| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
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| Looking for a tall, clay-loving plant that likes morning sun | 2/28/2008 | Eirinn A. ÒBhrìaìn |
Q: I live in Southern Oregon, zone 7 or 8, depending on who you ask. I have a 4'x4' area along my ...
A: I can think of several plants that would look great there and deal well with your soil. Here's a ...
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| Shaded area in yard | 2/27/2008 | Eirinn A. ÒBhrìaìn |
Q: Corner of yard is in deep shade, I would like to make it more visually appealing. Grass is sparse, ...
A: Here's that plant list I promised to you for your 10 x 15 area. The first thing I thought of for ...
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| shade problems | 2/27/2008 | Eirinn A. ÒBhrìaìn |
Q: I have 4 Maple trees within a 50 ft area. Very rootbound and shady! There are 2 outbuildings on ...
A: My eBay site is Dancing_with_Nature_Herbs_and_More and our nursery stock is going to be uploaded in ...
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| Shaded area in yard | 2/25/2008 | Eirinn A. ÒBhrìaìn |
Q: Corner of yard is in deep shade, I would like to make it more visually appealing. Grass is sparse, ...
A: I design gardens for exactly your garden area in question, but mine are always for zones 7 and less, ...
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| shade problems | 2/23/2008 | Eirinn A. ÒBhrìaìn |
Q: I have 4 Maple trees within a 50 ft area. Very rootbound and shady! There are 2 outbuildings on ...
A: First, I'll give you a list of plants which will suit your planting area, then I'll send you a ...
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| shade problems | 2/22/2008 | Eirinn A. ÒBhrìaìn |
Q: I have 4 Maple trees within a 50 ft area. Very rootbound and shady! There are 2 outbuildings on ...
A: To better understand your question, may I ask a few? Are the maples and outbuildings on the west ...
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| planing under japanese maples | 2/14/2008 | Eirinn A. ÒBhrìaìn |
Q: I have a 13 or 14 year old Japanese Maple, underneath is lawn. I want to get rid of the sod and ...
A: Don't worry about your Japanese Maple's roots too much. Acer palmatum, your tree's botanical name, ...
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| plants for shady area | 2/13/2008 | Eirinn A. ÒBhrìaìn |
Q: I live in Clovis, CA (93619) where we have 110 degrees summers and winters that can drop to about 30 ...
A: Luckily, there are a number of plants which will grow in your shady, wet clay soil and in your ...
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| flowering vines in shaded area | 10/17/2007 | Viktoria Serafin |
Q: I live in Northwestern NJ (zone 6a)and am looking to plant some flowering vines along a metal fence ...
A: My favorite vines for shady situations are the Climbing Hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala v. petiolaris) ...
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| Ground cover | 9/21/2007 | Viktoria Serafin |
Q: I live in Massachusetts. I want to plant ground cover along a long(56 foot), narrow pathway made if ...
A: Although I am not a fan of Japanese Spurge (Pachysandra terminalis), it will give you the quickest ...
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| Shaded Garden under a pear tree | 9/11/2007 | Viktoria Serafin |
Q: Victoria, I had a two level garden area under an Asian pear tree, cornered by a fence and a shack. I ...
A: It is not clear to me what you mean by "two level". I am also wondering whether you want to use ...
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| shade garden | 9/7/2007 | Viktoria Serafin |
Q: I recently moved to an old home in Toronto and I'm having trouble with our garden. It is very shady ...
A: The best planting time is in the spring. Break up the soil as much as you can by spading or hoeing. ...
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| Growth to landscape size for blue spruce dwarf | 9/2/2007 | Viktoria Serafin |
Q: How much time will a 2 year old picea pungens globosa require to reach a size of 2.5 diameter globe ...
A: As a general rule to estimate growth over time, look at the new growth on the branch tips. That ...
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| privacy screen | 9/2/2007 | Viktoria Serafin |
Q: Zone 6. I have a 2 story home on a city lot, with approx. 7' between my home and the western ...
A: Arborvitaes Emerald, Techny or Green Giant should work for you. There are not too many choices ...
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| shade tree problem | 7/22/2007 | Viktoria Serafin |
Q: Last year I planted a london plane tree in my front yard in full sun. I watered it well the first ...
A: Powdery mildew comes to mind, although it does not necessarily cause leaves to curl and dry up. It ...
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| Tree | 7/10/2007 | Viktoria Serafin |
Q: My husband and I are wanting to have a tree for our boys to climb in in our back yard and we ...
A: I cannot give you the answer you want. Unless you start with a large size, expensive tree, there is ...
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| planter box landscaping | 7/7/2007 | Viktoria Serafin |
Q: I have two 3 1/2 foot square planter boxes out in my yard that I'd like to fill with flowers & ...
A: Set a conical dwarf boxwood in the center of each planter. It is the lowest-maintenance of ...
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| How much can I trim a 6ft x 6ft mountain laurel? | 7/1/2007 | Viktoria Serafin |
Q: I need to trim back a mountain laurel which is about 6 ft x 6 ft. Ideally, I'd like to cut its size ...
A: Richard Jaynes "wrote the book" on Kalmias (The genus Kalmia?). Check your library for a copy. I ...
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| plants for shade | 6/19/2007 | Viktoria Serafin |
Q: I'm in NJ. I have a grape vine canopy in my garden. Since the canopy creates a lot of shade, I ...
A: Try some of the following: Aconitum (Monkshood), Alchemilla (Lady’s Mantle), Aquilegia (Columbine), ...
