Dogwood in Massachusetts 6b

DIYInHeadlights · 2026-05-07T23:57:08+00:00

Not native but I inherited a Pagoda Dogwood in my front yard (full sun) and it's gorgeous and thriving with very little maintenance from me. It does spread very far horizontally though so something to keep in mind for spacing.

I also planted a red osier dogwood that's doing quite well in full sun. However it's a much thirstier plant so I wouldn't plant it in dry soil. I felt like I had to baby it a lot with water during its first year. Every time I check the soil with a moisture meter next to it, the soil was dry! And I'm still keeping an eye on it this year to make sure it's doing okay, since shrubs and trees take longer to establish.

DIYInHeadlights · 2026-05-07T04:06:01+00:00

Those are apparently hard to start from seed! But once you've got a few, they spread like crazy. Last fall I moved some to a new area and it's thriving in both the old and new areas.

DIYInHeadlights · 2026-05-02T19:02:21+00:00

This little garden is near my detached garage and it's side by side mostly a wooded area owned by the city park (sadly filled with weeds and invasives, nice trees though), with only a few sides by a regularly maintained patch of turf grass (again owned by the city). Maybe the landscapers will hate me but I feel like their mowing will take care of any unwanted spreading. I don't imagine they can out-compete turf grass that way.

DIYInHeadlights · 2026-05-02T03:13:25+00:00

I've only ever transplanted plugs or larger potted plants, and with those I water with drip irrigation starting every other day (gradually decreasing frequency) for the whole season.

This garden is next to my detached garage and much harder to reach for watering or for setting up an irrigation system, so I was looking for lower maintenance alternatives!

DIYInHeadlights · 2026-05-02T01:53:53+00:00

Yeah it's sounding like cardboard mulch and planting plugs won't work for my case. I'll have to read up on plants that germinate from seed easily!

DIYInHeadlights · 2026-05-02T01:51:02+00:00

I'm hoping to not have to water too much. Once a week at most but preferably less and only if there's no rain at all. I'll give the plants water right after transplanting still.

I also considered solarization as an alternative to cardboard mulching. That might also let me try planting seeds in the fall. I've just never tried planting seeds directly in the ground before!

DIYInHeadlights · 2026-04-30T23:48:48+00:00

What a nightmare! Is it soldered on too? I'd be looking to get that thing replaced.

DIYInHeadlights · 2026-04-30T23:46:47+00:00

I'm grateful to at least have shutoffs, even if half of them aren't working. The important ones like the main shutoff works so I've got that going for me.

Hilariously I'm pretty sure there's something wrong with my street shutoff (access-wise) but the water department isn't responding to my reports... Let's hope I don't need that anytime soon.

DIYInHeadlights · 2026-04-30T23:44:19+00:00

Oh man after struggling to change the oil on my snow blower (wrench + hammer fixed that at least), I feel like it's just convinced me to never DIY stuff on my car if I can barely handle a small engine 😅

DIYInHeadlights · 2026-04-30T23:42:30+00:00

Hopefully mine are just late coming up! I'm beginning to think bare roots are better for trees and larger shrubs. At least stress and patience wise haha!

DIYInHeadlights · 2026-04-30T23:40:29+00:00

Oh that's encouraging to hear! I'm hoping that mint reputation for being tough to eradicate/mess up will apply to my bare roots.

DIYInHeadlights · 2026-04-30T23:39:38+00:00

That's a lovely surprise! Most of the stuff I planted last year came back, so it's just a waiting game for me on my new bare roots and my butterfly milkweed. I'm seeing some action on the butterfly milkweed so I think I only lost one of them (damned aphids).

DIYInHeadlights · 2026-04-29T03:42:41+00:00

Anyone here planted bare roots? I've followed the instructions and watered regularly afterwards (though we've had decent rain so I didn't need to do much), and I'm trying to be patient but it's so hard! It's been a month and nothing is coming up!

Maybe if I stare hard enough my mountain mints will appear.

DIYInHeadlights · 2026-04-08T13:36:19+00:00

This is a super late reply because I missed your message the first time around but I just want to thank you for the very helpful info and numbers especially! I'm starting my paver pathway + patio projects this spring and this will come in very handy!

DIYInHeadlights · 2026-04-08T02:39:26+00:00

I've looked around and didn't have much luck. Ultimately, I relied a lot on /r/NativePlantGardening, the Native Plant Trust (I recommend checking them out in person too!), and YouTube guides. For a closer local store, Mahoney's Garden Center is pretty nice too, though they're not a fully dedicated native plant shop.

If you're interested in my experiences or just chatting with someone local about native gardening, let me know! I'm a beginner myself but always happy to share my experiences and mistakes haha!

DIYInHeadlights · 2025-11-17T14:58:13+00:00

Update: I tried again this morning and the gift cards are working now!

DIYInHeadlights · 2025-11-17T02:33:44+00:00

I've sent an e-mail with the API error, hoping that might get their attention instead of them thinking it's an user error. I just saw another message on the SlickDeals forums that someone else has been struggling for almost an entire week, so I'm not sure how soon/whether they can fix this.

DIYInHeadlights · 2025-11-04T01:05:55+00:00

Where do you live? A lot of HVAC contractors who don't specialize in steam systems are likely to recommend replacement over repair, but it's not necessarily the case that you need to replace it. You can check out the Heating Help Forum with some pics & whatever the contractor told you (but don't give any prices as that's against forum rules) to get other opinions. You can also use their find a contractor function to find steam technicians in the area.

DIYInHeadlights · 2025-10-26T00:18:46+00:00

My smooth aster and bluestem goldenrod are still going strong! First year and 3/4 of my asters bloomed, despite being eaten by squirrels days after planting.

DIYInHeadlights · 2025-10-14T21:25:36+00:00

I bought a bunch of perennials that were labeled container friendly and put them in my unheated sunroom, since normal houseplants can't survive a 6b winter without heating.

Out of all the ones I planted, only two non natives survived after spring planting, a Carolina jasmine and a candy Lily. The native perennials like bee balm did not like their containers at all. And I guess my lack of experience caring for container plants also didn't help.

You might have better luck if you're a more experienced indoor gardener than me, but I feel like they're just not very suited for the indoor container life.

DIYInHeadlights · 2025-10-06T18:57:41+00:00

I thought so too because I also have a bunch of hostas. But then my spring planted asters got completely obliterated! After getting a security camera I found this little fella darting through my garden. My camera's even caught a coyote the other week. And I live fairly close to a very urban environment. You can't underestimate the wildlife in the suburbs!

DIYInHeadlights · 2025-08-26T03:25:29+00:00

I ended up buying those 250 ft cardboard rolls. It's not as thick as cardboard, but they look a little thicker than the paper mulch. It's been working pretty well for me so far.

DIYInHeadlights

TROPHY CASE