Trees & Shrubs

That's what Victor says when he looks at himself in the mirror each day: brilliant!

Brilliantly shiny!

Thanks all. Yes, I get calls from the air traffic controllers when I'm in the garden on a sunny day.

You know you and my son have the same "do" so please don't take offense by it.

God only made just so many perfect heads - the rest he covered with hair.

Doesn't bother me at all. If it did, I'd be doing that ridiculous comb-over thing that silly men in denial do.

I hate that. There was a boss, long ago, who saw a group of us females exiting the building and he held the door open as the breeze whipped his comb-over up in one hair sprayed lift that kept fluttering like a crazed butterfly. Whenever I think of him I think of that awful "do", which was a "don't".

Possible source of renewable energy?

It did take me 30 seconds to process that one, Victor. Yes, I guess he could be the nastiest source of ill gained power ever.

So long as the wind keeps blowing. Maybe we can somehow connect all the comb-over guys together.

Barfville.

Oh god! These poor men - they only do the comb-over thing because they are terrified of being bald - and then there are all the macho-types who deliberately shave their heads . . .

Too funny. Personally, I would rather a fellow have flat abs and losing his hair than a thick mane and a flabby body. I suspect more women are like me - so guys tone the body and forget the hair.

Pirl - I meant connect their energy output, not get them near each other! I have flat abs and shave my head, once Nature started the process going. I'm considering shaving my abs.

You have furry abs?

No - just kidding.

I had this image of some serious "manscaping" with hot wax. :-)

Ouch!

In Provincetown most men shave all visible hair.

I won't ask about the invisible.

I have no way of knowing and don't really care to know.

I don't understand men shaving their body hair, unless they are competitve swimmers.

If we are to have an ever-growing economy, then we need to have more people buying more products. Once women had been trained to shave body hair, there was still 50% of the population to sell that service to. I expect that within a generation or two, most men will wear make-up and will start each day applying their mascara. :-)

Then I guess many NYC men are way ahead of their time and are doing their part for the economy.

and I though this thread was about shrubs.............I'd better go out and do some sit-ups!

A fit gardener is a good gardener! But back to shrubs / trees - which ones does everyone have that give great Fall color?

I'd go with the lipstick red of Nyssa sylvatica. There's also the mahogany, orange, yellow and red of Cotinus obovatus.

Those are nice, though large. I have Cotinus 'Grace', which colors up nicely in Spring and Fall. Many of my JM's get a great color. 'Orangeola' and 'Shigitatsu sawa' are very nice.

Cornus kousa 'Satomi', Cercis 'Forest Pansy' and Stewartia pseudocamellia are my other good trees for color.

Shrubs include Itea 'Saturnalia', Itea 'Little Henry', Fothergilla 'Mt. Airy', Spirea thunbergii 'Ogon' and all the Crapes.

We have a burning bush which DH trims into the shape of a heart in hopes that it will have brilliant red fall colour - alas, I don't think it gets enough sun. I would LOVE to replace it with Lyda, a shrub rose that has a strong fragrance, is a continuous bloomer, disease resistant, and very shade tolerant . . . . anyone know how I can kill the burning bush so I can replace it?

Just a second, please! I've made similar mistakes so just maybe I can save you and your DH some grief by suggesting you start a thread on the Rose Forum asking the experience of others who grew/grow Lyda.

I have a thread there now on roses we've sent to the landfill (dump) and the honesty is wonderful to read.

Shrubs are best killed by cutting the stump and painting with the herbicide tryclopyr - Garlon,Tahoe - I'm sure Ortho has something. If it's small just digging it out is easier since you still need to remove the roots anyway.

Really Al? I have some weedy forsythia that grows back no matter what I do to it. Maybe I'll try your stuff.

That's the recommended method for killing buckthorn - works pretty well.

victor-What color does Cotinus 'Grace' go to in the fall? I've seen it a bunch but only in the summer. Obovatus is quite easy to keep small. The deer come by and trim it every winter.

I think it's red with some light brown tones, if I remember correctly.

The Eastern Hemlock is a real favorite tree of mine....check out this pic of a hemlock growing in the "V" of a big double-trunked maple...........cool, huh??

Neat! Shows the determination of a seed to survive.

Too bad we're losing most of them to that bug. They're very pretty.

Pirl - you are so right! Amazing really!

Victor - we are really encouraged because we have some big old hemlocks and our road has them forming a canopy that is so pretty, and we have not lost these yet. Around New Haven, CT, you can see entire areas that are brown from the loss of the hemlocks....so sad.

Donnie, This after New Haven (the Elm City) already lost all its elms.

That's right, Dave. But it's still a lovely city in my opinion.

Waterville, Maine the town I grew up in is also known as the "Elm City" but we lost more than half our elms too!

We had six elms in a row at the old house all gone now, here I have one, I see one big branch is dead :-((