Tropicals & Tender Perennials: Tropical Plants and Gardens #130, 1 by dyzzypyxxy

dyzzypyxxy wrote:
Alice, the petunias are so gorgeous. I make them last a little longer by moving them gradually into the shade, then when it gets really hot, spraying them with water during the heat of the day also helps. The deer sure are a headache, but so pretty. A fellow MG here plants borders of Society Garlic around her flower beds, and she says it helps a lot. They don't like the smell.

I don't use Preen here, Paula but we did use it at my daughter's house in Salt Lake and it helps her out a lot. She has a neighbor that lets their garden go to weeds every summer, and of course sends weed seeds flying next door like crazy. They also have a type of tree that seeds itself everywhere in the springtime. So the Preen prevents a lot of seeds from germinating.

We did find that you don't want to use the Preen that has fertilizer along with it. If any weeds had already germinated, we were fertilizing them! We now use the straight Preen, and then fertilize directly around the perennial plants with Osmocote ( I know nothing gets fertilized when I'm not there so the Osmo keeps her garden growing between my visits).

I'm harvesting my gourmet Mountain Magic tomatoes, and some bird has developed a taste for them! I guess I may have to resort to the netting for a while . . . arg.