Thanks Arlene, I use a brush killer on poison ivy when I see it, but am not sure what kind I use at the moment. The problem is I never know where it will crop up. I have had it growing right next to some irises, but won't know that I've touched it until after I've pulled out some weeds.

Debra, I have used the paint brush technique before on some crabgrass before and it works great.

Caroline, I wholeheartedly agree that a "fake spring" is frustrating! I would have to say that is right up there with dealing with poison ivy as one of my biggest complaints

Is it possible to dig the irises, after bloom, and relocate them to a safe spot in the garden? Then you might feel more free to use the poison - please wear gloves and always protect your eyes. I use it undiluted to be sure my scourge, Houttuynia, is dead. So far I've done well but I do place little warning flags (sold in hardware and big box stores) to alert me to each piece so I can repeatedly check to be sure I've eliminated it. I'd add a photo but all are missing right now and my computer wizard will hopefully find them tomorrow.

Gemini_sage asked if I grow Himalayan Blue Poppies. I wish! The summer is too hot and dry for them.

Awww, too hot and dry even up there! Delphiniums then must be your consolation prize

@lovemyhouse, Debra.... You can surround the emerging poison ivy with a can, plastic bottle, or any other kind of container and spray the brush killer into the container and still protect your treasured plants. I use a gentle spray and try to get full coverage. I also generally leave the container in place for a few hours, so that a prized plant doesn't get harmed if there is even a little bit of a breeze. So far, applying brush killer this way has not harmed near by plants. I am chasing poison oak and not poison ivy.

@pirl, Arlene ... thanks for telling me where to find those little flags. I can't find them in the hardware stores up here, but I'll go looking next time I am down the mountain for grocery shopping.

@CarolineScott, Caroline ... we always have a winter thaw at the end of January or early February. Most of the roses put out new growth, but I've learned to ignore it because winter is not over. Since I don't prune until later in the spring, there is no doubt that the new growth will be frozen. I don't have winter die back in this garden, so I don't do any winter protection and just prune as necessary when the forsythia blooms. As for other plants, I am still experimenting to find plants that will work up here. Of course, I am gardening in a warmer zone than you are, so my cold temps are not as severe.

@gemini_sage, Neal ... the most difficult part of gardening in my climate is the hot dry summer heat in the high 90s to low 100s for 3 to 4 months. Wonderful for drought tolerant plants. However, the winters are too wet for them. In a dry year we get 25 to 30 inches of rain and 40 to 50 inches in a wet year. Drought tolerant plants really don't like my winters. Also, many of them cannot tolerate snow cover for even a day, so I am out there shaking snow off of the plants when I really want to be inside next to the fire. The best thing about my garden is that I have perfect drainage. It can rain for days and there are no puddles.

Finding plants that can handle the dry summers and wet winters is a huge challenge for me.

Smiles,
Lyn

Good idea, Lyn.

Debra ... it is faster than painting one leaf at a time ...

btw ... I am very open to try plants that might work in a climate like mine.

Smiles,
Lyn

I'm spoiled in Zone 8. The weather is mild and we have a longish frost-free growing season, especially if you count the mostly-frost-free months.

But our summers are mild and pleasant for sleeping, if you like to sleep with a blanket most nights. Tomatoes and peppers keep waiting for summer to begin ... but then Fall arrives.

My problems are the rampant gophers, which add the cost of gopher-proof cages to many plant purchases, and the Arum italicum, which spreads like wildfire and is impossible to eradicate. A neighbor once made the mistake of moving her Arum houseplant outdoors, and now many gardens in the neighborhood are covered by it from October to March.

Rick, your mention of Tomatoes brought to mind how having a plant that prefers certain conditions, makes those conditions much easier to deal with for me. When the summer weather turns hot, I tell myself "I'll have tomatoes soon!", and I don't mind sweating so much

Zuzu, battling exotic invasives is such an endless chore, I feel your pain. I toured the University of Kentucky arboretum and saw a display of exotic invasive plants in our area; every one of them is well represented in my yard! The worst for me are Korean honeysuckles and Star of Bethlehem.

