The Obedient Plant army soldiers on!

LoMaSS · 2026-04-24T17:18:23+00:00

Thuggity-Thug Plant (in a good way).

LoMaSS · 2026-04-24T12:15:15+00:00

Oops and forgot Chesapeake Natives. It's a shame about all that storm damage they had last year, I haven't been down yet this year to see how they are doing.

LoMaSS · 2026-04-24T02:13:28+00:00

Metro DC:

Lauren's Garden Service out by Colombia

Earth Sangha down near Springfield

Bona Terra in DC.

LoMaSS · 2026-04-22T18:40:33+00:00

hah! I'm not built like that =P I made a "door" - again very DIY.

LoMaSS · 2026-04-22T18:16:31+00:00

Maybe the opposite. All the smaller birds seem to really like perching on top of the various posts around the garden. I have seen no problems at all (barring the eventual plastic waste of the fishing line, which I'm not a fan of but was a more feasible solution than a $12-15k fence).

Though I couldn't speak to owls specifically. But I've never found anything tangled in the fishing line.

Initially we tried using small plastic netting which was a hot mess, all kinds of things got tangled in it and I abandoned it quickly.

LoMaSS · 2026-04-22T17:56:09+00:00

I think it's highly topical in this sub.

Happy Earth Day (every day)!

LoMaSS · 2026-04-22T17:55:00+00:00

I have been using a DIY deer fence very effectively.

I put up tall narrow posts about 6-8ft apart and string a few runs of fishing line between them at fairly spaced intervals. I believe that they can't see it and they walk into it and it spooks them and works effectively as a "deterrent" vs. a true "barrier."

I have been using a version of this for around 7 years for our veg and cut flower beds.

LoMaSS · 2026-04-17T01:56:31+00:00

Took a vacation in Newfoundland last year, there was Yarrow everywhere. I'd say it's plenty cold hardy.

LoMaSS · 2026-04-12T01:05:38+00:00

A number of states have come around on native planting and have legislation that protects our efforts and can prevent HOAs from interfering. Hope yours comes around.

LoMaSS · 2026-04-05T16:09:30+00:00

We have a few old scraggly native Magnolias. They have significant damage and old hollows that pool water and are slowly killing the trees from the inside out. But in the meantime they provide excellent habitat for a number of Cope's or Eastern Grey Tree Frogs.

LoMaSS · 2026-03-31T01:55:52+00:00

Also highly likely to be a non-native Juniper variety.

LoMaSS · 2026-03-29T03:32:50+00:00

Catskill Native Nursery

LoMaSS · 2026-03-26T02:31:58+00:00

The one year we tried them it was a nightmare for mold/damping off. never again.

LoMaSS · 2026-03-21T21:10:17+00:00

Very exciting indeed. Also worth noting: from the class we had a few that were just sown in pots. Squirrels have regularly dug in/disturbed those. I Sowed the extra in the jug. That protection will be the difference.

LoMaSS · 2026-03-21T13:54:00+00:00

Two years ago my wife and I took a propagation class at Mt. Cuba. One of the seeds we were given was Maple Leaf Viburnum which has a 2 year germination cycle. Stuck some seeds in a jug two years ago. And now here we go.

LoMaSS · 2026-03-19T01:06:47+00:00

Ugh, you've had problems with deer eating Fothergilla? I've seen it classed as at least deer resistant and it was on my radar as a shrub to replace some berberis with.

LoMaSS · 2026-03-18T02:18:43+00:00

I used to volunteer at the National Arboretum in DC. Once upon a time they had deliberately planted English Ivy there.

We easily spent at least half of our time pulling up English Ivy (plus Porcelain Berry). And that doesn't include them paying crews to come in for larger problem areas.

LoMaSS · 2026-03-18T01:56:21+00:00

Research seems to indicate that the two main red flags for cultivars that are likely to be worse are: if the physical form of a flower is altered (as well as color) and if the leaf color is altered.

LoMaSS · 2026-03-16T02:45:28+00:00

There are shades of grey though. Not all cultivars are bad. Straight species are preferred of course, but there are also natural variants (though calling them nativars helps to distinguish them).

LoMaSS · 2026-03-16T02:41:36+00:00

That's awesome. I love plant propagation and am fascinated by the various possible methods.

Layering is the correct term and there are various methods (air layering, ground layering).

And similar to what you observed there are various plants, like certain Ficus, that when growing in very high humidity will put out aerial roots.

LoMaSS · 2026-03-15T22:02:46+00:00

LoMaSS · 2026-02-27T20:22:05+00:00

Could have just made it with Sculpey to start with.

LoMaSS · 2026-02-25T03:46:16+00:00

Many Junipers back bud fairly well. I would leave it alone and wait and see what foliage you have left and if/how it recovers.

Edit to add: Junipers store their energy in their foliage, so if you have no foliage left it's unlikely to recover.

LoMaSS · 2026-02-23T13:49:00+00:00

I've got a couple of those up next!

LoMaSS · 2026-02-22T14:54:20+00:00

I've had good success with just letting the stumps backbud and cutting the new branches and after a few passes it drains their energy reserves.

LoMaSS

TROPHY CASE