Breeds of Dogs

[piqaboo]

Saxy, if you buy the right bit for your electric drill, you can make drainage holes in the pots you already own.
masonry bit for clay / ceramic
metal bit for metal
etc......

I used a steak knife to make drainholes in some plastic pots.

[mmichaelson]

Thanks! the pots are ceramic, so I'll ask Sean to buy a masonry bit so that I don't have to throw them away. They're very pretty.
I planned on replacing my potted plants next weekend. . .hopefully the rain will stop by then!
We got three more inches yesterday at noon (in about thirty minutes)
Looks like those two more bags of mulching soil I added to my rose bed have probably washed away, so I'll have to buy another couple of bags. . .
argh.

[Nicole Marie]

Be careful of mulch! It can be your enemy! Many people over mulch. Mulch keeps heat in and it can over heat and burn the roots of the plant. Only use mulch as a decoration. The mulch should be a thin layer, thin enough that the soil is almost seen through it. I often see folks build piles of it, inches high. That can over heat and kill the plant.

[mmichaelson]

Well, it's not really mulch. . .bad wording. It's the organic soil with some mulch in it (bought at Home Depot). I keep it pretty thin, but the rain mainly washes all the soil away, thanks to torrential downpours.

[Shapley]

Nicole,

My experience with Rose of Sharon isn't good, it attracts ants by the thousands. They are attractive, but keep them away from the house!

V/R
Shapley

[Nicole Marie]

Oh I know that stuff, it works wonders. You may want to try too a compost soil with oyster shells mixed in. A company in Maine makes this compost with the oyster shells it adds tons of good things into the soil. It works great in heavily clay soil, just add a little sand in with it. Here's the site I get it from, great stuff: http://www.coastofmaine.com/

[Nicole Marie]

Shapely, ants are VERY GOOD for your plants. Ants are on the plant b/c of the necture in the flower. They help spread it and germinate the plant. They help the plant. Of course if you don't want ants in the house you should keep it away from the house. But it's a bad idea to plant Rose of Sharon near the house anyway. The root systems are intrusive and can work on a house foundation.

[mmichaelson]

Yeah, that soil is good stuff. I hate that it gets washed away. . .
It makes my roses very happy. I'll definitely look into that compost with oyster shells. I should have really replaced the entire bed before planting, but now I'm stuck. The bed does have clay mixed in, which is part of the reason I lose my soil so quickly. I am glad you mentioned the oyster shells. I'm heading to that site now. . .hope they can deliver!
Thanks YRH!

[Shapley]

Nicole,

I knew why they were there, but I didn't like them near the house. The plant was there when I moved into the house, actually into the attic apartment. The ants used the wall as the expressway to the flowers, the wall was covered with them when the flowers were in bloom (which, near as I can recall was nearly all summer). When I first married, our neighbors had a Rose of Sharon bush near their house as well, with the same problem.

V/R
Shapley

[haggis]

Nicole,

"ants are VERY GOOD for your plants"

Fire ants are a curse throughout the southern U.S. and I hope you never have to deal with them. They probably contributed to the elimination of horned toads and many Texans believe the little beggars are reducing Quail and other ground nesting birds.

They gave my dog fits a few weeks ago when he inadvertently stepped on a mound while we were walking, it was pitiful and he didn't stop whining for almost 10 mins afterwards

A USDA Distribution chart shows that they are still moving North, but I don't think they'll handle the cold very well.

They have a vicious sting that I could do without.

You can also be grateful the damn "Africanized Honey Bee" probably won't make it too far north.

They are just becoming a serious pest in the Dallas area and I'm thinking of getting an epi-pen for my dogs.

Local allergy docs are encouraging people sensitive to bee stings to carry epi-pens on their person when they go outdoors for camping, hiking etc.

They pose a serious problem when they are swarming and the reports of serious attacks and even deaths are increasing.

Life is interestings in North texas!!

<small>[ 06-18-2004, 12:50 PM: Message edited by: Haggis ]</small>

[Shapley]

Makes you long for the days when all you had to worry about were scorpions and rattlesnakes.

The Armadillo has found its way up to Southeast Missouri. We're seeing increasing numbers of them dead along the roads. In a few years they may surpass the Opossum as the official state roadkill. (Missouri has an official state everything. We even have a state dinosaur, even though there hasn't actually been one here for 65 million years, give or take a thousand.)

V/R
Shapley

[haggis]

Ironically, the Armadillo is about the only thing in Texas that eats Fire Ants!!

[eaphil]

Shapley:

The Armadillo has found its way up to Southeast Missouri... In a few years they may surpass the Opossum as the official state roadkill.

Down here, the armadillo is often referred to as "possum on the half shell."

[mmichaelson]

I wish the armadillos ate chiggers too, Haggis.

[Nicole Marie]

Haggis we don't have fire ants up here. Our ants are nice and friendly and help our plants.

[Nicole Marie]

Haggis we don't have fire ants up here. Our ants are nice and friendly and help our plants.

[mmichaelson]

Be very glad that you do not have fire ants. They are truly the devil's children. Sometimes their beds are flat and difficult to distinguish as you are walking along. . .and their bites are nasty little things too.
Luckily for me, the variety that live down here in College Station are not as volatile as the kind that live up near Dallas. I do visit my aunt on her ranch up in Weatherford frequently though, and it can get ugly sometimes.

[barfle]

[quote]Originally posted by Haggis:
[b]Life is interestings in North texas!!

But on the subject of insects, we've just about run the course with the 17-year cicadas. Quite an interesting bug, IMNSHO.

<small>[ 06-18-2004, 02:17 PM: Message edited by: barfle ]</small>

[haggis]

I've heard people say that Texas is a sandbar that prevents Oklahoma from washing off into the Gulf of Mexico.

College Station Saxy? I would think rampaging Aggies would be the most dangerous form of wildlife you have there!

[mmichaelson]

Hehe. If you want to see rampaging, seriously look toward the Lubbock area. They seem hell-bent on rampaging.
The only threatening thing around here are the stupid drivers, of which there are no shortage. That is why my house is slightly south of town, in our nice neighborhood.
Besides, Aggies are at least nice to one another and to strangers (well, we're SUPPOSED to be)