Is dry grass clippings good to use as mulch around bushes, strawberries, rhubarb, phlox, etc?

It is free from my sister's house...

Is dry grass clippings good to use as mulch around bushes, strawberries, rhubarb, phlox, etc?
Grass clippings are excellent mulch, I use them all the time. Any weeds that sprout up in the mulch can be easily removed. I just leave them on top of the mulch and they dry up and become part of the mulch. Grass clippings are high in Nitrogen, so they are good fertilizer too.





For more information, visit our website at-


http://www.gardening-at-the-crossroads.c...





Good Luck and Happy Gardening!
Reply:Grass clippings are great for mulch. You don't need to wait for them to dry. I use clippings around many plants and bushes, but not too close to the stems. At the end of the season you can just turn it into the soil and let it compost into better soil for the next season.
Reply:Yes but if there are any weed seed, they may come up so be on the lookout for them. make sure that the grass clippings are dry as if really damp the heat generated by them can damage the plants
Reply:Keep the clippings away from the trunks of bushes or trees as it can cause rot. As for the others, don't know

Loosing eyelid crease.

Very old & established phlox have turned brown and died?

They started with a bit of powdery mildew which is normal but eventually browned and died. Water has been sufficient.They are Tall Garden Phlox.

Very old %26amp; established phlox have turned brown and died?
This is very unusual. Is it possible that they got a dose of chemical? I live in town, so I never expect to have chemical problems. However, last summer, I had three deformed tomato plants. They clearly had a dose of some type of chemical, probably from a passing ag plane with a slight drip.





I wish I had solid advice for you, but I cannot without a look -- and maybe not even then. I think I would cut it back and try Miracle Gro. At this point, that can't hurt, and it might accidentally help.





Rain

I need to know how to plant creeping phlox?

I also need to know how to plant red sedum, periwinkle and hens and chicks.

I need to know how to plant creeping phlox?
I don't know about red seedum, but creeping phlox, periwinkle, and H%26amp;C, are easy.


I take a large stick, or piece of solid metal, and push it into the ground about 4-5 inches(to get below frost line). I usually have a cart with the plants, and carry some plant/bulb food, and small shovel, and water. Put the plant in the hole, add some food, and press dirt back around plant. Add some water, and you're done! Hens and chicks run all over my Mom's bank. When she wants to move some, she does the same thing. A lot of people (like my sister) spend hours playing with the soil and plants. I find mine grow just as well-if not better-by just doing it this way. My neighbor spent a whole day, 2 years ago, preparing soil, soaking plant roots, and digging the 'perfect' hole for her bulbs. I went out with my 4-yr old granddaughter, threw our tulip and crocus bulbs on the yard. Then we took the stick, poked a hole where the bulbs fell, and dropped them in. She stepped on the dirt to push it down, and we planted 100 bulbs in about 1 1/2 hrs!


All of them have come up, but next door, only a few made it!


We just say that "Wild flowers grow where God dropped them, and so do ours!" Good luck with yours. Let me know how you make out. Connie

What is the best web site to order plants? I need phlox and Shasta daisies?

There are tons of good web sites for plants. Try





waysidegardens.com or





whiteflowerfarms.com





naturehills.com is one of the better ones.





bluestoneperennials.com is good





perennialplace.com also





With Michigan Bulb, the prices are low but you get what you pay for. Buyer beware. Ditto Gurney's, Henry Field, Burgess, prices are low but plants are small.

What is the best web site to order plants? I need phlox and Shasta daisies?
Try Michigan Bulb


mibulb.com


More than bulbs...they replace plants that die free.
Reply:Hi:


I have bought perennials and seeds from Park Seed Company for years. They have good prices and have a very good reputation. I will link you to my site map and look at my affiliate page. Park Seed is in this section and check their prices and what they have available. Good luck to you in finding your Phlox and Shasta Daisies. Have a great day!


Kimberly


http://www.landscape-solutions-for-you.c...
Reply:In addition to Park there are several seed and nursery catalogs. Here are some that I have used.


Gurney's Seed and Nursery


Henry Field


Wayside Gardens.


All have good service. HF and Gurney's are actually owned by the same company. And both have replacement guarantee which they really do honor with no hassle.

