absolutely gal ... that why i said have at it .... I TRY ... key words ... to simplify it to the max.. so the newbie ... can get just a simple answer ... perhaps get over the anxiety and go for it ... as with anything.. we can complicate it all up with actual facts and theories ... lol ... and for that.. along comes you or anyone else.. and adds another layer of info ... frankly .. that is the beauty of the GW ... so have at it ... as long as it is not personal .. i welcome all additions ... ken

I have several goldmound spireas and a few spireas that I can't identify but they are not unusual - the difference is that their leaves are dark green and the flowers are light pink - Thanks for any replies - (I usually do prune the spireas but this year they already made leaves and look fine shape wise) Carrie

No idea at all - they could be hardneck, softneck or elephant and I'd probably scratch a leaf to make sure it smells of garlic. I'm not sure where in Zone 5 you are but normally garlic is planted in the fall and harvested in early summer up here. Right now, I'd do exactly what you are doing and also put some kind of marker as to where they are. If they're garlic, they're probably going to stop growing soon and die back to the bulb by around the end of july. After that, they'll rest a bit and start growing again in the late fall and create heads for you next year.

morpheouspa. Gloves down here for a moment. What claims are you referring to that I have made about mechanical aeration? Granted, I do claim that there are purposes for which the employment of mechanical aeration can be useful and it irritates me to no end that people peremptorily discount mechanical aeration as being without any use. (in the past couple of months, I've seen were you have suggested? that plug aeration might be an aid in pursuing some outcome.) Are you saying that I have advocated mechanical aeration as a necessary continued lawn care practice? (Do you advocate the application of a surfactant as a necessary continuing lawn care practice?) Is it necessary to spam this site with links to hundreds of university turf programs that recommend home owner lawn aeration not only as a continuing lawn care practice, but for the prevention of disease, thatch LDS etc.? For what purpose? They are just conclusory statements, No more valid than anything you or anyone else can produce. What you linked to, rather than belittle you, look at the facts: First some of what they call aeration is plowing (bad for me) but anyway I counted 13 studies and of those, the majority showed some improvement to crop yield, none showed a decline. They do,make a conclusory statement that aeration will cause increased weeds. OK fine. Based on what? No ancillary evidence even? Did they atleast credit dchall for the quote or maybe daniel? So even though your site actually supports that aeration results in slightly greater % crop production than non aeration, I say irrelevant and useless for any support for either of us. This argument has been going on forever, but if you take the time to understand and observe, there are logical conclusions you can come to and when applied either work or don't. If X then Y, put it to the test, and if it repeats, then continue, whether it is surfacants, aeration, corn meal or Bayer. So recommend on your experience and give your rational when challenged. Caveat emptor. My goal for my lawn, and for those I give advice to, is to obtain a turf that in the shortest time possible will only require mowing, watering and fertilization. I endeavor to employ the least expensive, least labor intensive, but most effective methods for a healthy turf AND soil and those are the ones I promote. My questions were for the reader and therefor need no response from you . I will no longer joust this windmill with you or anyone else, but I will call out anyone who "make [an unsupportable} claim... or [spew} any other blatant lie"