Garden and health tips & Bush beauty & fertilizer for fast growth
A few days ago it was 31 F at night with light frost on the grass. In cold weather organics like blood meal can't break down to prompt fast growth in roses that are killed to the crown by zone 5a winter. I witness FASTER spring growth with Acid Lilly Miller NPK 10-5-4 since it has sulfur for growth, plus chemical nitrogen that works in cold weather. Lilly Miller also has SOLUBLE phosphorus and potassium for more buds in spring.
I also limed my roses before heavy spring rain, lime helps with uptake of nitrogen for faster growth. Raising pH also produce LARGER and shiny leaves. I witnessed withered & yellow & tiny leaves when rose park sprinkled too much acidic sulfur for our alkaline clay. This lowering of pH also made a few of their roses broke out in RRD. All the major nutrients (nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, calcium) are less available at acidic pH, and pH of rain here is 4.5 (same with East coast). What are your bush and foliage beauties in spring? Thanks. pics. are taken May 15 in a no-spray garden: Below 6th-year own-root Bohemian Rhapsody is 100% thornless with sweet pea scent:
10-year own-root Carding Mill is nice despite dying to 1 foot. I constantly have to lime & provide potassium this to prevent blackspots after blooming. It's a heavy bloomer so there's depletion of nutrients after blooming.
10th-year own-root Blue Mist is always healthy & drought-tolerant near a large spruce.
10th-year own-root Comte has severe winter-die back since it's on a raised bed:
I adore below Christopher Marlowe's always healthy leaves as 11th-year own-root:
7th-year own-root Dee-lish is cane-hardy, likes the biochar at pH 8.
4th-year own-root Princess Charlene de Monaco is cane-hardy.
Below 11-year own-root Pat Austin has the best glossy foliage & prefer alkaline pH
Comments (26)
strawchicago z5
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoBelow 11th-year own-root Golden Celebration with more than 1 foot of green cane, thanks to winterizing with DRY & alkaline wood-chips. Previous year of winter-protection with acidic wet leaves killed Golden Cel. to 3 inch. short !! Pic. taken May 14 with 10+ buds in only 4 hours of morning sun:
Related Discussions
Health and Beauty of Norway Spruce Trees--a Hypothesis
Comments (29)spedigrees: Limestone varies in magnesium content. If you go to your local agricultural store--I am not sure what you have up there--and ask for “high mag limestone“--crushed or pulverized--they should be able to direct you. The analysis is always posted on the bag. Dolomitic limestone is generally “high-mag,” but perhaps other types of limestone have a high magnesium content. Our soils here in the northern Shenandoah Valley are very high in magnesium, and high mag limestone underlies a good portion of our soils, and high mag limestone is readily available. And, almost all the NS in this area look very nice, in spite of our hot, dry climate. As for soil acidity--that should not be a problem for Norway spruce, unless the soil is extremely acidic, maybe in the low 4’s. At my timberland, where the soils are a bit below 5, Norway spruce does very well. I am not sure what an optimum pH would be, and it would probably vary with soil type. Maybe somewhere in the 5.5 range is "safe." As for magnesium for Norway spruce--this has been fairly well documented. I titled my original post “a hypothesis,” but there is substantial evidence. A site factors study done at SUNY Syracuse some years ago now, noted that “at least 75 kg per hectare” is needed for good NS growth. Studies in Europe, where there has been extensive decline in NS forests, has shown that the acid rain causes a reduction in the availability of magnesium, and supplementing magnesium often solves the problem. And, I have made some personal observations--not scientific, and without all the facts--that magnesium supplementation can make a dramatic difference. But, the main effect of magnesium may not be in height growth, but in the fullness, density, and lushness of the foliage. I have seen many poor looking, thin foliaged NS trees growing reasonably fast in height. Also, the thin foliage on some Norway spruce trees has causes other than a lack of an optimum supply of magnesium. And, I know, some of that is genetic, and not correctable. As for your experiment: Yes, 5 years should be long enough to show some results, but no sooner. The limestone has to dissolve into the soil, get down to the roots, and, because NS hold their needles for several years, the "thickening" of the foliage may not be vis1ble for several years. BUT, and this is a big "but," the effect may not really show up on very young trees. It may help the growth rate, but as for foliage