My opinion is that mold means moisture, and if the mold came back after you bleached it before, perhaps your drainage isn't quite as good as it could be. We have one house we own that perennially has a problem with a light covering of green mold on the north side of the house - all outside, mostly on the windowsills but occasionally even on the sidewalk or brick wall and even in the very flat or slightly-tipped-towards-the-house lawn, where it is shaded almost constantly. Nearby, my old house also has a north side that is almost always shaded, but no mold. I think the lawn slopes ever so slightly away from the house and that helps moisture dissipate. My own current house's north facade has never had mold issues (knock on wood), and I live within a mile of the first two houses but I also have gutters and french drains that help direct water away from the house, even though my backyard slopes down towards the house. So those would be my suggestions - check slope of your yard, add drainage in the form of French drains and/or gutters. Otherwise I think you will be constantly fighting it if you don't address the root cause.

awww thanks for the compliments on my pups. And I am so sorry to hear that your lab is having a hard time. My lab is my oldest dog (15+ yr).. and it seems like he has been with me forever. HE is overweight but a little thinner now than when that photo was taken. Grace, the rottie/mastiff, is the one with cancer-- she's about 5/6 yo. I had to laugh at your $6000 dog-- as I can relate. I call Grace my "expensive dog". I stopped counting how much I have spent on her-- as she was very sick when I adopted her, the vet refused to spay because she was so ill and then she got an infection and had to have an emergency spay-- it took over a year for her to be back to health and it wasn't long after that we found the cancer. Poor thing has been through so much. I have stopped spending big money on her though. Her cancer is hormonal and her personality has changed a lot in the last 6 months. I am not able to give her more life at this point- just more time. Isnt it something how many of us are animal people! It makes you wonder where all the strays are coming from. :(

We've had to remove the Ipe on the back porch. We're currently discussing our options, hence the update. We are planning on closing the two drains (which is a whole separate challenge.) One of the proposals is fill would go in and, in essence, a reinforced garage floor would be on top of that. Cut stone like flagstone would be the surface. Any suggestions would be very appreciated. This is a screened porch and it will be used a lot. Thanks again. Dalas, Texas

The real question has to do with the low temperatures the plants have already been subjected to. Even though Alberta spruce is listed as Z4 hardy, roots can be killed when they are being grown in pots. The thermal mass present in the ground is absent in pots and the temperature of the planting medium can fall low enough to kill roots. The subzero temperatures of the past week may well have already been too much. I would certainly keep them out of direct sun and wind and be very careful not to over water. I'd opt for the garage as long as it's unheated. Extreme cold combined with high winds can so dehydrate Alberta spruces that they develop large brown patches. Outright death is more unusual. Erecting a burlap screen to protect from sun and wind is a good idea. Don't wrap burlap directly around the tree, though.