discovered a patch of poison ivy growing in the center of the glads. It was intermingled with them and there was no way to use an herbicide ==>> not if you spray ... but if you fill the very expensive applicator.. at the link with 41% round up.. or generic ... put on some rubber gloves ... snip the PI and put one drip on every snip.. and do it every 6 weeks until the PI decides to die ... then you can kill it ... depending on how big a project.... i might put on a long sleeve shirt and long pants ... and throw it in a hot laundry after ... i use kitchen gloves.. rated for oven cleaner ... and i clean those afterwards also .. while they are on my hands ... its the oil that you dont want to touch.. so i figure something like dawn.. will cut that .... i simply put the snippings in a plastic bag ... and throw it away when i am done.. NEVER BURN THEM .... i am presuming that you have a rather minor job here... it obviously.. can get much more complicated.. depending on how bad it is ... the RU will have no impact on any other plants.. presuming you dont sneeze in mid squeeze and spray it everywhere ... this is NOT a spray thing.. and its not a DILUTION thing ... read the label.. it should be there ... return unused to goo to properly labeled container.. until next use ... and dont store the applicator in the kitchen ... rinse thoroughly ... and store it near the RU .. or PI killer ken Here is a link that might be useful: link

Granite....beautiful picture, BTW. How inspired to use fresh herbs in your bouquet, corsages and headdress. There is a lot of folklore that goes along with rosemary, and it was an herb traditionally given on the wedding day for remembrance. Not to be morbid, but also rosemary was buried with the dead so as not to be forgotten by the the living. As far as I know, talking with my neighbor who has the beautiful rosemary bush in-ground, he did nothing special to his plant. When I asked him about the snow (not a lot) we had that past winter, he said he just went out and brushed the snow off the plant. Like it was no big deal. Judging from the look of his plant and it's sturdy wooden, bushy stalks, he's growing the "BBQ" variety. Right now, still, all my rosemary is in containers and doing very well and do have excellent drainage. They are the least watered of all my herbs, and seem to like it that way. I have Miss Jessup, Gorizia, Arp, the "BBQ" type (my oldest) and one I'm not sure of. It's the one you find in grocery stores around the beginning of the growing season....has the shape of a Christmas tree. That type of rosemary turned out to be the most difficult one for me and I will never buy another one of them. They look so beautiful in the store...healthy, tall, lush and green. But they're so root bound. After getting it home and removing it from it's little 8" pot that I knew it wouldn't survive in, I really had to work at the root system to free up the roots. Hard as a rock. I replanted it, and it did well for a short time, but soon started giving me problems. Part of it dying out, other parts yellowing. It always looked like a sick rosemary plant. I thought it never stood a chance. But right now, after last year, it's finally taken hold and it growing beautifully, with new and long healthy resinous shoots everywhere. I couldn't be happier that it ended up surviving. I actually had to, at one point, snip it off at the top, as it was "dead" at it's tip. So needless to say, it no longer has the Christmas tree shape. I have to say, I never expected it to survive but refused to chuck it and just adopted a "wait and see" attitude. I'm glad I did. It's been mentioned here on the GW, and I believe it to be true, that rosemary does thrive on a certain amount of neglect. It just needs to do it's thing. It needs lots of sunlight, and good drainage. The soil NEVER needs to dry out, but (for me, container-wise), when it gets to feeling like it's getting close to being "dry", I will give it water enough to just slightly drip out the bottom, and that's it. And then I leave it alone. And depending on the heat and the rain, it may be a week before I get back to giving it more water. Seems to be the way for my rosemary, as they're all doing wonderfully. And, I do harvest from all of them all the time. I do agree that not all Zone 7's are created equal. Here, snow may or may not come in winter. The ground may never even freeze. It's rare it does, but it does happen. And yes, all rosemary's aren't created equal either. Some are hardier than others. I think they types I have chosen are the best for my zone. But again, the Christmas tree type....never again. They look beautiful in the store, but are the touchiest and hardest to keep alive, IMHO. I would really love to plant all of them outside in-ground, but I have to admit, I love having them indoors during the winter and they seem to love the spot I have chosen for them. And even given the fact that they're all in the biggest pots imaginable, I know they'll never reach their full potential in containers. But that's OK. They provide me with a bounty of rosemary to cook with and even enough (along with my cilantro, thymes, mints and basils) to sell at the Farmer's Market if I wanted. LOL. But I'm happiest when I give them away to neighbors.

Alright guys, time to mix it up. Literally :) My trees are doing good right now, Forecast for this week is thunderstorms today and tomorrow, then hot and sunny for the rest of the week... Soooo, here we go. This is what I have to work with. I need help figuring the proportions. 1. Farfard Custom Mix. It's quite a bit finer than the 52 they were supposed to send, but oh well, what's done is done and this is what I have. To help with the coarseness, I bought coarse perlite: and finally, bark: So, there you are, Meyer lemon gurus. How much of what would you add to that Farfard mix? As always, thanks for the help and guidance :) Atheen

Wow! That is just incredible! I wouldn't have thought to use that soil for container plants but I sure will do so when it's time for repotting :) If I may, I have one more question...not sure that you'd know the answer but you certainly seem to have a ton more experience with these lovely plants than I have so it's worth a shot asking! So I purchased a ZZ, "Zena" from my local Walmart a few months ago at the beginning of summer for $10. I had no idea what a ZZ plant was or if I'd ever even seen one before. I just new it was uniquely gorgeous and I had to have it for my fireplace mantle! All I've done is water it when I feel the top 2 inches of soil is dry as well as give it a couple of pumps of miracle grow plant food maaayyybe 3 of the times I've watered it (so maybe once in June, July & August). Since then, it has sprouted 3 new light green stems full of leaves and the shorter bushier stems have filled out quite nicely on the bottom making the plant look even fuller than when I purchased it! :) Well recently I came home from a trip and there was this short yellow stem of leaves. Not sure if this stem was one of the shorter bushy stems already present in the plant & those leaves just turned yellow or if this sprouted up new and yellow within the 3 days I was away at work? I'm at a total loss. Have done some research the past couple of days and some people have reported that it's a seasonal change that affects usually only one stem. Some have said the oldest stems will sometimes turn yellow and die off. Some think it's possible they may have a "variegated" stem of the plant growing in with the regular green version of the plant. Some even say that it's a sign of overwatering and the tubular roots inside could be soggy & dying. I don't think that's the case with Zena, as I make sure she's dry down to the soil at the drainage holes at the bottom of her pot before watering. Question is, have you seen anything like this with your ZZ's or perhaps have heard of this happening before and possibly know what it is? I've touched the stem & leaves & they look and feel quite strong and normal. They just look "odd" compared to all the other deep dark green stems in the pot. It doesn't bother me a bit, in fact I love eccentricities in all things so I feel blessed to have this little oddity sticking out the side now, but I just wonder if I need to be concerned? I should let you know that I live in Colorado and when I left for my trip the temps were consistently 75-80° inside the house but when I returned 3 days later it was 50° outside so inside the house it was about 65-70°. I wondered if maybe it got too cold & that caused the color change or new growth of the yellow stem? Any thoughts you might have are greatly appreciated! Thanks for your help! Len