Fw: ArcaMax Gardening Daily Tips for Saturday August 2, 2008

August 2, 2008

ArcaMax Gardening Daily Tips for Saturday August 2, 2008

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Gardening Daily TipsFor JoyceSaturday August 2, 2008

Redbud, Eastern (Cercis canadensis)

Q & A: Rooting Rose Cuttings

Q & A: Powdery Mildew

Tip: Evaluate Dry Lawns

Share Your Favorite Pet Photos

Reader Photos

Redbud, Eastern (Cercis canadensis) Today's Featured PlantRedbud, Eastern (Cercis canadensis) Read the full profile of this plant at ArcaMax.com. Interested in reading about other plants? Search through hundreds of plant profiles and helpful articles by keyword.

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Q & A: Rooting Rose Cuttings

Question: I have a prize rosebush and want to propagate more roses from this beauty. How and when is the best way to take cuttings? Answer: Roses root easily from cuttings taken during the spring and summer. Here's a simple method: Take a shoot that has bloomed recently and remove the spent flower and the first leaf below it. Cut the stem diagonally with a razor blade, a half inch below the fourth leaf cluster from the top of the stem. The cutting should be between four and six inches long. Dip the cut end in a rooting hormone and place it in a 4" flower pot. Fill the pot with a sterile potting soil and water well. You'll need to keep the humidity high until the cuttings develop big enough roots systems to support the foliage. One way is to place the entire pot in a loosely-tied plastic bag, and place it in a sheltered, shaded spot. Another method is to bury the pot in the ground in a shaded area of the yard. Then take a clear, 2-liter soda bottle and cut off the bottom. Place the bottle over the top of the cutting, screwing the bottle into the ground a few inches. Trim the rose leaves so they don't touch the sides of the bottle. You can remove the cap if necessary to provide air circulation. (Be sure the plants are not in direct sun, or they'll get cooked!) Spring or summer cuttings should root and be ready to transplant within four to six weeks.

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Q & A: Powdery Mildew

Question: Everything in my garden has powdery mildew on it. I've tried using a fungicide, but nothing seems to help. What can I do? Answer: Powdery mildew can be a terrible problem once it gets a foot-hold in the garden! And because the disease overwinters on living plants, it is virtually impossible to eradicate. There are some things you can do to minimize its effects. Powdery mildew is unique among plant diseases in that it doesn't require a wet leaf surface to spread. It can thus thrive during hot, dry weather. The first line of defense is to grow resistant varieties. Next, remember that while the disease is unsightly, it doesn't cause any real harm to many of its victims (though it will damage some plants.) Here are some general rules for helping control fungal diseases. Start by making sure that your plants are getting enough direct sunlight. (Eight to ten hours aday is generally the minimum for plants that flower or bear fruit.) You'll also want to make sure that there's enough room between plants for air to circulate freely. Overcrowding not only makes plants more susceptible to diseases, if leaves touch other plants, those diseases can easily be spread. The general advise to inhibit the spread of fungal diseases is to avoid wetting leaf surfaces. In the case of powdery mildew, you can actually inhibit infection with periodic strong sprays of water (not so strong as to damage the plant.) Some people have had good luck with pesticides containing neem, a plant extract. You can also try using a homemade baking soda spray--mix 1 teaspoon baking soda per quart of water; add 1/4 tsp mild soap to help it stick to the leaves. Apply this once a week, and hose down plants between sprayings. Be sure than any fungicide you use is labeled for powdery mildew, since some are ineffective against this disease. Since it's late in the growing season, you should remove all of the diseased plants - don't compost; instead, bury or throw everything in the garbage. Next

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Tip: Evaluate Dry Lawns

To tell if your lawn is wilting, walk across it. If foot impressions remain visible for more than a few seconds, the lawn is too dry. Grass blades also fold and change color from bright green to dull blue-green when dry.

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Share Your Favorite Pet Photos

Got a cute or funny picture of your pet? Show it off in the ArcaMax Pet Photo Gallery! Upload your photo directly to the Arcamax site, and send the link to your family and friends so they can vote to make your photo the most popular for the month! Or visit and choose your favorites from the photos already in the gallery. If you have more pictures to share with your fellow readers, send them to the Travel, Gardening, and Baby Photo Galleries. Subscribe to ArcaMax Cats & Dogs for more reader photos, pet care tips, and advice columnists. Find out more before subscribing. -- From the ArcaMax editors

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Today's Reader Submitted Photos

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To see more of our subscriber photos visit our full Photo Gallery. Enter your Gardening Daily Tips pictures so you can show them off to other readers right here in this ezine and on the ArcaMax.com Web site. Click here to submit your photo. Sincerely, ArcaMax Editors

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