alatree, Thankfully, we weren't in the area where the big brood of period cicadas emerged this year, either. Not sure where shark is, but his description is classic. Last major brood emergence I remember was like back in '98, maybe? Eerie - there were so many of them, that it sounded like something out of an old '50s science fiction movie, like a 'flying saucer' landing. Everywhere. I had a little single-string Echo weedeater at the time, and the noise that string made while whirling around was almost the same frequency as that of a receptive female - I had to quit using it until they were all dead, 'cause every time I fired it up, I'd get swarmed by randy males. I can still see oviposition scars on some of my oaks and fruit trees, all of which had been planted less than 4 years at the time.

Gang - here is my report from the historic area around Marietta Square. We have scads of dying or dead oaks. I know in my neighbor's yard there are 3 huge ones in various states of impending death. The one in the backyard which has mongo limbs that hang over my kids' play area (yikes!) DOES indeed have the tiny holes and sawdust all over the place. My other neighbor has a humongous oak that seems to be dying from some sort of rot from within. The base of the trunk has such a huge void underneath, a small child could hide in it. When you knock on the trunk, it sounds and feels like styrofoam! There is black gunk leaching out from other spots - the big branches split open to allow very weird white blobs of mushroomy things to burst forth and dangle there. Her other VERY large oak leans right over our house. So far, it is healthy, but I worry that the fungal situation could spread through the roots. By the way - thanks to all who responded to my Sick Tree posting. I think the Slime Flux diagnosis is right on. But the whole thing began with Ambrosia Beetles and was followed by fungus. I'm afraid all the trees in the neighborhood are suffering from the same problems. I also know we had a "tree guy" come out a few years back. He was one of those cool, funny, granola guys who was very relaxed, very "connected" to the trees! (A great character.....) He said some profound thing about the great old neighborhoods with the great old trees -- but just like our elderly people, the trees have a life span and it's not always as long as we expect.

If the roses had such sentimental value to you, when was the last that you visited them and went nostalgic over them before the removal incident? Last year? The year before? A 50 year old rose bush that had been cut to the ground, then later removed (STOLEN), would need the expert care of an experienced rosarian to just survive the experience yet alone re-establish and thrive in its new home. A cut and trim 'landscaper,' usually does not have the skill or knowledge base to even cut grass or trim bushes correctly, yet alone successfully do the deed you scribed. Anybody with a lawnmower and wheel barrow calls themselves a PROFESSIONAL LANDSCAPER today. If you have such a landscaper you got what you paid for. No tenant gave you a heads-up before the roses were removed? Your story sounds fishy. What are you going to do now? Go through the expense of a legal case against the landscaper? You would have to prove, through eyewitnesses, that the deed was in fact committed by the accused. Hire a new landscaper, give specific, exact instructions as to what their duties are down to every minute detail. Monitor them carefully, every week. Replant the empty spots with a good, new rose variety. Get over it. Absentee landlords as you say you are, as a class, do not have their fingers on the pulses of their properties. You have to live there to keep up on things. This is my observation going by the drastic change in my own old, city neighborhood. Most of my neighboring properties that were once meticulously maintained by resident owners are woefully neglected by the "I don't care," attitude of the tenants and the absentee landlords who are merely collecting revenue, and doing barely the minimum in their property management and landscaping. Gabage in, garbage out.

Not a happy camper. Looks like it has been getting a lot of heat and afternoon sun... no thanks to the neighbor. Transplant shock setting in as it cannot handle things this sunny and hot with a small root system. You can (short term) give it artificial shade by using outside chairs, umbrellas or something you can construct or prepare. A temporary measure, of course. It is now getting too much afternoon sun due to your neighbor's pruning of the trees. So, concentrate on quick & fast things to alleviate the problem... short term wise. Then transplant it out of the way of all this sun/heat; later on, concentrate on looking for a new location but transplant it there in the Fall. Now is not a good time to transplant a hydrangea to a new location in our hot summer zones. It is ok to put it in a pot & then place the pot in shade though. 1. Start by keeping it well watered and by doing something that gives it shade immediately. Umbrellas, chairs, anything that blocks the sun... Consider the blooms. When the blooms collapse like this, I try to salvage the blooms by watering but, if they do not perk up and they remain pointing downwards no matter what, well, then forget them... cut the petiole that links the bloom to the stem. Basically, I let the water that used to go to the blooms and make it go to the remaining leaves. It happens to me when the shrubs are new/small and get a bad heat spell during the summer. Bottom line, sometimes watering fixes the blooms but, sometimes it does not help; and if it does not help, I then cut the blooms off. Next, consider transplanting to a place where there is morning sun, afternoon/evening shade (or dappled sun) in the summer months. But put the shrub in a pot/container now and replant in the Fall. It is too hot now to plant a new hydrangea or transplant one. So, put it in a pot again and keep the pot in full but bright shade until this Fall. While waiting for Fall to arrive, observe which locations have morning sun only during the summer months. Then, move it there when it has gone completely dormant. Note: keep the pot near a place where you will see them often so you will not forget to water/fertilize the plant. Add computer/electronic reminders if you think you may forget to water the shrub while it is in the pots. You can prune the leaves that turn all brown when they turn all brown. Leave them all there until then. You may even loose a few stems but no panic. Sometimes in the summer, I have lost all stems but, in Spring, I get new ones since the trick is not to loose the roots. Luis