Is one color of mulch better than another?

well I have no trouble seeing mine for sure lol. So far it hasn't washed, it is fine natural mulch that will work into the soil. I'm thinking pulling back a little each week and laying newspaper down until I get it all covered. That should take about 10 years.

LOL! Good luck!

flowers some people "paint" the weeds with round up, seems more work than pulling them, though. Me, I'm tempted to just wait for snow ;)

Maybe you could cover the good plants with nursery pots, turned upside down, and then spray for weeds.

I have lung problems so painting those weeds are out of the question but is a good idea. I'm talking about a bank that is probably 250 feet long and a good 15 ft wide. I don't think there are enough paint brushes to cover it anyway lol I did spray with roundup but it didn't kill anything must have gotten a bad batch of it. I read where it will not kill anything that you don't spray. Will probably try another type weed killer come spring. Right now taking the riding lawnmower up the bank in between what plants I can. Have Azaliazs, peonies,blanket flower,irises, ornamental grasses, a plum tree, a cherry tree and God only knows what else is on this bank. Love it

I once tried using a tube from Saran Wrap then spraying down the tube so I wouldn't get the Round Up on the flowers. DON'T DO THAT! I probably killed a dozen plants doing that.

Lynnie -- Did people actually use a paint brush to put it on the weeds?

I have found it really effective. Just spray the green part of the weed very well then it goes to the roots.

well I sprayed weed killer around my fenced yard on a windy day and killed the grass about two foot in all the way round. So wait for a calm day for sure lol

I believe some people do use a brush.
Yes, my husband just waits till there's no wind and I'm not home to yell at him lol
flowers maybe you should just wait till spring then use preen (I'm feeling absolutely lazy today)

Lynnie -- Sorry you aren't your perky self today. Hope tomorrow is better.

Have a question. If you put preen on in the spring, does that also kill any flower seeds that may have fallen off earlier?

It prevents seeds from germinating so I would guess it kills all flower seeds. It MUST be watered in - that's one thing I've seen people omit doing and then they blame the product.

I think there are 2 different kinds, one kills "pre-emergent" so that would kill seeds....
I was my perky self, I did 7 hours of errands and now I'm tired lol

Understandable!!!

I mix round up in my sprayer and just pump it a couple of times. That way I don't get a spray, just a dribble. Just dribble right on the terminal bud good and it should kill the weeds unless they are excessivily woody. Don't buy the pre-mix that you buy at wal mart. Buy the concentrate. I am fortunate to live in a farming area and I buy what the farmers use. Have to buy 21/2 gal. at a time but it costs less than half of wal mart prices and it will keep forever if you don't let it freeze.

Any time you need to use Round up in a tightly planted area, it is best to use Jim's method of dribble rather than spray. You actually have more control over where it goes. Also, round up works best in areas that get at least a few hours of sun. It has to dry completely on the plant.

Yes Ma'am, people do indeed use paint brushes for round-up. I have 3 sizes of paint brushes, a paint tray with smooth nap roller and one of the paint pads that has a reservoir for paint. The roller makes it easy to get between plants without the risk of splashing/spraying them. I also have an old hair color applicator bottle with a fine tip for applying directly to small stubborn plants that would disrupt good stuff by pulling it out. For really stubborn stuff I use a mix of Round up and a broadleaf herbicide....works like a charm.

I've heard that new leaves take up the RU faster than older leaves. Makes sense to me.

Round up is formulated to act on actively growing weeds. Those are the leaves that are absorbing the most in the way of nutrients to the roots.

Precisely. You said it far better than I.

Yeah, but, how do I kill a rose bush, long gone but leaving its grafted-root cousin? All that's left is the root stock and new growth keeps coming up on it. I can't seem to kill this guy off and I want to use the spot to plant another next spring.

It's making me crazy!

Linda

We've gone through that nightmare. We tried many douses of Round Up - useless. The only answer is to keep digging and digging. Boring and long job but it's the only way I know of that will insure you get every bit of the root stock. It took us years!

Linda. Take a small container with a small opening and put a little undiluted round up in it. use your pruners to cut back a bit off of each non producing cane and immediately put a couple drops on the fresh cut. On the new growth, apply a drop or two to the leaves and allow to dry. You may have to do a second application, but two apps were all it took to get rid of a maple that persisted in trying to regrow.

