This thread is getting more and more personal - it sure does belong to conversations side, but since it is here, I will go on. Jane, sorry to hear about your problems with deer (no, really). Could this have something to do with deer having nowhere to go for food, as people extend their habitat further and further? Hummm...As you seem to be very (un)fortunate to live near an area that still has wildlife, I say you have options: 1. Move to a city with tons of concrete...not much wildlife there...seriously. Before you know it, zoos will be oh so excited over a baby deer born in captivity and have dozens of vets running around with itÂ. 2. Put a big sign for deer to read: "Zis* is human land. Deer watch out or else" - I bet the hungry deer will understand, stop targeting your juicy plants, and go back to whatever leftover forest it has, to look for food. Worth the try.... As for the global warming...Well, issue too personal to even start on here...On Florida Gardening, there was an interesting thread on it: GW Balance and the people helping out...I do not know if I will agree with it. We destroy the balance by destroying habitats, driving away natural predators, and then get into this rage over too many squirrels and rats. Too many of them - sure....Too many people and not enough forest? I will let you decide. Touchy topics, and no way you can have a peaceful thread discussing these "non-orchid" items. How are we expected to find middle ground if, for example, I do not agree with approximately 62 million people on major issues such as gay rights and global warming...And you think we can talk it out about squirrels...Ich dont sink so* Having said all of that, please understand that some of you find things funny that might actually be offensive to others...There is funny, and then there is funny Ahh, hell with it...I am off to watering orchids. Now that is fun. Olya * - misspelled intentionally

I, too, worry when someone is guessing about the dosage of a pesticide. It's dangerous for the applicator as well as for the environment. The responsible use of imidicloprid pesticides requires knowledge of the most effective timing as well as making certain that the dose will be correct. Another factor that worries me is that some insects are developing resistance to this class of pestides (neonicotinoids) . But the biggest headache is that these chemicals have proved to cause a population explosion of pests after the effects begin to wear away. This ends up causing increased problems....and more pesticides. I strongly advise that our original poster wait for several weeks to see if there are any positive results. By that time, the trees will be preparing for autumn. I also suggest that he/she call the toll free number found on every label to ask for advice. Know the identification of the pests and the measured circumference of each tree. Be honest with your particular dose. I'll bet that you get lots of help. I agree that the 'lint' insects are not whitefly but hackberry wooly aphids. You might not be observing or recognizing other pests, as well. Don't you think that it might be time for you to call on a professional? An ISA (International Society of Arboriculture) Certified arborist is required....not any 'tree guy '. One of the most effective control measures is horticultural oil applied in the winter. This treatment smothers the eggs of many pests, breaking the cycle. I doubt that any professional will spray acephate everywhere and Bt is useless on whitefly (or wooly aphids, for that matter).

Hey Nik, yes root pruning is just what you described. A sharp shooter shovel works best since the blade is so long and sharp. I even sharpen mine on the grinder before I do any root pruning. The general rule with root pruning and removing top growth is that you need to remove nearly as much top growth as you do roots since the diminished roots will have to support supplying water and nutrients to all of that foliage left above. It's really a judgement call as to whether or not you root prune now. You will need to coddle those plants a bit for a while if you do and of course, there's the loss of the top growth... The longer they stay in the ground root pruned, the more new roots they'll grow but *for me* I would be disappointed to lose the top growth if it turned out to be for nothing :). If you choose to root prune now and it turns out to be unnecessary, you can always still give them the root stimulator to speed the recovery. Nik, the Demo Garden is something I think you would enjoy seeing. It is behind the annex where the extension office is. I can never remember if that is annex I or II. Also kind of behind and to the left of the criminal courts building. If the apartments that are in some of the pics I've seen of your place are where I think they are (across from City Park), then you are very close to the garden. The garden was constructed solely through donations and master gardener labor. We just did a children's gardening school there yesterday where the kids were supposed to make their own stepping stones and also some to leave in the garden with their names and hand prints on them....Mostly what we really made was a mess, LOL! Anyway, you're welcome to take a looksee anytime you'd like. Rose, I just removed a WELL established Texas Star Hibiscus a few weeks ago (temps were in the mid to high 90s). A friend of mine wanted it so I root pruned it. Some of those roots were about 1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter..... LOL, I was hopping up and down on that silly shovel! Just one of the VERY good advantages of living in the sticks is that no one can see me doing any of those great circus tricks. Anyhow, the hibiscus sulked for a day or two, but I continued to water it and a little over a week later when I took it out (cutting through a few more roots that were growing straight down), there were great new roots all over the root ball and it didn't bat an eye when my friend planted it out. I just put it in in an empty mulch bag since the root ball was pretty good size and she was going to plant it when she got home with it. I think this method really gives the plants a helping hand in recovering from the stresses of being relocated. Hope it helps you in the future too :). Kristi