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| flowering shade plants | 6/12/2007 | Viktoria Serafin |
Q: I have a friend who lives in ZONE 5, and has an area next to his house that is in absolute shade due ...
A: "Absolute shade" is not defined just by the overhang. Compass direction is also a factor, as is the ...
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| shade garden | 6/9/2007 | Viktoria Serafin |
Q: I recently moved to an old home in Toronto and I'm having trouble with our garden. It is very shady ...
A: Maples in general have huge root systems with lots of tough surface roots that make it hard to grow ...
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| Shade garden plants | 5/29/2007 | Viktoria Serafin |
Q: I'm in zone 5 (or maybe 6? southeast MI) and I just purchased some plants for a 20x3 flower bed on ...
A: The astilbes will love it there. The ajugas will spread furiously as long as there is no standing ...
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| flowering shade climbers - Zone 4 | 5/13/2007 | Viktoria Serafin |
Q: I have a number of trellises in my yard that are in partial/mostly shade areas, and have had ...
A: You must be thinking of Climbing Hydrangea. It is on my list of top 10, must-have shade plants. It ...
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| New York City Garden woes | 5/12/2007 | Viktoria Serafin |
Q: I have a border garden in the backyard. In one area of the garden, I have been unable to get ...
A: This sounds like a prime spot for the native, very handsome and robust ostrich fern...if you can ...
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| plants | 4/18/2007 | Viktoria Serafin |
Q: 2 question I have giant elepahant ears will they grow and adapt in shade. I live in long island new ...
A: Check with your Cooperative Extension for the average last frost date for your area. That is when ...
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| what plants to create visual barrier | 4/16/2007 | Viktoria Serafin |
Q: I have a 25 foot area between 2 garden sheds. There are old trees on the property line which make ...
A: Dry shade with root competition from mature trees is a tough situation for any plant. No matter ...
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| planting suggestions | 4/9/2007 | Viktoria Serafin |
Q: I am trying to hide our home's cement wall,in the back of the house. The area gets some sun and is ...
A: Clethras (Sweetshrub) come in various sizes and have fragrant flowers in white and shades of pink. ...
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| shade butterfly garden | 4/8/2007 | Viktoria Serafin |
Q: Can you please recommend flowers to use to make a butterfly garden in a shaded area?
A: Shrubs: Fothergilla, Calycanthus (Carolina allspice), and for late summer flowers, Clethras ...
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| Boxwood | 4/1/2007 | Viktoria Serafin |
Q: .I have a few boxwoods out front and they all seem to have this white mildew looking dots all over ...
A: Boxwoods are generally so trouble-free that this is the first time I have come across a problem. ...
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| clay garden | 3/31/2007 | Viktoria Serafin |
Q: I have a clay garden 4.6PH shade area 14 x 21 ft. I put down corn gluten a couple of days ago (b/c ...
A: Corn gluten is only 10% effective in the first year; 90% of the effect comes in the second year. ...
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| trees | 3/20/2007 | Viktoria Serafin |
Q: We recently moved to a newly constructed home. Our yard is nothing but dirt. We are just starting ...
A: You do not state how large your yard is. Some of the trees listed may become too large for a small ...
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| Shaded courtyard | 3/8/2007 | Viktoria Serafin |
Q: We have a large interior courtyard between two tall apartment buildings. It receives sun for a short ...
A: The following plants will appreciate a moist, shady situation: Shrubs: Clethra, Fothergilla ...
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| shade garden | 1/30/2007 | Viktoria Serafin |
Q: live on the border of zones 3&4. Am looking to create a flower garden in a shady part of my yard ...
A: The following plants are hardy for you, will grow in the shade and do not demand too much moisture: ...
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| shade garden | 11/6/2006 | Viktoria Serafin |
Q: I am in Annapolis, MD. My house faces north. Gets no direct sun. There are two overhangs so the ...
A: Humble apologies. I cannot believe this question has been hanging around here this long. At the ...
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| Oil for Plants | 10/7/2006 | Viktoria Serafin |
Q: Live in Ohio (North)-zone 4 Last year my azaleas and rhodos looked brown in Spring and several died ...
A: It sounds like your shrubs may have been too dry going into the winter and then exposed to too much ...
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| Moving hostas | 10/2/2006 | Viktoria Serafin |
Q: This spring I planted "several" hostas. About 3 months later my home sold in 1 day! The buyer had ...
A: You would be better off planting them at your new home. Mulch them heavily after a hard frost to ...
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| partial shade periennial bed | 9/11/2006 | Viktoria Serafin |
Q: First, thanks very much for taking the time to consider my question. Your advice is very much ...
A: First of all, I do not advocate the use of landscape fabric at all, unless the site is sloped to a ...
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| Z7 shaded North side lawn/garden ideas | 9/1/2006 | Kenneth Joergensen |
Q: To set the scene: My house runs east to west on a slight downhill slope. It is about 50 foot long. ...
A: It does not sound like a good place for grass at all. I would recommend pathysandra, vinca minor, or ...
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| tree for shady area | 8/26/2006 | Viktoria Serafin |
Q: I need suggestions for a small tree or shrub (less than 15 feet)to be in a shady area (under ...
A: That is a very small space for a tree! Take a look at the columnar beeches ('Red Obelisk' is one, ...
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| Choosing ground cover for cedar/pine woods area | 8/24/2006 | Viktoria Serafin |
Q: Our house has a large area of mixed pine and cedar woods behind it that is a part of our yard. We ...
A: That is a tall order! Research native plants for your area; you may have choices of which I am not ...
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