Dig and pull! When I moved in, our landscaping was atrocious. The house was foreclosed and empty for 2 years, so you can imagine. There was a hanging basket of some sort on the side of the house. It had fallen to the ground due to the weight of a tree that was growing from it. I have oaks a couple of other unidentified trees that spread like wildfires, and one of the seeds had fallen into this basket. The tree was 5' tall growing through the wire basket and into the ground. I dug all I could then yanked the sucker out of the ground. Took a while, but I got most of the main roots. I suppose if it's situated amongst other plantings, you wouldn't want to take this route. It was a workout, nonetheless.

Boy I envy you guys your unwanted plants & trees lol I would love to find a 5 foot oak in my yard!
I did have some junky roses here when we bought this house, I excel at killing plants though so there's no sign of them now lol

Haha I wouldn't have minded the oak if it weren't growing 2" from the side of my house lol...besides I have too many trees as it is. My full-sun spots are precious commodities in my tiny yard...

Grantman, please! Don't tease! My yard is an acre of baking hot sun...not a tree for 3 acres when we bought this rectangle of a house on this field of weeds. I planted I don't know, over 20 trees....they're so little it looks empty still. And a ton of shrubs, also tiny.

LOL! I wish I had 3 acres of fun - now you're the tease! My lot including my house is 1/4 acre. Talk about space conservation! I wish I could ID the other trees I have. One has strange-shaped leaves, gind of like a double leaf-heart shape, grows pink flowers in the fall, and drops foot-long seed pods. The other 2 are extremely annoying and drop 10's of thousands of "flowers" (quite an overstatement since they don't bloom and are a pain in the rear to keep up with sweeping them up), and hundreds of seed pods (that sounds like rocks falling on the roof of my car!). I've never seen so many tree seedlings growing from these trees! I have to pull them up by the dozens. These trees both lose all of their leaves shortly before spring comes. Then I have 3 oak trees that lose their leaves and berries and I have to yank these from the ground as well. Other plants include banana plants (white bird of paradise-type), hibiscus, cannas, oleander, mango, papaya, gardenia, ficus hedges, some miscellaneous purple and multicolor landscaping shrubs, croton, bouganvillea, palm tree, and some other interesting plants I've yet to identify. All in my tiny yard!

Now I'm getting zone envy as well...sigh...
my yard is only 1 acre, the neighbors have no trees either lol
used to be a tobacco farm

Tobacco farm sounds interesting. I forgot to mention the container adenium and roses (not having much luck with roses). I was considering getting some knockout roses as they are more resistant than others. I also have a shade garden I haven't yet started. I tore out all of the liriope (sp?), since I couldn't stand the sight of them. Now I need some shade plant ideas. I have a running list, but not many places around me carry the plants I want, and hostas don't survive in my zone (now I'm zone envy to you!).

they use a lot of chemicals tobacco farming, I had to amend and amend and amend....bought more soil/compost than I thought possible.
I have knockout roses and they are living up to their name, just planted them a few months ago (June) and they're blooming machines. Treated once for japanese beetles, that's it. I got double pinks.

That sucks about the amend job. I take it you did a good job since your plants are growing! I was told they can stand my zone (10) so I think I'm going to go for it! I just need to figure out where I'm going to put them lol...I have very little full sun. How tall do they get? Do they climb?

Here is alink from Knockout...http://www.knockoutroses.com/rosegallery.htm

Grantman, you are gonna have to break down and get a digital cheapie under 30 bux...and take pics for IDs. I have a hard enough time with pictures....useless without. Grin

they're shrubs but you can prune them any way you want, or they can get 6 feet (I have seen them that tall here, anyway) I think they generally between 4 & 6 feet tall & wide.

Grantman, they are Rugosa roses, so they are really rugged plants...my neighbor killed aspidistra (cast iron plant) but her Knockouts are thriving....grin

That sounds great. Unfortunately, I don't think I have the room! I'll have to think on it and possibly make some sacrifices...

I happened across the identity of the mystery tree growing in my front yard. It is the Bauhinia blakeana, or Hong Kong Orchid. Imagine that, an orchid tree in my front yard lol...I wondered why it produced such beautiful pink flowers! One down one left to identify!

Now I have zone envy....rats Lynnie it is contagious...grin

Grantman I'll bet that puts on quite a show...fortunately the previous owner's had some taste...grin

I know you are a Python fan, but do you know Fawlty Towers?

It does a nice show in the Fall/Spring! Yeah they had some decent taste with that tree, but I want to strangle them for the one I'm trying to ID...

orchid tree, that sounds gorgeous.

Let's take a look at it Lynnie..

http://toptropicals.com/html/toptropicals/plant_wk/bauhinia_blakeana.htm

Haha that's the tree. I was trying to describe those double-leaves...perhaps the word butterfly-shaped-leaves would have been a better indicator.