Weather Dog Days of Summer

Catmint, and anyone else who's getting hit: STAY SAFE!!!!!! ♥

Couple waves of rain have come thru here but nothing terribly frightening, storm wise.

Well, that was an interesting drive home!

Lots of dark intersections, but nothing severe like broken tree branches -- until I came home!

There were two very large oak tree branches sitting on my front yard. Thank goodness they avoided the power line as they fell. One was completely leafless, so it was probably already diseased or dead, but the other one looked otherwise healthy.

Then I looked across the street and saw that a third of a neighbor's oak tree was lying on another neighbor's yard. No one was hurt, and no property damage, but they're out of power now. They said they were home when the storm came and heard the boom as the tree fell and cut off their power.

I guess a pretty significant storm blew past here. I was so happy to come in the door and hear the AC running.

I did a quick survey and there isn't that much damage. And it didn't even rain that much! Maybe half an inch.

This message was edited Jul 3, 2014 7:04 PM

wow Terry!

Wow, SSG, that must have been a surprise! I hope the branches didn't crush any of your plants.

We must have lost power for a second because I had to re-set a clock, but that was about it.

Yes, definitely a surprise! The branches fell on my non-existent grass, so there was no damage done at all.

I sort of want to take a picture of my neighbor's fallen tree and post it, but I feel strange about gawking at their misfortune...

It's interesting how things like this bring the neighbors together, though. We had a good time talking about the terrible job the PEPCO contractors have done here. These Y-shaped trees are so unsafe.

wow SSG sure glad there was no damage and that no one was hurt! You're fortunate about the power! The news said around 30,000 in Montgomery County without power now. DD and I found a hotel room in the area--because of my sleep apnea, I need electricity at night to run my cpap machine, and so we can never just 'camp out' the way some families do when they find themselves without power. We'll check on the house in the morning and maybe we'll get lucky and have power back by then.

Yeah, the Y-shaped trees are really something aren't they??

Edited to add: SSG, I think you could probably sneak a photo in when the neighbors aren't looking! ;-)



This message was edited Jul 3, 2014 6:38 PM

This message was edited Jul 3, 2014 6:39 PM

Catmint, does it have a pool? ( Unexpected treat for DD?)

I like the way your mind works, Sally! :-) Unfortunately, DD is nearly 13 now and way too 'cool' for pools that aren't full of 12-14 year olds LOL--and even then she probably wouldn't go in unless a friend of hers was there willing to join in with her. It's an interesting age. However, she brought her favorite electronic devices along with the ear buds which as far as I can tell are now permanently attached to her head...

The storms rolled through here too, but electricity has stayed on and I don't see any trees or large branches down. Guess we got off easy this time.

I might take a picture when the tree cutters finally get here!

Catmint, sorry you had to go to a hotel!

thanks, SSG! It's okay--we're comfortable--but of course we'd rather be in our own home. Fingers crossed the power is back on tomorrow morning.

Good to hear folks are safe this evening! Thunder kept threatening to bring on the rain, and for a while I thought it was going to skip right over us, but we got a nice shower.

Today was tie-dye day, because I kept putting it off due to heat, rain, other activities, etc. I set up a table on the driveway so we can let the dribbles fall where they may... I just opened the garage door, pulled the table to the very top of the asphalt, and we stayed sheltered while working.

At this age (Joyanna's almost-5, Jessica is almost-7), they really aren't so up for multiple projects, would have been better spread through the week as I'd originally intended, but it worked. My feet are really purple on the bottom; they look just like when mulberries are in season

The storms are supposed to work their way out of the area tonight, I think, giving us nice weather for our nation's birthday party!

Sounds like a nice rainy day activity, Critter! :-) Is Joyanna starting Kindergarten this year? She seems very ready!

Glad to hear everyone is doing OK. We have had some of these really bad storms in our area, closer to Sequoiadendron than us. We have just got a bit of the rain and not even a lot of that.
Catmint, Ric has a Cpap machine, too.

Hope everyone has a great and safe 4th. This is a perfect day for a picnic if the rain clouds pass. We got a very small shower, but not much else. It was only 70*F this AM, our pool is warmer than that. This cool will allow us to recharge our spirit and prepare to do battle with the weeds and what else may come our way in seeking perfection in the garden. Yeah right! LOL I do find days like this are very refreshing and a great solstice from the sweat and grime. I'll bet even Jeff gets a little relief.

Here's the tree! I didn't want to get too close so you have to zoom in.

Oops

wow, SSG! Glad no one was hurt and nothing was damaged. Are those your hosta blooms peeking out from the bottom of the photo?

Holly, that is too funny that Ric also has a cpap--so, we share sleep apnea, droopy eyelids, and the need for the identical lumbar support belt. Are you sure we're not long-lost relatives from somewhere way back when? ;-)

Checked back home this morning to find the power back on, so here we are settled in again! Thank goodness! And now I know that the smart meter they installed a couple years ago is responsible for our speedier turn around times with power outages--yay!!

Checked around outside to find some plant damage from the winds. A lot of my taller plants were blown over sideways:

I'm not sure what the best way is to deal with plants that have been damaged in this way. Do I just cut them back? Try to right them with plant supports? Something else?

Catmint, I was standing on my neighbor's yard, so these are her hosta blooms.

My love/hate relationship with yarrow is partly due to how they flop after every storm! I think they mostly stand back up on their own after drying out.

I pinch back the summer/fall bloomers in early June (daisies, coneflowers, rudbeckia, asters, Joe Pye, Autumn Joy sedum, phlox). It delays blooming, but keeps them more compact and bushy and prevents this kind of flopping after every summer storm.

