'Home Run' Shrub Rose
Offspring of the Knockout Rose is a Real Winner
and a Great Gift! 'Home Run' has true poinsettia-red, single blooms that will light up your garden with their spectacular display. It will grow into a rounded shrub about 4 feet high and wide with green foliage that turns burgundy in autumn. 'Home Run' is fast to flower and to repeat. It is incredibly versatile - it hits a grand slam in the landscape and scores lots of points in a pot, too. If you are a fan of the Knockout Rose collection, 'Home Run' is a must for your spring garden!
Planting and Care
For best results plant
in spring or early autumn.
Performs best in an area
with full sun to light shade and well-drained soil.
Fertilize with
Rose-Tone.
Hardy in zones 4-9.
Shipped bare-root in
spring; #1 grade, own-root. $24.85 each or buy 3 or more for $22.85 each.
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December
8, 2005
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Garden Club
Frequently Asked Questions Question: The Maypop I got from you this past spring grew vigorously and was beautiful. Then, in late summer, Monarch butterflies laid eggs on every leaf for weeks. I cleaned off each egg as I found it, but ultimately hundreds grew into voracious eating caterpillars, and they all but stripped the vine clean of leaves, even eating through many stems. The vine now looks pathetic, and I'm wondering what to do to help it recover...cut it back close to the ground, or ignore it until Spring? Also, how can I avoid a repeat performance next summer? I am a transplanted Marylander trying to learn new rules for gardening in southernmost, coastal North Carolina. Thank you.Answer: I suggest you cut your Maypop to the ground early next spring. Feed with Cottonseed Meal and Kelp Meal now and then again early next spring. Maypop is very durable; I suspect it will be fine next year.I hate to see you spray with Sevin to kill the Monarch caterpillars. Instead I suggest you net the Maypop with a protective cover of cheese cloth (or other fine mesh) in late summer and into the early fall. Question: I have heard from a friend that you can put your raked leaves in a large lawn/leaf bag, add some water and some fertilizer tie the bag(s) off and lay them down until next spring and they will have composted. Have you any information on this? Answer: In a black plastic bag, in a sunny place, moist leaves will be partially decomposed by spring. I doubt they will be fully composted unless you live in the south. Decomposition depends somewhat upon the type of tree from which the leaves came. Adding grass clippings, vegetable trimmings, coffee grounds and tea bags to the leaves will speed decomposition. Be sure to use a high nitrogen fertilizer, such as a lawn food. Question: In raking leaves last week I discovered a section of lawn that was overgrown with wild mushrooms. The area was about 40 feet by 25 feet. Is there anything I can do to treat the lawn so that they don't come back? Answer: You have mushrooms because something (usually wood) in the soil is decomposing. The most common source is dead roots from a tree that was removed several years ago. There is no preventative treatment; but the mushrooms will usually stop coming once the food source has fully decomposed. These mushrooms are harmless to the lawn. Question: I have planted a patch of ever-bearing strawberries this spring and I understand I need to mulch them. Is it too late and what kind of mulch do you recommend? Answer: The classic mulch for strawberries is straw - that's why they are called "straw"berries. If you can't find straw, don't use hay as a substitute; hay has too many weed seeds, because hay is made up of a mixture of plant material including the tops which have the seeds. Straw is just the stems, usually of a single variety of grain. If you can't get straw, pine needles are an excellent substitute. Double shredded hardwood mulch is not quite has good, but it works well. I have even known people to use wood shavings (very coarse sawdust) but if you use wood shavings you need to fertilize liberally with high nitrogen fertilizer before you put down the shavings. It is not too late to apply mulch however for strawberries that are less than 1 year old, it is imperative that you do so quickly so that the strawberries do not heave and perish this winter.
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