A temporary (very temporary) solution
Finally managed to get some succulents (and few other plants) outside - forecasts calls for few days of overcast skies and some rain...so many made it outside but many are still indoors since it started to rain. And, not enough 'shelving' too. (Those are 2 levels of 14' long planks, each level is about 16" wide.) But the ones that made it, already got a first shower in about 7 months! Umbrella on stand-by in case of too much sun (not supposed to be for next few days), and I am hoping it will be only 'gentle rain'...
Comments (24)
7 years agoRelated Discussions
Loose brick seamed w concrete not mortar-temporary color fix advi
Comments (7)CEMENT is the same bonding agent used in concrete and mortar. Concrete has rocks and sand in it. Mortar has sand but not rocks because it must squeeze into tight spaces. The new joint is not filled with concrete, but with new, uncolored mortar. You will never be able to match the existing mortar because it's covered with dark colored dirt and mildew. If you matched the dark color, then when the walk was eventually cleaned or pressure washed, you'd have the same spot being dark while the rest of the walk had light mortar. It would be a losing battle. If this problem was mine, I'd get some muriatic acid and CAREFULLY clean only the smeared mortar off of the brick. I think this would best be done with a cheap plastic bristle paint brush used to daub acid in the proper spot, since it's such a small area. (If one has never worked with acid before, a person would need a water hose standing nearby ... acid can work fast and sometimes needs to be flushed away in a hurry. Also, one would need to be upwind of it as the fumes are extremely noxious. And, of course, not splash any on one's skin!) I would not use acid to clean any of the mortar that should be there. Acid is too powerful and will eat into it. After the smeared mortar is cleaned away, I'd pressure wash the walk. This will bring the dark stained color to a much lighter uniform state (the brick will look better, too,) making the new mortar not such an obvious difference. Within a relatively short period of time, the natural aging process would obscure the difference even more ... probably to the point that no one would notice it. Regardless of what you decide to do, you should not try to match dirty mortar. In the long run you would be dissatisfied....See MoreA (very) temporary solution...
Comments (4)I am in Ontario, Canada, about 1hr north of Toronto. While we had some very nice and warm days, many nights got still cold. The worst was the wind. I had plants outside, but often had to bring them in (kept them in enclosed breezway). I am out of the city limits, open 'country', not much to protect from the cold winds. There is no way for them to be outside in March. Hostas outside didn't start growing until end of April... Rina...See MoreTemporary compost solution
Comments (2)That's what I told DH when he said, " but won't they break down?" I said, " I hope so!" Just not too quickly I hope....See MoreTemporary solution ideas needed for patio
Comments (0)Hi everyone! I have a raised brick patio (around 10' of ground built up under it) that is at least a century old, if not almost 2 like the house. Over the years between the ground settling and use, etc. the bricks have gotten very uneven or displaced so it's not easy to walk on and very difficult to put furniture on. Within 3-4 years we will be ripping it out to put an extension on the house, but for now it would be great to find a low-cost, low-effort way to make it more usable. I would like to get a more level surface to put a patio set out there. My initial idea was to put down a pea gravel base to even it all out and then float deck tiles over most of that. I'm not sure if that would shift or move around a lot thought, so I would love to hear if there are any other ideas to accomplish this. Given the short lifespan we really want to keep it simple and cheap, but would appreciate any thoughts! Thanks in advance!...See More- 7 years ago
7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
7 years ago- 7 years ago
7 years ago- 7 years ago
Pagan
Thank you. That is old, rusty lantern that has a space for a candle. I have a fish like that somewhere, have to find it yet.
7 years ago
7 years ago
7 years ago- 7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
nomen
No, the rain we had wasn't as much as I hoped for - but it was very good for my plants - I hope! Time will tell:) They really needed good shower, dusty after living thru renovations.
palmsandsnow
Yes, they go outside in Spring and stay until it starts getting cold, with little luck until October or so. This took few hours since I bring them out in trays. There are still some indoors.
Off the subject - I know some of you grow hoya (I know there is hoya forum but if I get reading it, I'll start getting more!!! - and there really isn't room...). While moving succulents, hoya was moved and I found these very dark pink/red leaves on the window side. They look quite nice, I wasn't aware that they could be so red? Is it same coloring in the sun as we get with many succulents?
- 7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
- 7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
- 7 years ago
So far no casualties :) Succulents are surviving transition from the basement to outside. Most noticeable is change in color of leaves on jades. This one is really dark red:
this one much more green with edges starting to get red rims:and this one kind of bronze color:
xGraptoveria 'Fred Ives' is always purplish, but color is more deep in just few days:
Aeonium canariensis:
- 7 years ago
...and off the subject again - just noticed that my hoya is going to bloom for the first time. Finally!
- 7 years ago
Crenda 10A SW FL