While inspecting more closely, discovered that my only lily ('Stargazer') was lost just before bloom--main stem snapped off at the base. Sad I won't get to see the blooms. :-(

thanks, SSG. I can't just leave the fallen-over plants as they are, since they are covering other plants. So I'm wondering whether I cut them back near the base so they are upright on their own again, or get a plant support to prop them up somehow?

Pic of my lily stem broken on the ground, with all its unopened blooms... :-(

ssg, from what's left, it looks like a maple? Does the utility remove that, or do they have to call someone on their own? . what's left looks even more likely to split again.

Catmint, it depends...which plant, how broken, but I am sorry you've lost the lily bloom for the year.

Sally, some of the plants are splayed in different directions from the center--i.e., lying flat like a wheel around a center hub. Some are just leaning to one side. Some are completely fallen over with even the roots pulled out. So far, I think the only one that's truly damaged is the lily--just have to cut it back and wait for next year. :-( I think the others just need to be trimmed back (they are currently in bloom anyway) or propped up. The ones that are splayed from the center like a wheel--not so sure about those...

Maybe this means I have to go visit a nursery tomorrow for a consolation lily?? If they still have any... :-/

Oh you're right, it might be a maple. I didn't get close enough to take a look. It's not a healthy looking tree at all.

The power company contractors did the absolute minimum this morning. They just cut off the branches that were on the power lines and then left.

Catmint, sorry about that lily! Do you think you could put it in water and try to have it bloom for you indoors? I know they make good cut flowers, but I don't know how early you can cut them and still have them bloom.

This message was edited Jul 4, 2014 11:06 AM

Hopefully, the trimmed back ones will just add a few more blooms if they can. Prop up and cross fingers on the 'wheel' ones I guess! I always tell myself that losing flowers prematurely just makes less work for the plant, and hope it translates into long term vitality.

Terry, the stains I seem to see on the maple trunk make me see rot. They really should bite the bullet and get someone to take the whole tree, it would be more cost effective in the long run because whoever comes now need a big chipper and big saws etc. The bulk of the remaining tree will go on the neighbor's yard (house, car, power line...)

The maple we took down last year had the stains, and a 'healthy' interior rot from ground up into one main trunk.

Sally, seeing that tree fall made me wonder about my oak out front. Mine looks healthy, but there are definitely some dead/weak branches that should come down. I don't think it's diseased or rotted, but just a natural process of what happens to some branches on older trees.

That maple certainly looks unhealthy. I'd be so nervous if I had to live next to it. I'd say something but I don't know those neighbors at all. I remember when Muddy took down a seemingly healthy maple and it was rotted inside.

thanks, Terri, I think I'll try bringing the lily stem in and putting it in some water.

yes, sounds like it would be wise to take the maple down completely. Maybe someone will suggest it to them. Glad you don't live next to it!

Neighborhoods around here, some have lots of very old oaks. They do seem to lose big branches but I don't remember ever seeing one completely dead or fallen. For what that's worth!

Looking at the picture again, it looks like that broken part took some of the trunk, down to the soil level.

What day is it when its NOT a dogday? I like this breeze and better temps!

CatMint, I would prop up the plants.

In the case of a smallish stem that is bent but not broken, I would support it by putting a straight stick or plant support next to it and tying the stem to it until it is mostly straight.

If a stem or branch is sizable, I would splint it by placing a straight stick or plant stake centered over the broken spot and tape it on with electrical tape. I'm very compulsive in this regard (okay, in a lot of regards!). I have at least a 90% success rate in saving stems and even large shrub/tree branches by doing this. I keep black electrical tape on hand just for this reason. I have left it on larger branches for years, not because they need it but because I forget about them.

thanks, Muddy! While I was at the nursery I picked up several plant supports and did my best to prop up the leaning plants. Unfortunately, I did not get enough of the supports! Tomorrow I'm hoping to spend time in the garden, and maybe I can do a little trimming, too...

Sometimes (gently) shoving a large rock against the base of the plant will right it.

I'll try that too, Muddy--thanks! :-)

The power co. only clears the wires. If you have a tree on your property that come down, it's yours to deal with. Even though they are there with all that equipment they only make a path for repair crews. Robin, I'm with Muddy, adding supports is about all you can do to save your blooms.
We have another cool day to enjoy, 66*F out there this AM. It would be nice if I can finish my yew hedge before things heat back up.

I missed this Thread all together----too many Posts to read and comment on.

WHAAAA....

Lilies on my YUK bed....The Frans Hals Lilies are behind them--
and will bloom later. Funny--such a difference in bloom times...

G.

Spent time today propping up the plants that needed it.

Holly and Ric, glad to know there is another cpap user among us! How do you like it? Have you had it for long?

I hope your plants are bouncing back, CatMint!

Here are some photos of the trunk of one of 2 healthy-looking (except for the tell-tale dark stains) Silver Maples I had removed. This one had a split trunk starting about 2 feet off the ground, but that crack wasn't visible until it was cut down. There are actually 2 sets of tree rings; maybe it started life as 2 trees. A few more freezing and thawing cycles, and it could have fallen on both my house and my neighbors!

Sally and Sequoia were very helpful in giving me the guts to make the call to take it down.

Catmint, I has made a major difference for Ric and It doesn't bother me at all. He has had it for quite a few years.

Terry, I'm glad too that that tree didn't cause any major damage or that no-one was hurt. Also makes me glad we had that old tree taken down out back last summer - we had a heck of a storm come through here the other night too, and I betcha that tree would have come down with it, it was leaning so badly!

We had a GORGEOUS day here yesterday, I think maybe the temps didn't get over 80 degrees, and very low humidity. Hope today is just as nice, thinking it'll be a good day to do some weeding. :)