Dead-looking (but alive) shrubs (zone 8b)
marinaka Ito_10a
6 years ago
There are five identical shrubs lining the back of the garage wall along the front walkway. They all look dead, but after a month living here, there are a few new shoots coming out. What shrubs are they? Can we trim the upper part off and let them grow back?
The area they are planted are facing west and doesn't get the sun until 11 a.m. It is irrigated by a sprinkler system. Is this location suitable for them?
New shoots
Another baby
Old photo. They looked like this.
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shaxhome (Frog Rock, Australia 9b)
6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago
marinaka Ito_10a
6 years agoBottlebrush? I thought the bark looks very familiar. I'll take some close-up of the branches.
We just moved to this house about a month ago, so I have no idea about flowers. But, I found an older photo of the house that has these bushes having some red flowers. See below. Looks like bottlebrush.
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Shrub suggestions for Zone 8b - North Florida
Comments (5)"I have pics of various times of day but can't figure out how to post them." One of the easiest ways to provide your photo to be embedded into a post is to upload it onto an image hosting site such as Photobucket, Flickr, etc. Once your picture has been uploaded, find its web address by right clicking on the image and copying the image location. Some sites may provide the address in a text box below the photo for your convenience. Let's say the address of the picture you want to post is http://somepicturesite.com/yourpicture.jpg To embed the picture into a post, use the command img src="http://somepicturesite.com/yourpicture.jpg"> Maybe if you post a picture or two, someone will have a creative idea about what to plant....See MoreZone 8b newbie needs a mentor
Comments (9)We may be talking different plants here: I call Tradescantia fluminensis 'wandering Jew' (on polite days). If we are agreed - then one outrageous thing to do is to decide where you want to dig in the fall - and make a big pile of wandering jew just there. Also any weeds you pull. Make a big, thick, freestyle compost heap. Deal with any bits that try to re-root by putting them on the top of the heap to dry and break down. Where you can, get the roots fully out to discourage regrowth. Please note: if your dogs are very low to the ground (like griffons or dachshunds) they might get contact dermatitis from Tradescantia on paws and tummies. It looks like a water bubble rash. Do not add holly leaves (except right in the middle where they will stay damp and rot down). Buy yourself a solid garden rake. See what's available at garage sales. You can often pick up good gear that way. And, if you can, get a decent garden sieve, for at least partly removing the debris in the soil. (Make sure your tetanus shots are up to date, too.) Plus a wheelbrrow the right size of you. A builder's barrow is generally NOT a good choice unless you want to make a batch of cement by hand for any reason. You might want to consider fencing off the area you want for veggies. Dog paws are deeply attracted to new seedlings and fresh soil for the purpose of hiding cookies and bones for Later. Or taking naps in scrapes. It doesn't have to be flash, to start with, but it does need to gain the respect of the dogs. And it can also be used for vertical growing - peas, beans, tomatoes, melons and similar food crops. If you're allowed to, and it is safe to do so, a pole pruner could be used to take back some of the overhanging branches and allow more light onto your garden. See if you can hire one for now. They can be an expensive luxury if you don't have regular work for one. If you can trust your local tree feller fellers to not sell or gift you with mulch that resprouts fiend trees in your yard, then a couple of cubic yards used as mulch or weed control/soil builder can, over time, help to make your hard soil a lot more workable. Just remember to add a few handfuls of a general fertiliser to the surface of where you'll place it so the soil won't be robbed of nitrogen while the mulch breaks down....See MoreDead or alive in zone 6 & 7
Comments (7)Ward You nailed it true Pennsylvania clay and fieldstone. I really think the reason they came back is because not only did the snow insulate them the ground stayed frozen most of the winter they don't like wet feet. I didn't do anything to the soil at all. I didn't cut it or anything I let the woody dead looking twigs stayput and that's where all the green growth is coming from most are pretty big too and in all sunny parts of my yard. I would try it leave it alone and plant in a dry spot. Good Luck! Sarah...See MoreDespite global warming I'm still in zone 8B.
Comments (3)Short answer: usda zones in 1981 were not consistent and have been revised a few times since based on newer and more complete data. Subzones a and b were also added in 1990. A Short history: http://www.garden.bsewall.com/topics/hardiness/history.html To quote: "One of the primary reasons given for the update was that, "We have been losing from our landscapes plants that apparently survived the 1940's to the 1960's. Many of the hardiness zone classifications of plants are no longer considered valid. In North America, the ranges of temperature and moisture for the past decade were wider than those recorded for the 1940's through the 1960's." This is an intriguing statement, since it presages the current debate over the proposed update to the 1990 USDA map and the implication that the hardiness zones need to reflect recent global warming."...See Moremarinaka Ito_10a
6 years agoClose-up of the dead branches.
I've heard from a local person that they had pretty cold days in this area this winter. It seems all five of them succumbed to the weather. Take them all out and plant something more suitable?shaxhome (Frog Rock, Australia 9b)
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agomarinaka Ito_10a thanked shaxhome (Frog Rock, Australia 9b)marinaka Ito_10a
6 years agoken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
6 years ago
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Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A