I hope everyone I have traded with has received their boxes in good shape.
I won't be trading for a while...we had a friend of the family pressure wash our house last week. Yep you guessed it! D-E-A-D! This guy used bleach and everything on the sides of my house are black (so is his eye) in his effort to get the house white. This is just one of my garden speed bumps.
Thank you all for the trading with me.
Pressure washing NIGHTMARE!
Oh, what a disappointment! We have been talking about pressure washing our house logs, but I won't let DH do it until the plants are cut back and I can put down visquene. Of course, I don't think we'll be using bleach!
PeachBongi,
I am so very sorry.....I will be cutting my Brugmansias back in the very near future. I would be happy to send you some cuttings to help you get restarted. I have pinks, a white, couple yellows and a versi-peach. I also have some double purple datura seeds.
I am a very new with daylilies and iris, so I won't have any of those until next Spring.
Just let me know.
Margo
You are too sweet to offer. I would love to get some from you. My yellow one was on that side and I haven't dug it up hoping it will survive but so far it gets blacker everyday. Versi peach sounds beautiful I've never seen one, you have a picture?
This message was edited Aug 15, 2005 8:43 PM
Ya know, I was pressure cleaning a roof the other day and was thinking about that bleach thing. The only thing bleach does, is make it easier for the man doing the cleaning to get the mildew off. It doesn't keep the mildew off and if you use a strong enough PSI on the cleaner, that alone takes off the mildew. So the only thing the bleach does is kill your plants.
This is my business and you better believe the first time I use bleach in cleaning a roof, with my luck, I would slip and fall. That bleach is very slick ya know.
I am so sorry to hear about this happening. If there is anything I can send you to help replenish your garden, please let me know.
Molly
:^)))
I will be more than happy to share my gardens with you if you should need more plants. I hate this has happened to you. I know all about the downfalls of bleaching the house--our house is cedar-sided and the first couple of years after buying the house, we used bleach on ours. But our house always turned back black by the next summer so I gave up and decided to live with a rustic black cedar house instead---the plants around the house agreed with me on this. lolol
I just sent you turtlehead and choc chip ajuga.....if you lost those plants, and would like me to resend, or anything else I can send to help out......please just let me know. I'm so sorry this has happened. Jenny
WOW you guys are too much!
Jenny, turtlehead and choc chip ajuga are doing wonderful. I potted them up so I haven't put them in the ground, thank goodness. I am waiting for several good rains before I plant them to make sure the bleach is gone bye bye.
Here is a list of what I lost:
Mandeville vine
Lady in red Hydrangea
Mophead Hydrangea
Hosta unknown
Hardy Hibiscus
Firecracker Plant
Purple Mum
So far that is it but every morning I walk the yard to see if anythink else is looking like it won't pull through.
to everyone that wants to share, it doesn't have to be what I lost anything to fill in the holes would be wonderful at this point. (wiping tears away) LOL
Molly, nice to know someone understands and thanks for the info. Watch out for those roofs you would look pretty funny gardening in a body cast. :-)
Ok here is a picture of my Hydrangea that I think is on it's way out but is the only plant left with green still on it any advice?
Note: notice how white the siding above it is. LOL
This message was edited Aug 16, 2005 1:48 PM
Just wanted to update everyone...Hydrangea didn't make it but my Mandeville Vine has new sprouts!! Yipee!
Thanks to everyone who offered to send recovery plants. Nothing like your first year gardening and getting wiped out by bleach. This will be a story for later years.
So glad to hear all is not lost! Plants are incredibly adaptable. Give everything some time. Trim back the dead foliage and flowers, and keep leaching water through the soil. You never know!
I bought my own commercial pressure washer as I need to paint my house and it hadn't been down in 15 years. I compared the cost of purchased vs. rental for several days as I knew I wouldn't get it all done in one day. I decided that since I can still use if for other things like sidewalk, driveway, cars, etc. it was worth the investment. At least doing it myself, I had control over how it was done. You would think these people that do this for a living would know the effect the chemicals would have on the landscaping and take precautions for protect the plants during the process. I only use straight water but still covered the area with plastic first and moved it as I progressed. If there are any plants you are looking for in particular let me know and I'll see if I have it.
Jan...
Jan - out of curiosity, what brand did you buy as I would eventually like to paint my place also. ~ Suzi :)
Suzi,
I know ya didn't ask me, but when I decided to buy a pressure cleaner 5 years ago, I made a point of staying away from the name brands like Honda, Briggs & Stratton. I picked mine up at Northern Supply for about half what those "names" costs. And, the floor clerk at Northern took that useless little 15' pressure hose out and threw in a 50' hose for me at no additional cost.
I use mine in my painting business. I got a 3500 psi which is good enough power to knock dirt and mildew off, and yet not so strong that it knocks ME off. Mine is a North Star. It has a Comet pump and a Tecumseh engine.
It's been a great little machine for me, reliable.
Molly
:^)))
Molly - Thanks for the info!! I'm not one of those peo that only want the one they addressed something to, but would like to hear answers!! Thanks!
Question - my pressure is not very high - the home insp, when I bought home 9/02 said that will have to replace the lines in 5-8 yrs. So, would one of these work well for me, or would I need to wait till I got those pipes replaced??
Thanks!! Suzi :)
Suzi,
I think I understand what you are asking. If pressure of the originating water source is low? will the pressure cleaner work?
I'm not an engineer or anything and can only make assumptions on a simple logical level. The pressure cleaner takes the water in and releases it with it's own pressure system. I don't know how that works, but I have never had a problem with the pressure.
Maybe someone with more knowledge will jump in here and splain it better.
Molly
:^)))
Yep Molly - that is what I am asking. Don't know anything like how many gal per min I have, but do know that if it weren't for the shower massager, I most likely would have replaced pipes, NOT that I can afford to, yet!!
Washer takes at least 30 min to fill up, older DD said 30-45 min. So... if I don't have a significant amt going in, will the pressure washer machine have enough water to pressurize, to do the job?
Home insp said will prob be $1000-$1200 by the time I replace pipes, depending on how long it takes to do. It will have to be done in crawl space under the house... YUCK!! I don't do basements, def not doing anything in a crawl spaces!!
Figure might make a 3/4 M Bath and make it worth my while at the same time replace pipes. Would like to wait to do that till after get MBA (08) and better paying job, so can afford it better... Trying to make and pay for home improvements as go along. Don't need any additional bills!! ~ Suzi :)
I don't know the brand name and my neighbor has it right now.
I did get it at Home Depot for around $400.00 and I got a coupon to send away for free attachements, car washer, a broom for driveways/side walks, an extender and one other thing I can think of right now. When I get time later, I'll dig out the book. It also has about half dozen nozzle attachments to adjust the pressure depending on the type of work being done. I know on the pinpoint setting, it can put a dent in concrete.LOL.
Jan...
That last part sure sounds promising... :)
Wow, Suzi! Now I know what you meant by the nightmare you mentioned in your d-mail. I'll look around and see what else I can send.
Leslie