density, that is never really noticeable until trees are somewhat older and larger--maybe not until they are 20 feet tall or more will any difference be really clear. As for the growth rate: white pine usually starts growing faster than NS. How old are your trees? How tall? NS trees don't begin to grow fast until they are about 4.5 feet high, and that could be only after 6 to 8 years. At that point, they should "take off." On the best soils, and in the right climate, an average of 28 inches is possible, with some years the new shoots elongating up to 4 feet or more. But growth averaging 20 to 24 inches is good for many sites. Norway spruce and white pine, assuming equally good strains, should grow equally well over the first 50 years. The white pine up to about 18 years should outgrow the NS, but after that NS should catch up a bit. After 50 years NS should outgrow the white pine for some years. SUNY Syracuse did a growth curves study for NS, and found that for the first 60 years--after the trees reach 4.5 feet in height, there is no "curve" as such, but a straight line. White pine growth curves bend sharply over to the right after the first 18 years or so, and at 50 years the growth averages about 1 foot, while at the same age, NS trees can still be growing 28 inches per year. But this rate does begin to decline not too long after the 60-year mark. On the best sites both should eventually make 150 feet or more in forest stands. Open grown NS should make 120 feet or more on better sites. As for the blue spruce and magnesium, I really don't know. Tom may be right about this. --spruce...See MoreWhat is the growth rate of Burning Bush?
Comments (5)I planted 10 burning bushes in a bed in my back yard a few years ago. They do not grow terribly quickly. I think they're probably a foot taller now than they were three years ago. I have not fertilized them since I initially planted them (discovered fertilizing newly planted shrubs was a mistake!), and I don't prune them either. So I'm sure I'm not encouraging growth as much as I could. They have filled out very nicely, and they're are gorgeous in the fall! By the way, don't be surprised if they don't "burn" the first year....See More10/30/15: bad habits, good habits, rose & health tips, recipes
Comments (54)Wow!! Carol, I'm happy for you. Heel to toe for 8 steps takes a lot of coordination, and YOU DID IT. When my kid was 4 years old, she would be so happy when I lost weight on the scale ... health for my friends cheer me up more than roses. I'm elated when I heard Garran home & healthy, and I'm happy about rain for Jess & no more thorns in her toe. I am happy when my daughter is happy. I'm sure that's how God, our Father in heaven, feels .. He's happy when His children (us) are happy. My kid has a friend came over today (same age). The friend was on Ensure (canned nutrition with soy milk) .. her skin was clean this past summer. I did research on soy milk and thyroid disorder, yes, there's a slight link, esp. with carrageenan added. So I e-mailed this teenager info., and her nutritionist switched this gal from Ensure (soy-based) to Kefir (fermented cow-milk). Fast forward today, this friend gets pimples on her face. I feel bad since the bad news about dairy didn't come out until this year. I google thoroughly when I switched my child from soy-milk to cow milk .. could not find a link between cow milk and acne until recently. But I learn something: always look at how many people are involved in any study. The thyroid & soy link are just a few personal testimonies, versus the below: " The famous Nurse's Health Study examining health habits of 47,000 nurses found that those who drank more milk as teenagers had much higher rates of severe acne than those who had little or no milk as teenagers. In other studies of over 10,000 boys and girls from 9 to 15 years old, there was a direct link between the amount of milk consumed and the severity of acne." Today I'm back to the diet that I was on when I was skinny: soy milk (new formula without carrageenan) & high fiber cereal ... I feel so much better & more energy. My kid loves her cereal & soy milk. She could NOT handle cow-milk either .. she's lactose-intolerant. I checked on soy milk again before I switch back: if the soy-protein is concentrated, like soy Isolate in faked meat, then it will screw up the thyroid. If the soy is concentrated and made on aluminum equipment, like tofu, then that will UP the risk of Alzheimer's. But soy milk in low dose with cereal, isn't bad ... at least it's freed of hormones, antibiotics, feces, and pus like in cow's milk. Soy milk is easier to digest, plus zero cholesterol. What I like the most is: it smells clean, NOT strong like cow-milk....See More11/29/15: Rootstocks for pots, tips for roses & our health & recipes