I bought some phlox the creeping kind - how do you plant it?

It came in a 12 x 12 chunk, kind of like sod and it was growing in sand and manure. I tried to cut it into 8ths or make plugs out of it and it wasn't cooperating. Was I supposed to plant the 12 x 12 chunk all by itself? I thought with plugs, it would spread but there must be some trick to it.

I bought some phlox the creeping kind - how do you plant it?
Yes. they are beautiful.





You can plant "plugs" of it.


I've done that. I didn't dig real


deep holes, though.


I planted them in shallow holes..


bout 2-1/2 deep.





I didn't "cut" it into plugs.


I "separated" it as to not cut the


roots.





Good luck.
Reply:Wet it good, %26amp; pull pieces away..Plant them a few inches apart..It needs full sun to really go to town.

shoe buckles

How do you start pink creeping phlox?

It came in a bag not in a pot. Looks more like a mixture of grass, dirt and saw dust?

How do you start pink creeping phlox?
the grass is the creeping phlox plant...the dirt was probaly connected to the phlox at one time,,,the sawdust is just used to keep the moisture in during transport...creeping phlox is started by division, so you must have ordered it and they sent you a small division or cluster of the plant, hopefully with the roots attached...plant it with the roots barely covered and the "grass" above the ground in a good potting mix in a shady spot until you are sure it is growing...its hard to get it started from a small division so all I can say is good luck!
Reply:I just planted 15 plants this spring, and they are all growing very well.





I planted them on a hill where the soil is well drained. I watered it every day for about 2 1/2 weeks until is showed sings of growing. (New shoots) Now I water it about once a week if it hasn't rained.





They like well drained soil, but need regular moisture. I keep all the other vegetation cut back until that start growing and spreading so that they can take over. They are in full sun and they seem to like it, because they have more than doubled in about a month and a half.





Next year they should be less maintenance.





Good luck

Will creeping phlox help with erosion up against our house because we don't have gutters?

We need a plant or something that will keep the water from digging a trench up against our house. I want something with color, though, and not a shrub, bush, etc. that is just green.

Will creeping phlox help with erosion up against our house because we don't have gutters?
The rain running off the roof will destroy the plants if you get a hard down pour, better off to put gutter up and get the water away from the foundation of the house, anything you plant will hold the moisture close to the foundation.
Reply:put up gutters and maybe the phlox will take, but without them, it'll be to much water in a downpour.

Why is it large bees are landing on my phlox, and then becomming almost dead?

the bees are comming to my phlox which I just planted and they are not leaving, they are not buzzing, they are almost dead. I have only had the plant for about a week. so far about 4-5 large bees...live in NE ohio.

Why is it large bees are landing on my phlox, and then becomming almost dead?
they're drunk as they can get......really.... flowers with lots of nectar will heat up during the day, the nectar ferments and some of them can come up with a 10% alcohol content.....the bees that visit those flowers will hang out, hanging on, sometimes until morning..... on my Russian sage the big bees, mostly carpenter bees, get so 'lazy' we can actually 'pet' them without disturbing them at all....





same thing happens to birds who dine on over-ripe berries and then stagger when they walk and don't fly so good.....
Reply:drunk as a skunk
Reply:Maybe you should call a beekeeper. You could have solved the national problem of disappearing bees.
Reply:The plant may be poison to them. Now that could be the answer to killer bees. Hmmmm.....phlox? Where did you purchase it?

How do i remove grass growing inside of my phlox and other ground cover?

the phlox on my rock wall looks beautiful.. i couldnt ask for a healthier, better looking plant. but i do have a slight grass problem.. grass has begun to grow within my phlox and other ground covers, and i wanted to know if anyone knows of any ways to remove it?





i try to hand pull it, but we all know how difficult it is to get the roots out, especially when it is within another plant.





any help you can give would be appreciated

How do i remove grass growing inside of my phlox and other ground cover?
Ortho Grass B Gon is said to kill grass, but not desirable plants.





Apparently, it was designed w/ flower beds and gardens in mind.
Reply:you gotta go in carefully like a doctor and pull it out without uplifting your phlox roots its not too hard, good thing about phlox it usually is so thick it blocks out weeds
Reply:If you are looking for a silver bullet, I'm afraid there isn't one. Pull it out wherever it is and keep up with it. Weeding is very therapeutic and you can do a lot of thinking while doing it.

shoe lasts

How do I eliminate grass in my creeping phlox?