I live in southcentral PA, just above the Mason-Dixon. We get heat and humidity during the summer months; usually we have fairly mild winters, but it can drop to below zero. My biggest challenge is summer heat and dry spells. We normally have a "spell" of pretty dry weather every summer and it's hard on many perennials. I am always envious of gardens in wetter/cooler climates; the plants are huge compared to many of mine! I've spent the past 25 years mulching and improving soil conditions (heavy clay with fractured limestone underneath) and it definitely has helped, but there's not much you can do about the high summer temps. Lupines, delphiniums....they just melt. We've also been seeing a much more abrupt change in seasons...it sometimes seem to "jump" straight out of winter (temps in the 30s-40s) to high summer (temps suddenly soaring to (70-80s). That wreaks havoc with the spring bulbs, especially tulips. But....not much point complaining about the weather!

Annie ..

>>> I am always envious of gardens in wetter/cooler climates; the plants are huge compared to many of mine!

Wow do I know that feeling. Due to the dry summer heat in my climate, many of my roses are not quite as full and lush as those gardening in cooler areas. There are exceptions.

On the plus side, once the day temps are above 85F, I don't have any black spot because BS spores are not viable at temps above 85F.

Smiles,
Lyn

Lyn, is it the temperature or the lack of humidity that keeps blackspot from living? It seems to thrive in our hot times, but that always means humid too in this area.

We gardeners are as tenacious as weeds aren't we! LOL No matter the challenges nature provides, we're going to grow something, some how, some way....

Hi Neal ...

It's temperature. However, black spot spores are all over in the air. If the temperature drops below 85F for six hours and the spores can adhere to a moist leaf surface they can harm susceptible roses.

In my climate in the mountains, there is a 40 to 50 degree difference between high day temps and low night temps, but the climate is arid, so the six hours that temps may be below 85F doesn't make any difference because the leaves are dry.

The best defense is to find roses that are resistant to the black spot strain in your area. There are five active BS strains in the United States, so a rose may be very resistant in another humid climate area and be a BS dawg in yours.

Oh, yeah .... "We gardeners are as tenacious as weeds". I was told that I couldn't grow roses in my lousy soil. However, roses can't read and the roses I am growing don't know they are not supposed to thrive.

Smiles,
Lyn

Excellent explanation Lyn, thank you! The varying reports I read about resistance to disease around the country had made me wonder. Our night temps nearly always drop well below 85, and often see heavy dew, so it makes sense. I find it very much trial and error, but do find many that are vigorous and clean here. Failures are simply opportunities to try other Roses, there are certainly more out there than I'll be able to trial in my lifetime, LOL.

Neal ...

I know this is a bit off topic, but what may be true for roses and BS may be true about other plant disease issues.

One thing to keep in mind as you are looking for disease resistant roses is that the definition of "disease resistant" changes over time. As breeders have learned more about BS and created breeding lines with greater resistance to disease, they have raised the bar each decade. So, a rose that was considered to be disease resistant in the 1970s would never pass that test today.

However, rose literature doesn't reflect that change in perception. That's why it is hit-and-miss when you are researching roses. That does not mean that an older rose may not be resistant to the BS strain in your garden. Some of them are incredibly solid plants.

Smiles,
Lyn

My biggest garden challenges:

1. Planting in GA red clay
2. Critters- the rabbits, chipmunks, squirrels
3. Summer heat and humidity
4. Deer
5. Black spot
6. Inconsiderate neighbors and their pets
7. Aphids
8. Japanese beetles
9. Weeds

The biggest challenge of all is trying to grow tropical plants that won't survive in my zone, and having too many of them to take into the house during the fall, and back out during the spring but I still love them anyway.

gemini_sage said:We gardeners are as tenacious as weeds aren't we! LOL No matter the challenges nature provides, we're going to grow something, some how, some way....

I love that statement, Neal -- and it is so true!!!