Comments (79)Carol: Some doctors mistake phytoestrogen (God-made & natural) with chemical estrogen (man-made). My Swedish mother-in-law grew up drinking tons of cow-milk (zero flax, zero soy), and had a mastectomy at 40 year old. No history of breast-cancer in my family of 9 girls (I'm the youngest girl), nor in my Mom nor Dad's side ... we eat tons of soy-products in Vietnam & zero cow milk. I got curious about phytoestrogen (occur naturally in plants) versus chemical hormones added to cow milk .. found this article from Cornell University: "A diet rich in phytoestrogens has been proposed as a way to decrease breast cancer risk. Some, but not all studies show that women with a diet high in phytoestrogens, including vegans (who eat no animal foods) and women who eat diets high in soy products, have lower rates of breast cancer. Why is this so? Most phytoestrogens are not stored in the body, but are quickly broken down. Phytoestrogens are weak estrogens, and may prevent stronger human estrogens from binding to the estrogen receptor. If the weaker estrogens bind to the receptor instead of the stronger ones, there may be less breast cell division. Women with diets rich in phytoestrogens also excrete more estrogens into their urine, and have lower blood estrogen levels. Some studies have shown that women with a diet rich in phytoestrogens have longer, and hence fewer, menstrual cycles. All of these factors may contribute to reduced breast cancer risk." http://www.envirocancer.cornell.edu/FactSheet/General/fs10.estrogen.cfm Below excerpt is from Oncology nutrition - Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics " Animal studies have shown that both flaxseed oil and lignans can reduce breast tumor growth and spread, even for ER- cancer cells. This result suggests that flaxseeds may have anti-cancer benefits that are unrelated to any type of effect on estrogen or estrogen metabolism." https://www.oncologynutrition.org/erfc/hot-topics/flaxseeds-and-breast-cancer/ Phytoestrogen is DIFFERENT from chemical hormones injected into cow to make them produce milk longer. An excerpt from below link: "new study out of Harvard University showing that pasteurized milk product from factory farms is linked to causing hormone-dependent cancers. It turns out that the concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO) model of raising cows on factory farms churns out milk with dangerously high levels of estrone sulfate, an estrogen compound linked to testicular, prostate, and breast cancers. Dr. Ganmaa Davaasambuu, Ph.D., and her colleagues specifically identified "milk from modern dairy farms" as the culprit, referring to large-scale confinement operations where cows are milked 300 days of the year, including while they are pregnant. Compared to raw milk from her native Mongolia, which is extracted only during the first six months after cows have already given birth, pasteurized factory milk was found to contain up to 33 times more estrone sulfate. http://www.naturalnews.com/035081_pasteurized_milk_cancer_dairy.html#ixzz3uj5y7wGc Havard-trained doctor Andrew Weil, M.D. stated "Among women, milk consumption has been associated with an increased risk of ovarian cancer in both the Nurses' Health Study and in a 2005 study from Sweden's Karolinska Institute. Organic milk is better in many respects than conventional milk but still may be full of natural hormones. My advice: cut down on dairy products. Substitute soy milk for cow's milk when possible. Andrew Weil, M.D." From Physicians committee for responsible medicine "In international and interregional correlational studies, dairy product consumption has been consistently associated with prostate cancer mortality.3-7 The largest and most recent of these, based on World Health Organization mortality figures for 1985-1989 from 59 countries and United Nations food balance data for 1979-1981, reported a strong correlation between per capita milk consumption and prostate cancer mortality (r = 0.78, P<0.0001).7 A more geographically restricted study, conducted in 20 Italian regions, found a similar correlation between prostate cancer mortality and milk consumption (r = 0.75, P <0.01).6 http://www.pcrm.org/health/health-topics/milk-consumption-and-prostate-cancer *** From Straw: Agree with all the above researches, I gave flax oil to my kid to improve her eczema (skin-rash). I'm taking flax oil & flax seeds to improve my skin-rash. I develop an allergic reaction to the new batch of fish-oil (really stinky) .. and I still need Omega-3 for my dry-hands....See Morestrawchicago z5
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoCarol & Slumgullion: You inspire me with your honesty, humor, and encouragement. Thank you.
