Here is our sad butterfly bush (not an evergreen). It usually looks like this in very early spring, but it is getting to be late spring and there is no new growth on this bush. Not even one little bit that will help the plant recover. It's dead.  Bummer. 

It all started last fall. Actually, it started two falls ago, but this past one was enough to knock out more shrubs because many take more than one season to fully recover, especially the laurels. I'm getting ahead of myself.

Last fall the weather stayed really warm until late November; up until nearly Thanksgiving Day it was, like, 58 degrees, 64 degrees, on and on.  Then came the "Storm of the Century."  Remember, we all had to prepare for the big storm with extra food and bottled water?  Well, that storm never came but the cold temperatures did.  One day it was 60 degrees, the next day 18.  Then 11.  Then 4.  Plants generally do not like that quick of a temperature change because they don't have time to harden off, to get ready for the cold weather.  That's winter kill.

Shrubs that were in the shade were able to harden off a bit more and survived the quick temperature change better than bushes in full sun. Here is a rose bush that demonstrates this perfectly.  The rose bush is in half sun and shade. The part in the shade made it through the winter.

 The same thing happen two falls ago, in 2009, but not as drastically. I noticed my butterfly bush was struggling last spring, but didn't think much of it, but now I realize that it was already compromised and when it happened a second time, it couldn't recover. 

Maybe this fall will be a little more normal, but I kinda doubt it. So, how to prevent this from happening again?  You'd have to recognize the extra warm temperature trends in fall and shade your plants to help them harden off. 

Or just replace those old roses and laurels with something else that's a little more forgiving. 

I have been called to customers' houses and asked why their evergreen might be looking so sickly.  It's almost always because of too much water, though there are some insect pests.  I'm no Paul Bunyan, but I've pulled fifteen-foot dead trees right out of the ground because their roots were all rotted away.

When we moved into our house about 15 years ago, we hadn't fully grasped our yard's microclimates and soil conditions. We live on a bit of a hill, with our east neighbor above us and our west neighbor below us. We planted three White Firs in a row to create a bit of a natural barrier. 

Now there's just two (The one on the left has a Cottonwood growing in the background).  The third was on the right, below the rock wall, on the lawn.  It was a great grouping.  There's a small Magnolia there now.  Imagine all the water from our neighbor's yard ending up where that Magnolia is, and you can imagine why it drowned.  The others get the same amount of water, but have much better drainage. Just to the right of the photo, we planted a row of River Birches that are extremely happy. They love wet feet and drink it up. We made a good decision on that one. 

I hope this entry helps prevent you from making the same mistake we made or identifying a problem you are having in your yard.

I'm tired and my hands hurt.  My left forearm feels like like Popeye's from all the squeezing of the pruners.  My hands are cut and scraped and rough, but I prefer having tough skin to wearing gloves all the time, so I'll just have to tough it out a little while longer.

I really do love this time of year.  I love being busy doing such fun work, especially after the tedium and uncertainty of winter.

Please read my blogs entitled "Tree Season" and "Why Aerate."  These are a few of my favorite things. 

We are going to salt the parking lots, etc. before the snow starts, but we have to time it just right.  We don't  want the rain to wash it away.  It's hard when the snow starts in the early morning because we can't clear it before the business day starts.  But at least I got plenty of sleep.   

So I'm wondering if we could somehow make a glass service work.  "See a need, fill a need," right?  We'd have to provide affordable bins for our customers, and set up a pickup schedule and route.  We already have trucks and staging space.  We would get most of our income from the recycler  (in Wyoming?), and I imagine it wouldn't be much.  But with enough volume, over time, maybe we could pull it off.

Did you ever see that Seinfeld episode where Newman and Kramer try to take recyclable bottles to Michigan in a mail truck?

This year I want a new mower, a brand-new Walker 42 inch, with either the Kohler 26hp efi gas engine or the 21hp three cylinder Kubota diesel engine.  We already have a diesel Walker, and its fuel economy and durability is amazing.  But it's very heavy and tends to lose control on even gentle slopes.  The Kohler takes more gas and I can't vouch for its durability, but it can hold a hill better.  The gas engine is a little cheaper and gas costs less than diesel, too.  I'll probably go with the Kohler.

