Lawn / Grass Advice for South Carolina - Zone 8a
Monica Fike
8 years ago
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dottiecarrano
8 years agodottiecarrano
8 years agoRelated Discussions
PNW Zone 8a, roses putting out leaves, soil is very cold
Comments (31)I have been gardening in what I call "glacier slurry" and you call glacier till since '04. The only tool that worked for me was a hand mattack and I dug deep wide holes and perk tested them. My backfill was natural soil and purchased compost because my housepad/gardening area was cut out of a slope. There is probably little plant organic material in the gardening area because of it being cut out of the slope ... except for the decayed mulch material I have applied twice a year over the last several years. The glacier slurry is porous and drains well, which means that anything I use will end up in our water supply, the Trinity River. Until last year, I tried to get by with organics and time-released fertilizers, but the plants just didn't thrive. They did OK, but I knew something was missing. Last spring, after the estimated last frost date in April, I applied 1/4 cup of calcium nitrate to the larger roses and less to the smaller roses. I watered well the day before and then watered again the same day I applied the CN. It was enough to kick start the roses and they did a LOT better last season. Altho' the roses do leaf out earlier than they should, most of that growth is blind growth. I think it's the plant trying to feed itself through photosynthesis. We always get a late frost or snow before the middle of April and that growth generally dies off or gets pruned off. We have temps in the high 90s or low 100s for weeks at a time during the summer and time released foods are just burned up too quickly to be reliable, so last year, I did a combination of organics and synthetics and all of the plants were healthier than in prior years. In my experience, it's hard to find the right balance to feed the plants and not pollute our water source. I think I have planted the last of the roses I am going to plant, except for replacements for roses that don't do well in this climate. I know I don't want to dig any more rose holes in this stuff. Smiles, Lyn...See MoreNeed advice for a 'hay mulch garden' (zone 8a)
Comments (4)It may depend on what the hay is from. Up here in the northern part of the state the pinestraw and hay (wheat/rye/oat) can be found at any home improvement store and not uncommon to find both at roadside stands out of the back of a trailer. Both run about $3.50 a bale and I can tell you it does add up so the longer it lasts, the less often you have to buy it and it's also time consuming to install it. The hay is used most often for seedling lawns which is something that might not be that common in south ga. You can harvest your own pinestraw pretty easily. It's best from the longleaf pines though. Using hay might return a little nitrogen, giving you some fertilizer value then again there was a topic in this forum not long ago that discussed the downsides of using grass clippings as mulch and I can't remember all of them but heat build-up was one of them. As for controlling weeds, you can simply use a pre-emergent in your planting beds or I've discovered if you get the hay about 6 months before you actually need it and let it sit outside, the seeds wont be as viable later down the road. In fact I've got a leftover bale sitting out in the yard that was left over from a lawn project in the fall and the hay seeds germinated and growing quite vigorously all around the bale. So I go and cut it periodically and stuff the new hay in with the bale. It's like having my own little hay factory. As for plants, someone else would know more about the perrenials than I although I don't see why your choice of mulch makes it different than other gardens in terms of what to grow. It may be helpful to know what the sun and soil conditions are if you didn't already mention it....See MorePassionate NC (Zone 7b/8a) gardener moving to Denver area - Help!!
Comments (9)Hi Marsha, Welcome to RMG! About the soil in the Metro Denver area, there are a few members who have a sandier soil, but almost all of us have nasty clay--and I suspect what you're calling clay back east is a joy compared to the Rocky Mountain Clay! You're right--you just keep adding organic matter year after year after year.... I DOES get better--eventually! And if you pick the "right" plants, you CAN grow things in it! Some of our members build raised beds and fill them with "store bought" soil to give them better soil quickly. Lots of advice around here for raised beds if you decide to go that route. And lots of sympathy for your soil problems if you don't! ;-) I'm going to link two threads from when others were moving out here and asking for advice. I think you'll find pretty much all your questions answered between the two threads--and probably a lot of info about stuff you haven't even thought about yet! The first is a 2014 thread from somebody who was moving here from the UK! http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/2131647/an-intro-and-questions?n=9 The second is an old thread from 2006 from somebody moving here from New York and, in addition to other info, is talking about drought! The good news is that virtually ALL of Colorado is now officially out of drought conditions, though it's still always a good idea to try to get some sort of an idea about what watering restrictions could be imposed in the future for any property you're looking at--maybe ask about what restrictions were in place when we were still in drought. The first thread has more info about xeric plants than this one--this one has more "general" info about living out here. http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/2139011/gardening-around-denver-drought-question?n=10 I know there was another thread from someone asking about the different areas to live in the Metro area, but I sure can't find it! There's some info in the above threads about the different areas, and if you have questions about a specific area, just come ask. About the views, you can get good views pretty much anywhere in the Metro area, it just depends on the individual lot. The "olde" Denver areas generally have lots of established trees and you'd be less likely to have a view. If you're hoping for something on a greenbelt you'll need to look at the newer subdivisions since that's a relatively new concept. I'm on the north end (Thornton) and there's a lot of new subdivisions north and west of me where I'm sure there are views, and there are neighborhoods just east of me (120th & Colorado Blvd.) that have greenbelts running all thru them. (I used to live down on the south end just north of Parker and had a view from Pike's Peak almost the whole way up to Long's Peak. Oh, how I miss that view!) When you come out I recommend you start with a drive from one end of the city to the other--just to get the Big Picture about what the different areas are like. Also want to let you know that we have two plant swaps out here each year. Where they are is determined by who volunteers to host them--they've been held everywhere from the extreme south end to the extreme north end of the Denver Metro area! It's a fun time getting together with Gardening Folks, and is a good opportunity to pick up some free plants--even if you don't have anything to bring yet! When you get moved out here just keep an eye out for the swap threads! We'd all love to meet you! Welcome to the Friendliest Little Gardening Forum in the West, Skybird...See MorePlant Suggestions? Zone 8a, Eastern N. Carolina. Foundation Planting
Comments (2)What's the "tree" that is there now? Maybe that can go to that left corner. FYI the shape you show on the right = a small shrub at most - the large shrub category covers ones a lot taller than that. Might work best to convert the small section of lawn between the house and the walk into bed, concentrate your planting there. At any rate I wouldn't line the walk with anything, rather have the lawn come right to the walk....See Morerhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
8 years agoourhighlandhome
8 years agorhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
8 years agoourhighlandhome
8 years agorhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
8 years ago
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