Certain roses like it alkaline and benefit more from liming to offset spring rain (day-long, or 2" in a bucket). Their leaves get large and growth is more vigorous with higher pH. These lime-hogs also have zillion of petals (demand more calcium). Lime-hogs are: Austin Mary Magdalene, Munstead Wood Evelyn, Generosa (Guillot) roses such as Sonia Rykiel, Chantal Merieux, Madame Paule Massad, Francis Blaise, Martine Guillot, Paul Bocuse and Versigny. French roses like Dee-lish and Sweet M. are also lime-hogs. Same with Romanticas: Colette, Liv Tyler, Peter Mayle, Rouge Royal, and Tchaikovsky. Sonia Rykiel and Francis Blaise were great bloomers in my pH near 8 and alkaline tap water at 9 back in 2012. Meiland roses like Firefighter is a lime-hog. Below are lime-hogs, 9th-year own-root Tchaikovski this spring May 15:
Close-up of 7th-year own-root Munstead Wood showing LARGER LEAVES & lots of buds with liming to offset acidic rain (pH 4.5) here.
Own-root Sweet Mademoiselle is over 2 feet after winter. It's a lime-hog. I dumped pea-gravel on it to raise the pH:
10-year own-root Evelyn is another Lime-hog. It loves biochar at pH 8 (mostly calcium). At least 20 buds this spring May 15. Always healthy and needs liming to provide calcium for its zillion petals. More than 2 feet of green cane after zone 5a winter.
strawchicago z5
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoI'm collecting garden tips from everyone here. What are your garden tips and the info. you would like to pass on from your experience? Thank you.
My biggest tip: I'm reminding myself daily to go for what I really love. In the past I bought roses just because they are on sale, and they don't even like my clay. It was too much work making them work for my garden. Now I buy 1 or 2 that I really love and I know for sure they do well in my soil. It's NOT worth it to buy plants that are NOT happy in my garden, thus making me unhappy. It's easier to buy plants that love my soil & do well and make me happy. Below are the own-root roses that are happiest in my rock-hard clay: Betty White is a continuous bloomer & fantastic scent, lasted for 8 years until winter & spring drought killed it:
Below is Wise Portia blooming in only 4 hours of morning sun. It died after 8 years in my garden. I'm expecting a 2nd one from LongAgoRoses.
Mary Magdalene is 11th-year own-root that doesn't need much pruning nor watering. She's the least work among my 134 roses, same with Blue Mist.
Below the Squire is a tough plant, I kept moving it around to the worst spots possible, but it's hard to kill. Not much scent for 6 years, will try a high-phosphorus fertilizer on it. Easy plant, but hard to get a scent in my high-magnesium & rock hard clay.
What are your garden tips and the info. you would like to pass on from your experience? Thanks !!strawchicago z5
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoI like Roses Unlimited's tip of 2 cups of alfalfa meal mixed well in the planting hole. It's acidic so it's good for roses that like it acidic. Plus it UP the moisture level with NPK 2-1-2. Also growth hormone to speed up tiny own-root roses. Mixing alfalfa meal into potting soil helps tiny-bands to grow and bloom fast. Below is Crimson Glory Band after 1 month of purchase breaking out in blooms with mixing 1 cup of alfalfa meal in a 3-gallon pot.
slumgullion in southern OR
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agostrawchicago z5 thanked slumgullion in southern ORstrawchicago z5
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agostrawchicago z5
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoslumgullion in southern OR
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agostrawchicago z5 thanked slumgullion in southern ORstrawchicago z5
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agostrawchicago z5
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2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoCarol: Door county coffee has 20% off for 1st-time-buyer. They have a sampler pack (with 12 different flavors) for $19.
