Let's shake up the gray matter

Never have heard of salt cedar. Looked it up in plants. Nice pink bloom. I as always haven't recorded the latin but my Larix but I bought a Russian Larch and It has grown slowly here in my garden. I need to water it on occasion of oven winds in Aug or it droops.

Sorry Sofer, this will help-
[HYPERLINK@www.garfield-county.com]

JamesCO, you seem to be in a pocket there. Some sort of a microclimate unto itself? If you love it, I hope it makes it but Larch in general don't seem to like alkaline anything. Japanese Larch grows up mountain sides (I saw it up the sides of Mt Fuji) in Japan so I think you might have a shot at this. One problem is your drainage being you mentioned you're clay. Maybe you could try to ammend the soil where you will be planting your Larch? Seems like an incredible amount of work though. I'm wondering if adding a tsp of vinegar to each gallon of water you use to water it might not help? Maybe some Miracid? Just out of curiosity, exactly how alkaline are you? I have absolutely no idea if your little plant will make it or not but I am most curious as to how you will fare growing your Japanese Larch in your area. Please post updates on this plant.

I've got Larix laricina on a property so I'm most familiar with that species. Beautiful plant but it seems more adapted to bog like conditions however there is allegedly much genetic deviation which may account for why I've seen quite a few growing in uplands.

Oops, I missed something. Guy's gonna absorb chocolate through his pores. Cool, teach me!

Guy;
(I perused your site, I will certainly be visiting your humble forest some day) Yessir, I have it. I impulsively ordered this little thing, now I have it in a gallon pot (sunk outside for the winter). The novelty of deciduous gymnosperms is just too much for me not to try out. I have read all sorts of conflicting information regarding pH for it. I'd say that 7.6-8.4 will be a rigorous test of its character.

Soil amendment and work: Ask my chiropractor how I amend my soil. I do not hesitate to do a little work.
Two feet (minimum) of at least 50% initial amendment. (requiring the removal, of course, of one foot of subsoil after setting aside the topsoil to be mixed.) At the two foot mark, I fork the heck out of the interface. The amendment is mostly horse manure, composted wood chips, leafmold, and the occasional child who has stolen flowers from me.

Changing pH will never happen. It is little old me against more than a thousand feet of shale-based dirt. I understand (from the chemist's enlightened perspective) that due to the base material, it is actually impossible to do it in my locale anyway, something having to do with ions and polarity. (I think that Guy's talent with chocolate involves the same properties.) Our soil has a maximum of .9 % organic matter to start, and is usually classified as a clay to silty clay.

Now, Steve, I must know what pH you have, now that you have admitted to having a living beast in the same genus.

K. James

Now THERE's something I can relate to! Can I send you some little trespassers occasionally?

If you do that much soil prep, incorporate soil sulfur into the mix to drop the pH. It will last a long time if you can incorporate it that well, along with the kids and other organic stuff.

Time out: chocolate break!

Guy S.

For all of your chocolate-absorption protection gear,go to www.gemplers.com

Hey Davers, Guy and his wife volunteered to take me shopping at the "good" places down by them this summer that we don't have up here in the Chicagoland area. I need a pair like what she has really bad because I'm getting slashed to bits. I found this at your link-
http://www.gemplers.com/a/shop/product.asp?T1=G23451-40TALBLK&UID=200602191105171253089069
That brand is exactly what Guy told me I needed so great minds think alike! I don't want to order it mailorder because I don't know what size I would be. I think quality coveralls that will last for years are something I am going to have to try on while wearing long underwear, jeans, and a sweatshirt so I will be comfortable moving around as opposed to ending up looking like an overstuffed camel colored Staypuff Marshmallow Man. It wouldn't be a pretty sight.

Hiya,E!! Yep,great minds in great bibs......ahhhh......lol!

EQ, never fear, you will always be a pretty sight.
Funny maybe -- even ridiculous -- but still pretty!

When you try them on, consider torso length as well as sufficient width to accommodate a sweatshirt or vest underneath on very cold days. They need to fit properly from shoulders to legs or you will undergo constant wedgies as you bend over to nail those buckthorns. And look for a pair that has zippers up the sides of the calves, to allow you to take them on and off over your boots. Then check out the pockets -- make sure one or two of them have zippers or other closures if you want to be able to secure things like car keys or cell phones.

Guy S.

Or pruners. The important word here being "secure"

This message was edited Feb 19, 2006 8:03 PM