FAQ Gardening
Green Grass and Pets
I have a beautiful lawn-and golden retriever. How can I minimize grass damage caused by dog urine?
Beautiful green grass and canines need not be mutually exclusive; just give your dog seperate space for play. Treat brown spots caused by dog urine with a sprinkling of garden lime. It neutralizes the uric acid and greens up affected areas if the grass can be revived. To discourage neighborhood dogs from marking your lawn, try one of the repellent products available at garden centers. Mothballs also repel cats and dogs.
Fall Rose Care
How should I put my roses to bed for the winter?
Continue to water your roses until the first hard frost. Clean up and carefully discard aby debris -leaves, branches, and flower petals- from around rosebushes to prevent diseases and pests. Then apply fungicide to dispel any lingering blackspot or mildew spores. For climbing roses, take down the canes and lay them in shallow trenches or pin them to the ground in preparation for mulching.
Move potted roses into an unheated garage or basement for the winter. Gather lightweight mulching materials, such as shredded bark, straw, or evergreen boughs and once the ground has frozen, apply 2 to 3 inches around the roots of the rosebush. Protect the crown by heaping soil over the area where the two parts of the plant have been grafted together.