hollyhocks and astilbes. There's really a lot of choices, it would help if you knew if your soil happens to be acidic or basic. In any case, for now avoid plants that say "requires excellent drainage" or words to that effect. I love my peonies (but wait til fall to plant these -- they are tubers but shallow planted ). You can plant bulbs in the fall too but don't plant them one by one in clay or your arm will fall off. Reserves a part of the bed for them (maybe plant annuals in it now) and in late fall dig a wide hole and toss the bulbs in at the right depths (pointed in the right way LOL). The lowest planted ones first, then cover with dirt, followed by the shallower pointed ones, etc). It will be really nice next spring. Shrubs - red-twig dogwood? In NJ I'm guessing also azaleas & hydrangeas (see if they grow in your neighborhood). Roses are supposed to thrive in clay but this is the first year I am trying a couple after researching hardy disease resistant kinds. Don't make my mistake and not have any evergreen plants with your perennials, btw -- looks desolate in winter. Speaking of not spending an arm or a leg, did you know that lowes will put torn bags of mulch and amendments in clear "product recovery bags" and sell them for 50% off? I didn't know this until last week -- now I keep checking for new goody bags. :) Here is a link that might be useful: one of the