If you don't know how dense creeping phlox is please don't answer

How do I eliminate grass in my creeping phlox?
Usually creeping phlox is a plant that usuallyroots in a singular local. ( even though it may appear largethere is only one central root) .. so theoretically you could lift up the major portion of the plant without distubing the root system. So Lift up your phlox my friend!!! and weed away!


Good luck, they are beautiful this time of year!
Reply:pull it.

How do I cut back creeping phlox after flowering?

I am new to planting and everything says to cut back the foliage on creeping phlox after flowering to help the phlox grow better and bloom more, Can someone explain to me what part to cut and how much? Thanks!

How do I cut back creeping phlox after flowering?
Phlox is like an expanding mat. It will spread out and the edges will eventually root in place. You can simply pick up the outside edges and trim them back, pulling up any roots if it exists. Phlox is very invasive and will take over an area killing anything else growing there so you will have to control it through trimming. In early/late summer just trim the edges back to the place where you want it to 'be' next year and it will be fine.





In my opinion cutting is NOT needed to grow better or bloom more due to the prolific invasiveness of this plant.
Reply:You usually cut back the dead leaves to new growth. You can use shears just to trim the tops off. If the growth looks good just cut the old dead flower heads.

How should I grow Creeping Phlox in a container?

If I plant Phlox in a container, should I take them in for the winter,and if so, do I bring them back out in early spring and should I keep watering them as they are inside? Do I cut them back when I take them inside? And if I should just go ahead and leave them outside, do I cut them back while leaving them outside? Do they grow back after cutting them down? OR, should I just leave them as is and do their own thing like when you grow them in the ground?

How should I grow Creeping Phlox in a container?
Most varieties of phlox are hardy perennial to zone 4. You should plant them directly in the ground to ensure the kind of strong roots they need to come back year after year, rather than confining them in pots. You can cut them back in the fall if you wish, but its not necessary. I don't usually cut mine back, and they "resurrect" just fine in the spring. And I live in Zone 5 - which is likely your Zone as well in southern Iowa.
Reply:Pretty thorough question there :)





The first thing is, where do you live? What hardiness zone? Trying to grow perennials in pots is not the best idea for most people.... we just don't do it and expect them to come back. However, growers do it....so maybe we can too.





So let's break down the question:


1) Take them in for the winter? ...I'm thinking it would be best to find a way to keep them around 20-30oF I believe growers either pile soil or mulch around the pots and expect to lose some, but most should live. If you sunk the pot into the soil (or transplanted to some kind of standard black plastic pot and did this) and then mulched after the ground has frozen (assuming you are in a very cold area) that should work...at least it is worth a shot. I know here in MN some people actually dig up half of the rootball of a rose bush, tip the plant on its side (hinged by the rootball half still in the soil) and then cover the whole thing with soil to protect the tender bud union area).


2) SO, the goal is to let the plant go dormant outside...I think that is best


3) Do I cut them back? I would cut them back before "winterizing" them at the end of the season...also, though, you can cut back Phlox subulata after blooming and it will bloom again.


4) If you just leave them alone and see if they make it like perennials planted in the ground they will likely die...unless they are kept somewhere that the temperature just happens to work out.
Reply:The seven varieties of phlox listed below are hardy through winter in most frigid climate zones (2, 3, and 4) and should come back in the spring if planted in the ground. If you're planting in containers, you're limiting their insulation and risking damage to the container itself if you leave it outside through freezing temperatures. What zone are you in? How many freezing days do you have each winter?








Phlox andicola - plains phlox


Phlox diffusa - spreading phlox


Phlox divaricata ssp. laphamii - sweet william


Phlox glaberrima ssp. interior - marsh phlox


Phlox longifolia - long-leaved phlox


Phlox pilosa - downy phlox


Phlox speciosa ssp. occidentalis - showy phlox
Reply:start with a large enough planter then put the planter near a wall and put a lattice or chicken wire behing it for the phlox to grow up and keep moist not really wet and shady while the plant is small then put it into partial shade and partial sun when it grows larger.