In an extremely high % of cases, necrotic leaf tips and margins are caused by over-watering, an excessively high level of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil solution, or some combination of the two. High root temperatures, nutritional imbalances, ammonium toxicity, and phytotoxicities (things poisonous to plants) like air pollution can also cause or contribute to the physiological disorder causing the symptoms. In most cases, the greatest amount of traction is to be gained from making sure your watering appropriately and flushing the soil of accumulating salts when you water. If you can't water appropriately w/o limiting normal root function or root health, you might want to take a look at the soil you're using. In any case, getting to the point where you can water to beyond the point of total soil saturation, so you're flushing the soil when you water, without having to worry the soil will remain saturated for an extended period, represents something of a breakthrough for the grower. When you find yourself at that point, it is much, much easier to consistently maintain your plants in a state of high vitality, which means you don't have the unsightly symptoms to remind you that the plant is being asked to tolerate something it's not genetically programmed to deal with. I'd start using a 'tell' to 'tell' you when it's time to water (see more below). I'd also keep learning more about how much impact soil choice has on your potential for consistent success. A General Overview (click me) Using a 'tell' Over-watering saps vitality and is one of the most common plant assassins, so learning to avoid it is worth the small effort. Plants make and store their own energy source – photosynthate - (sugar/glucose). Functioning roots need energy to drive their metabolic processes, and in order to get it, they use oxygen to burn (oxidize) their food. From this, we can see that terrestrial plants need air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough air to support good root health, which is a prerequisite to a healthy plant. Watering in small sips leads to a build-up of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil, which limits a plant's ability to absorb water – so watering in sips simply moves us to the other horn of a dilemma. It creates another problem that requires resolution. Better, would be to simply adopt a soil that drains well enough to allow watering to beyond the saturation point, so we're flushing the soil of accumulating dissolved solids whenever we water; this, w/o the plant being forced to pay a tax in the form of reduced vitality, due to prolong periods of soil saturation. Sometimes, though, that's not a course we can immediately steer, which makes controlling how often we water a very important factor. In many cases, we can judge whether or not a planting needs watering by hefting the pot. This is especially true if the pot is made from light material, like plastic, but doesn't work (as) well when the pot is made from heavier material, like clay, or when the size/weight of the pot precludes grabbing it with one hand to judge its weight and gauge the need for water. Fingers stuck an inch or two into the soil work ok for shallow pots, but not for deep pots. Deep pots might have 3 or more inches of soil that feels totally dry, while the lower several inches of the soil is 100% saturated. Obviously, the lack of oxygen in the root zone situation can wreak havoc with root health and cause the loss of a very notable measure of your plant's potential. Inexpensive watering meters don't even measure moisture levels, they measure electrical conductivity. Clean the tip and insert it into a cup of distilled water and witness the fact it reads 'DRY'. One of the most reliable methods of checking a planting's need for water is using a 'tell'. You can use a bamboo skewer in a pinch, but a wooden dowel rod of about 5/16” (75-85mm) would work better. They usually come 48” (120cm) long and can usually be cut in half and serve as a pair. Sharpen all 4 ends in a pencil sharpener and slightly blunt the tip so it's about the diameter of the head on a straight pin. Push the wooden tell deep into the soil. Don't worry, it won't harm the root system. If the plant is quite root-bound, you might need to try several places until you find one where you can push it all the way to the pot's bottom. Leave it a few seconds, then withdraw it and inspect the tip for moisture. For most plantings, withhold water until the tell comes out dry or nearly so. If you see signs of wilting, adjust the interval between waterings so drought stress isn't a recurring issue. Al

