What's Mom's favorite gift?

I really like blue spruce, but I don't have room in my yard for a tree that gets that big. Any ideas?

There is nothing like the beautiful bright blue color of a Colorado Blue spruce in the landscape. As you know, when planting, it's important to take into consideration how big they get, 40 - 60' tall and a spread of 20'. There are great varieties that stay much smaller and have that intense, beautiful blue color. Fat Albert Colorado Blue Spruce grow 10-15' tall and spread 10-12'. Baker Blue Spruce grow 12-15' tall and spread 6-8'. New in the nursery this year is the Fastigiata Spruce, which grows 10' tall and spreads 2-3'.

Can I mix a wetable powder fungicide in a hose-end sprayer?

Yes, you can use a Ferti-lome hose-end sprayer to apply a wetable powder spray. It takes special mixing. The label powder must first be changed to a liquid, so the sprayer can syphon it out of the bottle and into the water stream. To mix 1 gallon of finished spray, mix what the label says to add to one gallon of water, for instance 1 Tablespoon, with 15 ounces of water in a clear jar or container. Shake vigorously to make sure the powder is all dissolved. If it won't completely dissolve you must run it through a strainer before pouring it into the bottle that attaches to the sprayer. Any loose particles can clog the sprayer and it won't mix the spray correctly. Attach the bottle to the sprayer and set the dial to 10 Tablespoons. When the bottle is empty you will have sprayed 1 gallon of the finished spray. That is going to come out very fast. By adding enough powder to spray 2 gallons, and setting the spray dial to 5 Tablespoons, you can spray 2 gallons with one jar of diluted product.

Always read and follow the directions on the label.

Why are the shrubs in my yard not leafing out?

The weather has been hard on many plants in our landscapes. The real problem occurred last fall. It was pretty nice and suddenly got really cold and stayed cold. Usually we have more of a gradual cooling, which gives trees, shrubs, and roses time to "harden off". The tender growth is very susceptible to winter kill. Looking back to last November the low on November 6th was 41 degrees. On November 8th the low was 8 degrees. By December 3rd it was -2 degrees and on December 10th it got down to -17 degrees. It's really a wonder we have any plants left at all. It addition to a very early cold fall, this spring has been real cold. Don't be too quick to give up on a plant. After they have leafed out you may have to cut back the dead branches and tips.