ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh s$#@%# ha ha ha you know I just spelled it out and GW sure does not let you post this word roflmao...you mean...you mean I got one of those stinky Karyn posting picture flower ones? ha ha ha That name rang a bell right away!!!! How can I forget Karyn's detailed description on the smell roflmao Boy I am glad that wheelbarrow is WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY in the back of the yard where NO ONE goes before and certainly will not go there again while in bloom roflmao RIGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I thought you are my friend hahahaha just kiddin. I LOVE THIS PLANT! Brenda thank you. You are right. It does look real happy since it is there. But I do LOVE the look of the bloom and oh my I really can not wait to have that on in the POTD :-) HUGS Lucy

It's a bacterium that's pretty difficult to control. Rather prevelent here in the PNW as our weather is an ideal environment for the pathogen and it can decimate a good number of nursery crops. Recent studies by OSU have shown that there are numerous variations of the pathogen and that many strains have developed resistance to the typical controls, usually copper or streptomycin. Copper, like the Bordeaux mix, is likely your best chemical control or a similar product like Microcop. Application should be begin in fall and again early in the season before budbreak. It is likely too late to apply now that the tree is in leaf - J. maples are rather sensitive to sprays on their foliage and copper in particular can cause a phytotoxic reaction. I would remove the blackened foliage and trim back any leafless portions to a healthy node. Watch for stem discoloration and as you see it, prune out below it. (And yes, good pruners come in all sizes :-)) Disinfect the pruners with something like rubbing alcohol or bleach - Lysol spray is popular at my nursery. Plant it in a good location as soon as you can and keep an eye on it. A young tree in decent growing conditions could outgrow it, but nothing is guaranteed.

Spider mites are one of the more difficult critters to get rid of, I don't think there is any easy way other than some fairly nasty sprays or systemics. Problem is they do like to spread around, particularly if you have them out on a porch. I made this mistake once, I have a juniper bush by the front porch that harbors spider mites, and in the summer we take all our houseplants and set them out on that porch. They all got infested. You might just have to do the unthinkable, and just dump the thing in the trash. Then go tropical plant shop hopping.

I'm in the same boat, right down to past mastery of minor things like switches! I just spent some time at a local lighting place this week too. Basically I was told a 6 inch light covers about 6 feet, a 4 inch would cover 4 feet. With the space in our kitchen and where our sink light and hood lights are, I think we might go with 4 inch LEDs. The 6 inch ones end up close to those other light sources and not where needed, or I'd be using an extra one with close spacing and risk cooking in a stadium! I'd suggest trying one on either side of the sink, center one on that first lower and base your spacing on that with a third one down near the range. Then one on either side of the fridge. They would be 24-36 inches from the wall. And maybe a ceiling fixture or fan/light in the middle. See how that looks. It's often easier to revise once you have something to look at. I'm still going in circles with the UC lights. I have a quote from environmental lights online for their dimmable bars with drivers in the light bars (max light?). I need to call and have them walk me through it as there is no diagram, just a list. It is a little less than the local store options.