BeeR Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 Looking at putting some "encore" azaleas in - anyone have experience w/these? Are they pretty much the same as other azaleas other than the extra blooms? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt770 Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 Looking at putting some "encore" azaleas in - anyone have experience w/these? Are they pretty much the same as other azaleas other than the extra blooms? I just know azaleas grow really slowly, so buy the biggest ones you can afford. Make sure the soil is acidic. Use Holly Tone fertilizer in the fall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeR Posted May 10, 2011 Author Share Posted May 10, 2011 (edited) Yeah, familiar w/em generally, but thx. The last of our blooms are fading - they're awesome when in full bloom, which is why we want to get the encore stuff. Anyway - I said this elsewhere but I'll toss it out here: never buy "Stay-Green" fertilizer (sold/pimped by Lowes). Stuff sucks. It's Scotts for me here on out. Edited May 10, 2011 by BeeR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovers Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 Scotts has a new fert out that I want to try. It has 3 times the iron of Ironite. Iron is what makes lawns that very dark deep green. Most Scotts fert has a bit too much nitrogen in it for my taste. When I was landscaping I always used either Lebanon or Andersons. This new Scotts stuff looks good. Milorganite is good too, but it smells like chit... which is exactly what it is, treated sewage waste. When I buy Scotts fert, I only buy the straight stuff, no combo products like Josh Gordon n feeds, that way I apply at half their recommended rate. Too much nitro, too much top growth, too much stress on the grass. Their fert technology is good though. This year I bought a Ramapo Rhododendron, very nice, intense blooms, it's a special hybrid by this famous botanist, Scott Nearing. Needs more sun than most rhodies, but intense blooms that cover the entire shrub. Nice purple color. Blooms also last longer than most az's and rhodies. It isn't a large leafed plant, looks more like an az. Nice addition to my foundation garden. It also is a slow grower, but won't get any taller or wider than 3 feet, so it works well in a foundation planting, unlike most rhodies that outgrow their intended space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEC=UGA Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 I bought a dozen of them a few years back to put in front of the house. My soil wasn't great for them so I only got three rounds of blooming. THe following year I fertilized them heavily and the things seemingly stayed in bloom from April through October/November. Mine were growing pretty quickly, so much so I actually had to prune them back after 2 seasons. I'll drive by the old house and see how they look this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeR Posted May 10, 2011 Author Share Posted May 10, 2011 (edited) OK I have a question for the experts - what are some good ways to discourage or get fn squirrels, short of firearms that is? So help me if they dig one up one more flower or one more hole in my newly laid mulch Edited May 10, 2011 by BeeR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yukon Cornelius Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 OK I have a question for the experts - what are some good ways to discourage or get fn squirrels, short of firearms that is? So help me if they dig one up one more flower or one more hole in my newly laid mulch Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 Cat Then how do you get the cat that scares the squirrels out? See....it's the circle of life. You get a dog to get the cat out, but it pisses all over yer plants and kills 'em. You get a snake to scare the dog away. And then the snake leaves it's skin everywhere. So, eventually you end up with an orangutan to keep everything out. So, now you've got this big orange orangutan that you stage Man vs Orangutan fights on your lawn to raise a little extra money to buy even more plants. You've got half the neighbors hanging out on the porch enjoying the show and the other half calling the cops whenever the orangutan decides to start humping the dead body right there in the geraniums. Hassle after hassle. Landscaping is just a money pit of hopelessness and despair. Story of my life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Irish Doggy Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 OK I have a question for the experts - what are some good ways to discourage or get fn squirrels, short of firearms that is? So help me if they dig one up one more flower or one more hole in my newly laid mulch Lil varmints are just looking for a nice place to hide some acorns. Your garden and mulch bed is an easy digging space. I've heard of people laying down chicken wire in gardens which makes digging much tougher and the squirrels go elsewhere, but that seems like a PITA to me. Landscape fabric can work to protect the plants, but they still dig into the mulch. I don't know that any thing will truly make them stop other than removing their nearby food source or getting a couple outside cats. I'd have to take down a nice pin oak and a small forest of walnuts and I am allergic to cats, so i just live with 'em and every so often find a walnut buried in a planter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeductiveNun Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 Then how do you get the cat that scares the squirrels out? See....it's the circle of life. You get a dog to get the cat out, but it pisses all over yer plants and kills 'em. You get a snake to scare the dog away. And then the snake leaves it's skin everywhere. So, eventually you end up with an orangutan to keep everything out. So, now you've got this big orange orangutan that you stage Man vs Orangutan fights on your lawn to raise a little extra money to buy even more plants. You've got half the neighbors hanging out on the porch enjoying the show and the other half calling the cops whenever the orangutan decides to start humping the dead body right there in the geraniums. Hassle after hassle. Landscaping is just a money pit of hopelessness and despair. Story of my life. To deter that, you just get an alligator to kill the orangutan and when winter comes the alligator dies off. Problem solved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 To deter that, you just get an alligator to kill the orangutan and when winter comes the alligator dies off. Problem solved. Dad? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big John Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 Dad? Younger than you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovers Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 OK I have a question for the experts - what are some good ways to discourage or get fn squirrels, short of firearms that is? So help me if they dig one up one more flower or one more hole in my newly laid mulch Combo.... a dog and a pellet gun. The little bassads got into the crawl space about 10 years ago. That was bad enough, then they chewed through the living room ceiling. I bought a pellet gun. End of problem. Rats with furry tails. Shoot em. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeR Posted May 11, 2011 Author Share Posted May 11, 2011 Thx for the replies. lol @ circle of life. But note the other thread - I hate fn cats and they are already causing problems (which my dog would LOVE to solve and I'd love to let him, but...). Tons of big ol oaks around, removing food source aint happening. Love the idea of a BB gun/etc but then I'd have to be constantly monitoring. Isn't there some kinda squirrel-b-gone chemical stuff you can lay down or some such? What about peeing in those areas? My neighbors might not appreciate the show but I'm nearly at a point where I don't care. PS they are not burying acorns - I thought that too at first. But they're just digging fn holes and leaving them there. No acorns. Damn fn juvenile d. squirrels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpwallace49 Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 Then how do you get the cat that scares the squirrels out? See....it's the circle of life. You get a dog to get the cat out, but it pisses all over yer plants and kills 'em. You get a snake to scare the dog away. And then the snake leaves it's skin everywhere. So, eventually you end up with an orangutan to keep everything out. So, now you've got this big orange orangutan that you stage Man vs Orangutan fights on your lawn to raise a little extra money to buy even more plants. You've got half the neighbors hanging out on the porch enjoying the show and the other half calling the cops whenever the orangutan decides to start humping the dead body right there in the geraniums. Hassle after hassle. Landscaping is just a money pit of hopelessness and despair. Story of my life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovers Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 I'm not a hunter. I fished for and killed fish, but that was it. Once my hatred of these rats with tails became unmanagable, I felt bad after I killed (shot) the first one. After that, it was sport, it was actually fun. The little bassads were raiding the veg garden, digging holes everywhere, but once they got into the house... it was war. I have zero trepidation re shooting the little bassads now. It's actually fun. One time I was stalking around the side of my house, sneaking up on one... I had a pistol type pellet gun. I hear from the next door house the son screaming "He's got a gun! He's got a gun!" Funny stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeR Posted May 12, 2011 Author Share Posted May 12, 2011 lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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