I also want a new truck.   Actually, I want three new trucks, but one will have to do for now.  And when I say "new,"  I mean used.  Who can afford a new truck?  They cost like $40,000.00!  We are looking at used extended cab and crew cab 4wd trucks, 3/4 ton and one ton models from 2006 on.  Diesel or gasoline?  I have the same ambivalence as I have with the mowers.  Diesel engines last longer and have more torque, but they cost more to fix, and diesel fuel costs a lot more.  And who cares if the engine lasts longer if the rest of the truck keeps breaking down?  Where's the savings?  I love our current diesels, but do we really need that much extra torque?   Gas engines are looking better all the time.

I used to get excited about decisions like these, but now I think they're a pain in the neck.    

We could wash cars while visiting our residential yard clients.  For that matter, we could wash cars at our commercial accounts.  For that matter, we could wash truck fleets at our industrial accounts.  For that matter, we could wash our customers' houses and/or buildings.   We could include windows if we had some squeegees, for that matter.  How about parking lots and gas pumps at convenience stores? Or, for that matter, the insides of their car washes, with all the mud and mold on their walls and floors.

I, for one, would love it if somebody washed down my entire house, squeegeed the windows, and power washed my driveway and patio, too, and the inside of my garage.

I think this sounds like a good idea for a group like us that already has the trucks, trailers, and labor. 

Comments?

Oh, by the way, it's Thursday, 4:00 p.m., and I'm a little dopey.  My body and my brain are very tired, yet I know that it's still daylight out and therefore I have a bit of an adrenaline thing going on.

I have never traveled farther east or west than two time zones, so I guess I can't say for sure, but I believe this is what jet lag feels like.  So now I'm gonna "Google Earth"  the Eiffel Tower.  The Pyramids.  Sydney Harbor.

In between rounds today we're cleaning rain gutters.  It's important to keep them clean and free-flowing, to prevent what's known as ice dam.  Ice builds up in your gutters and eaves, where it often stays colder than other areas of your roof.  During the day meltwater can pool and go underneath your shingles, causing water damage to the insides of your roof and walls.  A lot of houses have heat tape in the gutters to prevent this. A well-insulated and vented attic helps a lot, too.

I hope we can all rest a little today after we get the gutters done.  Looks like we're in for an all-nighter. 

Fertilizer and ice melters are both mineral salts.  When diluted with water, salts lower the water's freezing temperature.  At the Olympic Speed Skating Oval, where I worked during the Games, we mixed fertilizer with our ice melter because the area had been very recently landscaped and we didn't want to have to replace new sod.

So how is it that these mineral salts don't ruin our lawns?  We all know the effects of salting the earth, after all.  In the case of fertilizers, I can say that they do cause ruin, sometimes, like when you put on too much or don't water it in afterwards.  These salts attract water and can literally pull it out of your grass or plants.

Most of the fertilizers you see nowadays will have "WILL NOT BURN" on the bag, and that's a good thing.  It usually means that the fertilizer is in a timed-released form, in other words, coated with products that dissolve at different rates.  Your lawn or plants will get a more sustained feeding, without a dangerous jolt.

Beware, however, of cheap fertilizers, those that provide "instant green."  They work too well, and for too short a period of time.  Too well, because they can incur new growth at an unsustainable rate.  Too short, because they release their nutrients all at once, and can burn and kill your lawn or plants, if you're not careful.  At best, they're like a double shot of espresso for your yard, instead of a healthy meal.

Then there's fertilizing services that come every month.  They don't care so much about timed-released anything, either, but instead provide a low dose of everything your lawn needs, and rely on repeat applications.  Admittedly, this is a good way to go, but it's pricey.  If you choose this approach I recommend you hire Turf Plus, out of Utah County.  Sorry, no link.  I have no commercial interest in this, by the way, but I've seen every company there is in Utah, and these are the only guys worth their salt (pun intended).  I even contract them myself, here and there.

We at HDG like to fertilize four times a year:  On or about Tax day (April 15),  Memorial Day, Labor Day, and Halloween.  The first application gives all the new growth a healthy breakfast, and also some immunization.  It's when we lay down a good fertilizer and some pre-emergent weed control, both in the lawn and in the flowerbeds.  Memorial Day is like lunch: we feed everything again for the long, hot summer afternoon ahead.   Labor day, of course, is dinner.  We replenish what was lost; we asses our needs.  Halloween (actually, often closer to Thanksgiving), is the late night snack.  But it's a little bit more than that, because Autumn is the time when all living things lay in for the winter.  Plants pull into their roots all the nutrients and energy they can, and that's why it may be the most important meal of the day.

As for me, my most important meal of the day is whichever one is next, which is right about now. So until next time...