It is basically a form of transplant shock and the look resembles sun bleached wood seen in debris found in Rialto and Ruby Beaches in your NW Coast. Because they are forced to bloom at unnatural times and conditions, the first set of leaves you get may not be hardened enough. The greenhouse gave them shade and ideal perfect conditions. Then they get to the real world and things are different. The leaf damage you have will not self repair but the shrub will produce new leaves eventually. It may even drop the leaves and grow roots only until Spring 2015 and theeeeen leaf out; no telling for sure. I mention it just in case you think it may have died (because it could look dead without leaves but the roots are still alive). Should this happen, give it until mid-to-late May 2015 to leaf out before decding it did not make it. I had a gift hydrangea from Kroger's once; still do. Its leaves looked like they were, I do not know, thicker than usual, full of water. something not just quite right. The leaves did not dry out like yours but I suspected they might if I suddenly placed it outside. Since the plant was wide awake and blooming in late December though, I left it in bright shade in the original pot... in a location where it would not get too much wind either. Maybe 2 weeks of that? By the way, it was an extremely mild winter so the plant lucked out. Winter felt more like a 3-month long "early Spring" that year, with all kinds of plants (roses, hydrangeas, etc) blooming in mid January. Totally weird. No freezes to speak of. If cold weather had dropped by, it would literally have made a killing! The plant eventually was planted outside and produced new leaves. The second set of leaves looked better. Luis

Kitchen towels are only in white and therefore you don't have to worry about anything matching or needing to bleach anything or using the "wrong" towel for anything. They're all the same. I buy cheap 100% cotton terry Doctor Joe automobile polishing towels and use them in the kitchen and garage. Once they get a bit stained from kitchen use, they become garage towels. If you buy in bulk cheaply and have plenty on hand, you won't be searching for one when you need it. Group some by the sink, and others by the prep area and yet others in the laundry area. Yes, I use them for cleaning up cat puke. The yuck goes down the toilet and the towel goes in the laundry with bleach. About 2 dozen is a good starting number for the average household. If you have a large household, then maybe double that. I use an old bucket that cat litter came in as the "hamper" in the pantry. If I'm doing a project that requires a lot of them and they're too many to just drape over the side and air out behind closed doors, I usually put them on a baking sheet and place them in the oven as it's cooling down. Use that "lost heat" for something! Do you want to talk about bottled water? We switched to a filter pitcher several years ago and bought a case of bottled water annually and just refilled the bottles as we drank the original water. But they were difficult to sanitize properly and after a recent bout with a nasty GI bug that the other half blamed on a water bottle, I received a dozen plain stainless steel water bottles as a holiday present. So far, they've been a lot easier to clean and fill and I'm really glad we switched.

Put a piece of paper on the grass in there and wipe your hand off the paper away from it. If there are chinch bugs they will flick back onto the paper. Chinch bugs usually start adjacent to concrete because they like the heat. If you don't have chinch bugs, and I don't think you do, then I'm going with a watering problem exacerbated by the heat from the driveway. You said you water from 6-8 pm. If that is every day then you have a problem with watering. This time of year you should be deep watering once a week. When you don't water enough but water too frequently, the grass develops short roots which are extremely sensitive to heat and watering. The grass is dependent on frequent watering. Here's my little treatise on watering: Watering: Deep and infrequent is the mantra for watering. This is for all turf grass all over the place. Deep means 1 inch all at one time. Put some cat food or tuna cans around the yard, and time how long it takes your sprinkler(s) to fill all the cans. Memorize that time. That will be the time you water from now on. My hose, sprinkler and water pressure takes 8 full hours to fill the cans. Your time will likely be less. I like gentle watering. As for watering frequency, that depends on the daytime air temperature. With temps in the 90s, deep water once per week. With temps in the 80s, deep water once every 2 weeks. With temps in the 70s, deep water once every 3 weeks. With temps below 70, deep water once a month. Note that you have to keep up with quickly changing temps in the spring and fall. This deep and infrequent schedule works in Phoenix and in Vermont, so it should work for you. The reason for deep and infrequent is to grow deeper, more drought resistant roots and to allow the soil to dry completely at the surface for several days before watering again. If it rains, reset your calendar to account for the rainfall. Having said that you cannot go cold turkey with fescue. You'll have to start watering more deeply and less frequently, but not all the way to once a week. The roots have to grow down deep first. Start by watering deeply with the cat food cans. Then watch the entire lawn for signs of drought stress (blades folding together). If you see any of that then water immediately but only 1/2 inch. See if you can go 3 days without watering. If it will go 3 days, then water on the 4th at 1/2-inch. Then see if you can repeat that 4 days with the 1/2-inch. Again, water immediately if the blades fold together. Once the 4-day schedule seems normal, then start to stretch that from 4 to 5. By then the temps may have fallen back into the 80s and you'll be stretching it by many days to get to 2 weeks.