Warm enough today so I may get some work done after lunch. John is raking, but I still want to get as many weeds out as possible. the grasses are the problem, but I still see the nasty little plant with the white flowers gaining ground. Easy to pull out, but there is so much of it as it shoots its seeds all over.

Dumb question, speaking of things like Preen: Can I use that stuff that is only supposed to kill grass around my new daylilies? The new bed I put in is starting to get full of grass.

Woofie, I'm not sure that's a good idea. You may want to test it on a variety that you wouldn't mind losing just in case. Some of those products specify that they don't kill broad leaf plants, and I'm not sure if daylilies would qualify. They're not grasses, but they do have parallel veining like grasses, and I don't know if that's a genetic similarity that the herbicide would effect.

I agree with Neal, I wouldn't chance it...............

Heh, heh, that was why I asked. Those leaves look waaaaay too much like grass to me. Just wondered if anyone else had ever used it around them. For the record, I HAVE used it around irises with no ill effect.

Compost, then pine bark mulch.

It would help if we didn't get snow on top of fallen leaves!

For grasses in daylilies..... Google " fusilade daylilies daylily"

Fusilade is commonly used to control grasses in daylilies. Personally, I have not had a big problem with grasses, but sometimes have a small area of nutsedge get a foothold. I have used Ortho Grass Be Gone successfully. I get the small premixed spray bottle and spot spray. I think it is the same ingredient as fusilade. I believe the grass has to be actively growing for it to work.

I don't recall seeing anything about it being used when daylilies are in scape. Chemicals sometimes make the buds deform, and bloom can be affected. For example, a very small amount of overspray from roundup will ruin the blooms.

If you ask about this in the daylily forum, I am sure people more experienced with herbicides than I am could give you suggestions.

Thats a great tip daylily Thanks

To avoid overspray or drifting with wind you can paint onto the offending grass with a brush or cotton-gloved hand.

Karen

Sometimes I cut open a bag that 2 cubic feet of mulch came in, and wrap that around what I want to spray, or what I want to protect.

A lot of spray tends to collect on the plastic and then run down into the soil, so it is better to spray a little, let it dry, then spray more, and repeat.

P.S. I also use those bags, or even 1-cubic-foot bags, to line a raised bed when the walls or corners would otherwise let the soil dry out too rapidly.

Once I even laid them UNDER a narrow, shallow raised bed that went on top of masses of roots from heather and rhododendron. I usually hate laying down plastic on the ground, but this seemed the only way to keep heather out of the 6" deep, 8" to 12" wide bed (its more like a container that sits on the ground, than a raised bed).

Well, surprise! Despite the shallow and narrow dimensions, that bed holds water better than any other bed I have, and turned out to be a MUCH better home for plants that like constant moisture (my summers are dry). (At the moment, yellow california poppies are thriving and pansies and doing OK. There are lobelia and snapdragons hidden by the poppies.

Beautiful photo, Rick, and like the kitty ! Cats and gardens go so well together. IMHO.

I think that rascal (Mister Toby) likes to be photographed.

That time I wasn't even trying, he just sneaked into the frame.

In the photo on the left, I was snapping him deliberately. I had just made that sunken walkway, and of course he wanted to establish that it was there FOR HIM.

He was just trying it out! Pretty cat!

>> He was just trying it out!

I think you're right. Now that I look closely, he has that "wine connoisseur" look of being very hard to impress.

He is a really sweet cat.

My cats seem to want to claime any new spot. Curious about their familiar places that undergo change I guess.

Around here, it's tough to get a shot without one of the animals, lol. Sheryl's zoo.

And as much as I love my dogs, sitting down on the ground does not always equate my desire to pay attention to them.... unless they need weeding.

Ya, my sweet boy always has to be right in the middle of whatever I'm trying to do.

Not much confidence in your work?