Sherry and Floridarose exchange is quite amusing, thanks. Hi Bart: peatmoss is bad for clay since they are both fine particles that bind together. If the clay is alkaline like mine, pH of 7.7, it acts like a base to binds with acidic peat moss, pH of 4. If you mix acid and base together, it forms tight-bonds which result in cement. Hi Kate: I don't get Dr. Huey for Austins since they become monsters here. I like my roses small and compact. Plus my zone is 5a, own-roots die without leaving behind the Dr. Huey eye-sores seen in houses for sale. Dr. Huey is only hardy to zone 6b, can't even bloom in zone 5a. Own-roots are much hardier than Dr. Huey, like Kim Rupert's Lauren is hardy to zone 2a. Hi Kittymoonbeam: Per your question of "I just got bands of Excellenz Von Schubert and just found out that they don't like alkaline soil/water. What to do with them?" Excellenz Von Schubert has multiflora Crimson Rambler in its parentage, and would do BEST with acidic rain water at pH 5.6 like my Blue Mist. My Blue Mist has dark-green leaves in our wet seasons only. Even when I fix my tap water with used lemons, my water still has lime, which binds with phosphorus, and make Blue Mist bloom less. Since your Excellenz Von Schubert also has a hybrid perpetual, Merveille de Lyon, in its parentage .... it's best to use a SOLUBLE high phosphorus, but very low nitrogen. Hybrid perpetual has as bad habit of lanky growth, lots of foliage, and stingy blooms. Sherry posted a link to buy SOLUBLE Monopotassium Phosphate at 52% phosphorus and 34% potassium, with low-salt index of 8.4. Excellenz von Schubert has many petals, translates to more demand for phosphorus, essential for blooms and root growth. My Sonia Rykiel has lots of petals. Within 1 month of purchase as own-root, I counted 15 buds/blooms in a pot watered with SOLUBLE MiracleGro NPK of 10-24-16. Then I put Sonia R. into the ground, and used Lilly Miller acid fertilizer at NPK 10-5-4, it became stingy. This fertilizer worked for Ingrid since her soil is abundant in phosphorus, versus mine tested deficient. What I would do with Excellenz von Schubert? Use fluffy, acidic potting soil like MiracleGro green bag with pH of 6.5 - The used lemon water with vitamin C helps with rooting, then I would use SOLUBLE fertilizer high in phosphorus for maximum bloom. In the Blueberry forum, those with fluffy soil, amended with organic matter like pine and leaves, grow a good crop of blueberries despite their alkaline soil/water. Fluffy soil encourages maximum root-growth, and cluster-root becomes more eficient in acid phosphatase, or secreting acid to unlock phosphorus from soil.

Thanks for resurrecting this thread. It is very informative. The presence of moss growing on the surface of a potted plant may or may not be something to be concerned about. I think it depends on the kind of plant you are growing and the kind of culture you are providing the plant. Generally the moss must be well irrigated as well as having the necessary humidity and temperatures needed for it to survive. Most plants that do not require copious amount of aeration to the roots, such as orchids, may be at risk of root loss since the moss would tend to serve as an indicator of soil decomposition. A careful look at your plant roots should be the rule when growing with a dense moss growth. Even with orchids there are some that do quite well with the dense moss, Dendrobium cuthbertsonii for example. The best rule is to know the cultural needs of the plants you are growing and be able to make a determination that the presence of a dense moss growth is a plus or a minus in your cultivation.

The suggestion for curing new concrete to ready it for plants or pond plants is to flush with water 3 - 5 times a day with the hose for two weeks. Then allow to thoroughly dry and apply two coats of concrete sealer inside, allowing to dry over night between coats. Some will suggest a third step in between flushing and sealing: Mix up a solution of 1 quart of ordinary kitchen vinegar and 10 quarts of water. (you may need more with the length of your planter) With a stiff brush (or old broom) and generous sloshings of the solution, scrub vigorously over every square inch of the vessels inside surface. "The surfaces may bubble up a bit as the vinegar works on the free lime, but don't worry, it will not weaken the concrete." Rinse well, allow to dry, then apply the concrete sealer.

Fastigiate yews are multi-leader, so there are many trunks as is visible in your photo above. The objective it to just pull those vertical "trunks" tighter together. It's commonly done, not just for snow load, but to enhance the look of upright yew, they tent to adopt a more open form as they grow taller. The dual advantage is that is prevents splaying. You could also wrap them on the outside of the foliage just for winter too, but looking at your photo above, it seems those would look much nicer in a more columnar form, they are already starting to open up. My Emerald green arbs, I simply wrap with green twine on the outside, and just for winter, as the style of the tree doesn't require such a tight upright form, I only tie those to prevent winter damage, not aesthetics.