oh lisa.. you ruined the surprise .. lol ... get the very expensive applicator at the link ... remove product.. and for the $1.79 .... you have our permission to throw it away ... fill with 100% round up or its cheaper generics [which is labeled as 41%] cut ANYTHING to ground level ... and apply a bead of 100% to the cambian layer.. which is the thin green line inside the bark.. before the whitish wood ... consider the wood inside the cambian.. to be dead .. do not waste RU on it ... the cambain.. loosely speaking.. is the vascular system of the plant.. and will move the killer down into the roots ... if per chance.. it resprouts .. cut sprouts.. and put one drop on each cut ... i will yell... THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WAFTING SPRAY ALL OVER THE NEIGHBORHOOD ... got that??? i would also recommend a good tree saw for about $15.. rather than lopping shears ... we could link you to such if you are interested ... again.. do NOT spray large bushes .. really now.. if you do it right.. 2 to 4 ounces of RU will do the whole yard .... if that ... its very minimal application.. and has nothing to do with ground water ... and forget about the neighbor.. you mention them too often.. inside a couple years.. your new garden of eden will have removed them from sight.. and mind .... and get rid of everything ... if you want a pussywillow .. when you are all done and ready to plant .. go buy a named variety.. of some worth.. rather than some hedgerow piece of carp.. that a bird planted a decade ago ... ken Here is a link that might be useful: its the applicator not the brand name

When you applied the lime, and which lime, could have an affect on how things grew. If done shortly before planting the lime would not have had time to make any change in the soils pH and many nutrients would not be available to the plants. Lime, to have much affect on the soils pH, needs to be applied several months before that change is desired. Contact your local office of your state universities USDA Cooperative Extension Service about having a good, reliable soil test done and also dig in with these simple soil tests, Structure. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. A good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top. 2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up. 3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart. 4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer your soil will smell. 5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy. to see what your soil looks like and what you need to do to make that soil into a good, healthy soil.

This might not apply to you, but just in case. We were having random brown outs in our house and then completely losing electricity only in certain areas. I caleed the electrician who was set to do our remodel coming up and he said to save time and money by calling the electric company FIRST. The elec co came out and discovered it was a problem with the outside meter, one of the "legs" that make contact had burned to a crisp!! They claim it would NOT have eventually caused a house fire. Anyways, they replaced their meter and they covered the cost of the electrician to install it. (it was a new digital kind replacing an old type and had to have new connections) so, my electrician saved hiomself a trip and saved me money by having the electric company out first and discover this co-incidently was happening right as we were getting ready to remodel. It can'y hurt for you to find out, right? Goosd Luck!!

bill_vincent: Thanks for the response. The granite is called Azul Platinum and yes it does get slightly darker when it gets wet. Luckily, it returns to the regular color after sometime. What would you recommend cleaning the granite with? What do you think about the Simple Green Stone Cleaner product? Bone dry...will 24 hours be long enough? How does one know when granite is bone dry???