I tried all their dozen of flavors, and I like Heavenly Caramel (De-Caf) and Cherry-Creme (De-Caf) the most. Make sure you get the De-caf type which is higher in magnesium, I actually nap better if I drink their coffee in the morning. It's high in magnesium so it helps with deep sleep & weight loss. Door County Coffee & Tea in Wisconsin
It's hard to eat healthy foods like raw carrots or banana unless I have a big glass of decaf-coffee. I like my coffee cold so I put ice-cubes. Fibrous food need more liquid to consume.
I also plant lots of lemon-balm in my garden, I drink that at night after dinner. I throw lemon-balm into my blender, grind it for 1 min. Then I boil it for 1 min. Turn the heat off, and let it sit for 10 min. Then I strain the tea through a big-mesh-strainer.
Last night the lemon-balm tea was more delicious that the French-creme-cheese cake that husband tempted me with. My allergy (from spring pollens) is pretty bad and lemon-balm stops the inflammation. Below is lemon balm which is mildly invasive in my black-clay. It's more delicious than any tea, and it's free & fresh from my garden.
An excerpt from below link on lemon-balm tea: "lemon balm can be used to treat a wide range of medical conditions, including insomnia, cold sores, high cholesterol, genital herpes, heartburn, and indigestion. ...it can improve cognitive function in people with Alzheimer's disease. "
https://www.verywellhealth.com/the-health-benefits-of-lemon-balm-89388
strawchicago z5
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agostrawchicago z5
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoI'm sure other brands have the same delicious flavors in de-caf. The best flavors of Decaf I tried (from other brands):
1) Dark French roast, de-caf.
2) De-caf with Caramel flavor (way better than pecan flavor).
The Caramel flavor makes it a zero calories desert.
Finally lost my winter-weight gain (was up to 125), now I'm 122 lb. My daughter graduated from high school this Tuesday 5/25/21, so NO MORE WAKING UP at 5:40 am to make breakfast for her. The lack of sleep really made me gain weight.
The best tip I can give for pots is to give a few cups of water per day & enough to wet the pot, but NOT TO LEACH OUT nutrients. I was shocked when I saw 1/8 cup of whitish stuff oozing out of bottom of pot during heavy rain.
I did a research on how much rain the "green" city like Seattle, WA gets: they have lots of rainy days, but just a tiny bit per day .. so roses there are much better than roses in Chicagoland when we have tons of rain in spring & fall, but drought & high temp. in July, August, Sept. Funny how I have to lime roses in spring, then use acidic gypsum to lower my tap-water at pH 9 in hot summer.
Bush-shots taken today May 27 of roses in my zone 5 garden, fertilized with pH 8 biochar, pH 9 Garden lime, plus Acid-Lilly-miller NPK 10-5-4: 10th-year own-root Carding Mill gets my vote AS THE BEST BUSH BEAUTY. I lime it on purpose to UP the myrrh scent. Now its myrrh scent is just as wonderful as Mary Magdalene:
10th-year own-root Evelyn is my earliest bloomer in zone 5, gets my vote as the prettiest & glossy leaves. It's a lime hog & prefers alkaline. Scent is delicious with alkaline pH:
Kim Rupert (Roseseek) creation: thornless Lynnie in less than 3 hours of sun, it's a 10th-year own-root. I neglected it for the past 10 years & rarely water it:
10th-year own-root Comte de Chambord's winter-kill was 6 inch. quite severe since it's on a raised bed. But thanks to Lilly Miller NPK 10-5-4 it shot up with lots of buds. All pics. taken 5/27/21:
strawchicago z5
2 years agolast modified: 2 years ago
mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)