I think we may be able to now call NYC a Z7. I suggest you try some of Prarie Meadow Nurseries no mow grass mix. A landscape contractor bought some trees from me and used it and says it's worked very well. Dicots tend to encourage tarnished plant bugs and stink bugs which can really damage fruit. Grasses are considered better by most orchardists. If you plan to apply insecticide don't put anything under them that blooms within 30 days of petal fall.

get some mulch .. pile it on ... and let ma nature take care of getting rid of the grass below ... by next spring... you will be amazed at how fluffy it is underneath ... forget about the roundup .. its done its job ... its irrelevant .. trust me .. if you need to plant now.. take your saucer or the top of a garbage can ... move back the mulch .... take off the rotting grass ..set aside ... dig hole.. placing soil on the saucer .. do NOT get soil on top of your mulch ... dig a little deeper than you need.. throw the dead grass at the bottom.. put some soil over it .. plant hosta.... reset mulch ... but not within 3 to 6 inches of the hosta ... water .. walk to next spot ... i have done this with bare root trees ... three days after the roundup was applied ... nothing.. nada .. don't worry about it ... roots just don't grow that fast.. and roundup is said to be inert once it hits soil ... any grass that pokes back through the mulch .. just spot spray it .. the hole point of mulch .. is to cover soil and weed seed .... that is why i spray in the mulch .. to avoid bringing soil back on top by pulling weeds ... the least amount of spray you need .. is the best.. i would rather you have to go back in a week and re hit a spot of grass .. rather than see you dump 5 gallons of spray on your mulch to kill a little grass ... besides .. its expensive ... paper if you want ... i think its a waste of time ... mulch should be 2 to 4 inches thick .. AFTER IT SETTLES .... so i put it on about 4 to 6 inches deep ... its early .. maybe i missed something... ken

Hello Battalina - A couple of thoughts regarding your posting... You mentioned that : "Some of them had dried up bluberry looking black fruit on them." Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) does NOT have dried up looking blueberry type fruits , although Parthenocissus quinquefolia (commonly known as Virginia creeper and Parthenocissus tricuspida aka Boston Ivy)do. There are some people who have an allergic type reaction from Parthenoccissus species although in my case , although I am extremely allergic to Toxicodendron species , I handle Partheocissus species frequently with no bad reaction at all. The plants I mentioned are frequently encountered growing together. The offending plants are best removed during the Winter (when urushiol levels will be lowest) by an individual who is not allergic by pulling / digging the roots out of the ground. The oil in the Poison Ivy is what some people are allergic to and the stems during the winter don't have as much sap in them as they do during the summer. The oil (aka catechol) is released most easily from bruised leaves or any other part which will place tiny droplets of the oil into the air (where it may land on the skin, clothes or be breathed into the respiratory system. People who are extremely allergic to Toxicodendron species can get the allergic dermatitis simply from being near the plants as a certain amount of the oil is evaporating into the atmosphere , most especially on hot summer days. People who are extremely allergic to Toxicodendron can pick up the oil from the fur of pets that have brushed up against the leaves , from clothing or anything (!) that has the oil on it and can transfer it to the allergic person. People who are extremely allergic to Toxicodendron catechol can get it from other people while the exudate from the encrusted ares is still yellow and it can definitely be spread to other people or other parts of your body from the oil being transferred from any contaminated object e.g., q-tips, washcloths, bedsheets, etc. The Poison Ivy Catechol is the aromatic portion of some of our neurotransmitters and the formula in brief is catechol + an amine = catecholamine (!)...The human catecholamines are serotonin, dopamine, epinephine, norepinephrine, metanephrine and normetanephrine. The catechol oil in different species of Toxicodendron and plants with related catechols consists of a mixture of different oils, so that is why some people are allergic to Poison Ivy but not Poison Sumac because the ratio of the different oil fractionations is different. Poison Ivy dermatitis may one day act as an indicator of certain types of auto-immune disorders. I am fully aware that some of what I stated is listed as untrue by some dermatological sources although what I have stated regarding extremely allergic people is based upon my own hyper-allergic experience and research regarding my own condition. I have found that most practicing dermatologists will not know about the specific info I have shared, although a few doing specialized / focused research into urushiol related toxicity / allergicity might... I have added a link to a similar post on plants in the Sumac Family including Toxicodendron and edibles like cashews , pistachios and mangos. I hope my offerings may prove to be helpful... Here is a link that might be useful: Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) identification dermatitis rash prevention and remedial cures info

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