"What would matter more in the long run...a bigger root system, with a smaller crown, or a smaller root system with a larger crown?" Hostarox My belief is that there is a loss (IÂve explained how I come to this position) but I can't find any research and I haven't done any. That is why I'm trying to enlist a seed grower to try some work on culls. If I still had hosta in tissue culture I would take 18 (the number per flat) and cut the roots off and leave 18 alone and see what would happen. "What I want to know is if anyone has done any research to see what a Hosta (monocot) root system does if put under sudden duress" Hostarox No I donÂt have research. That is exactly my question! I assume all plants have mechanisms to respond to stress, my question is; does stress create a loss. If so, then donÂt create the stress. Plants have signals to grow, bloom and go dormant etc and I assume signals to respond to stress and survive. Same question is there a net loss from stress? "You can tell the difference easily because the dormant buds point up and have green coloring while these root buds are white and point down on the same plant." Dave I should have known that, duh? Now that you point it out I have seen exactly what you describe. Would you like to try a little experiment to bring data to this question.

The natural state of New England is forest, so there are plants that will sprout in sun (early succession species) and in shade (late succession species.) When you add to that all the various invasives that are around like buckthorn, bittersweet, barberry, ivy, etc. there really isn't anything you can do to prevent sprouting, either regrowing from cut plants or from seeds, particularly in a wooded area as small as 1/3 acre which will get good light throughout, unless you want to use chemicals such as glysophate (generic Roundup). You will probably find that everything you have cut down will resprout before fall this year, and if you want to use glysophate, this fall before leaf drop would be the best time since your plants have had one shock this year from the first trimming, and at that time plants are pulling back nutrients from the leaves, hastening the transport of glysophate to the roots. It's also less persistent than most herbicides. I will use it mixed at brush strength on poison ivy in areas we walk and on really persistent invasive plants (buckthorn and bittersweet), though in general I don't like manmade chemicals in my garden. I only use it on specific plants, either from a sprayer on a large droplet size that won't drift or on a paintbrush used directly on leaves or the cambium of the cut stump. If it is level and smooth enough, you may be able to use your lawnmower to mow it, otherwise I'd invest in (not just rent) a walk behind mower made for rough areas because as Mad Gallica said, it will need regular mowing to maintain. On our much larger property, to maintain rough field (which had been starting to turn back to woods when we bought it) and to keep access roads open in the woods, DH uses either a walk behind rough mower (a Graveley in our case) or a brush hog that is tractor pulled, depending on the area size and turning radius. I have a large pair of lopers for small saplings in areas that aren't mowed as well as a pair of long-handled adjustable pliers for yanking out woody seedlings. I also have a machine like a gasoline powered string trimmer that is heavy duty and in addition to the string has a soft brush blade (raspberries and other semisoft plants) and a blade that will cut woody stems up to about two inches. Certainly spreading a 2" or slightly heavier layer of mulch will discourage many seeds from sprouting that need light, but I wouldn't go much deeper than that due to the shallow roots of the existing trees needing oxygen. Likewise, if you can get extra leaves this fall and chop them up, they will make a good mulch. Unchopped they will mat unless mixed with pine needles or wood chips. If you go this route, you can't mow and will need to use hand tools to remove things that grow despite the mulch. On the positive side, you may find that now you have cut out the brushy stuff, you have spring ephemeral wildflowers in your woods that grow and bloom before the trees leaf out, things like trillium, Actea (dolls' eyes), bloodroot or Solomon's seal. If you want a dense groundcover plant that may shade out some seedlings that need a lot of light, try hay-scented fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula). It will tolerate some mowing and grows quite densely. We have some natural stands of it, and I find it quite lovely.

Maybe the solution is to do either/or but not both types of chores in the same day. Organize a room, then clean it. I was watching Hording Buried Alive last night. They had a woman, a former teacher, who had 2,000 totes in her home, neatly arranged but full of stuff she no longer needed, hobby supplies, many books, school supplies. It was neatly organized but they hit the nail on the head when they said "You have too much stuff for this small house." To add to it, she was reluctant to give anything away. She picked 16 items she was willing to donate, but that made no dent in the 2,000 "organized" labelled tote boxes. Her daughter (an adult) was very upset. No neat, happy end , showing her well-organized beautiful home. They left her with her overcrowded house and her many issues, which included family deaths, isolation, and her shopping addiction. Truly scary stuff.

Posted by greasetrap There was also an interesting comparison of Wolf vs. BS burners by a place called Eurostoves. _____ Keep in mind these are marketing videos made to sell BS. These burners are not made by Wolf at present but the dual stacked burners are. "The heat is thrown to the side of the pan" You have to look at how you cook. If you put a 5 inch pan on the Wolf burner and turn it up all the way the flame might go around the pan, but who does that? This happens on the BS too later in the video. Personally I would switch it to the small pan burner on the Wolf (and Capital Culinarian) and use the smallest BS burner. I use a 7 inch sauce pan on my Wolf with mod heat on regular burners to make caramel and the pan heats evenly even though it is old Revereware with only 0.5 mm of copper. You really can't stir the caramel so it has to cook evenly. If it was a problem I could use the small pan burner. "Tiny simmer burner" If you use a heat conductive pan (copper or aluminum)this is not an issue but Wolf has the dual stacked burners of the same diameter now. He comments about the All Clad pans not being very good but Fissler being better. It very much depends on what line within the brands that you are talking about. There are good and bad in both. It is difficult to evaluate plied cookware as the amount of conductive metals inside is often an unknown. For highest performance you are better with thick copper or aluminum. If you look at the video, the 5 inch pan loses heat on the smallest star shaped burner. The wolf small pan burner is probably the best option. "You can simmer better on this because of more even heat" I would want to know the BTU rating to determine which will go the lowest. Temperature given by BS in relation to the burner means nothing. Along with the amount if BTUs temperature in the pan depends in the size, shape, metal the pan is made of and what you are cooking. Evenness can be provided by the cookware. The star shaped burner would be a help in providing even heat to something like cast iron or steel as long as the pan is properly sized to the burner. If you use the smallest star burner on large fry pan, having the heat to the center is uneven. Your ring burner might be better and more even in that case. BS does have a higher Btu rating on the high side. This is good for heating something faster. Water will boil a few minutes quicker. You can heat a cast iron pan hot enough to sear a steak on either. It will take a little longer to reach temperature on the Wolf but it will get hot enough to vaporize oil. Higher BTUs will help with recovery of heat in a pan when you add food. They have advantages or disadvantages depending on how you cook. You do have to look at marketing very carefully whether it is videos or cooking demos or whatever. Even though they are presented a "studies" or quasi science, look at who is presenting the info or paying for the...