Like others, just wanted to give everyone thanks for the ideas and to show my experience (based on everyone’s suggestions). Was always afraid of cleaning my HD’s as they appear so shear. Even though my HD Silhouettes have been up for just over 20 years now, I have been hesitant to professionally clean due to costs (over $1000 dollars estimated-was told it was this or spend over $6000 to replace). Given inspiration by this thread, I decided to do it myself and wanted to “payback” the thread with my experience. Given the cost of professional cleaning, I decided to DIY since it I messed up, I would replace with something else that was not so delicate (called HD and they would not sell “replacement” fabric so would have to replace all units). I could not use the bathtub method as many of my shades are too large (7ft W x 5ft L). Also, did not want to use sheets on the ground or swimming pool method as I did not wish to risk tearing/delaminating the shade vanes and it would have been tough to get to the center of the shades to clean and rinse. I did purchase then returned a cheap $39 inflatable pool but decided it was not worth the effort. Bissel was an option but some said it was messy and I didn’t want to risk dripping onto white/beige carpet if using when shades were still hung. Instead, I hung the shades up on a pergola in my backyard with some bungie cords and 1” nylon webbing with plastic buckles I bought on Amazon for $7. I rinsed the shades (first with the vanes in an open position, then again on each side with the vanes closed) to get rid of as much grime as I could using a variable spray garden nozzle (started with flat spray, and increased to a jet spray). I then sprayed each side (vanes closed) with about 1/2 ounce Dawn (as degreasing detergent) mixed with 1:2 Oxyclean/water in a spray bottle. This was followed by a thorough rinse on each side using the garden hose on jet spray to get rid of all the remaining grime and stains (started from the top, working out from the middle to ”eject” the dirt out to the sides). I followed up by using a leaf blower to dry the Silhouettes so I could immediately hang them back up. I already had a cheap one that I use to blow excess water out of molding/crevices and grill work when I clean my cars but a SunJoe electric leaf blower can be purchased on Amazon for as little as $19. Again, I started blow drying from the top, working my way out from the middle to the sides to expel all the water (and get any excess water out of the headrail and bottom rail). I found that this worked best first with the vanes closed, then a light going over with the vanes in the open position. Because the material (at least of the standard Silhouettes) is some form of polyester, the material dried very quickly, with no puckering nor delamination. A couple of observations. First, much to my surprise, the polyester material (at least on the standard) Silhouettes is not as delicate as I first thought. I can’t speak for any other brand or material, but the Hunter Douglas standard ones are very resilient, just don’t poke the shear material! You can be quite vigorous with the water pressure, much more so than I thought, to thoroughly clean and rinse the shades. They are a quality product (at least the ones I bought over 20 years ago, and the price I guess reflects that). Secondly, I would recommend leaving them in a “down” position with the vanes in an open position once you hang them back up to ensure they thoroughly dry. They will not pucker so you don’t need to roll them up as one person suggested as this may lead to the headrail components remaining wet and the shades not completely drying. From removal to reinstallation, I got it down to about 20 minutes per shade (had a lot of practice, lots of shades, lol). For those that were asking for photos: Before (right side before cleaning), after cleaning (on left) of two adjacent shades, left side started even worse than right side (see second photo) since left side window opens. After is back to original color #128 misty almond: Another before photo of the left side (pretty gross!) Hanging from pergola before cleaning: After cleaning: Variable spray hose attachment: Spray mixture and bottle: Summary: about $35 worth of equipment used (plus the cost of soap and water) vs. over $1000. Can’t imagine that the +$1000 method would have significantly better results. Anyway, sorry for the long post. Hope it helps someone, YMMV.