| We have four "mops" in front of our ranch house,facing west. We have replaced two of them 3x. I went out today & dug the two limps ones up and plunged their roots in buckets of water for about 15 mins. Never did that before, hope I have not killed them but they would have died anyway. What am I doing wrong. I water them in this drought at least a gallon of water each every other night. When I dug them up they were still tightly packed with earth but dry as bone. I bought them at different places. They are all four in the sun most of the afternoon. Help |
| just as underwatering can kill them. Test with your finger to see if and when you need to water. After watering, wait a few hours and then dig down to check and see how far the water has gone, sometimes it is surprising. This will help you know how much you need to apply at a time and also how often. You may need to water the potting mix more often than the surrounding soil. Next, use several inches of organic mulch over the root zones (do not place it up against the trunk or stems) year round. This will help keep the soil evenly moist and cool and also keep down weeds. This particular plant would do better in morning sun or in sun all day than in just the hot afternoon sun. This is particularly true if they are being used as foundation plants. For a planting on the west side of a building, a better evergreen choice might be the junipers, there are many low growing forms and they are available in different foliage colors and textures as well. Junipers would also tend to do better if the site is windy. I hope this helps you trouble shoot. Your county extension may also have suggestions and should be able to help you with testing your soil and interpreting the results. I hope you get something growing well there soon. just as underwatering can kill them. Test with your finger to see if and when you need to water. After watering, wait a few hours and then dig down to check and see how far the water has gone, sometimes it is surprising. This will help you know how much you need to apply at a time and also how often. You may need to water the potting mix more often than the surrounding soil. Next, use several inches of organic mulch over the root zones (do not place it up against the trunk or stems) year round. This will help keep the soil evenly moist and cool and also keep down weeds. This particular plant would do better in morning sun or in sun all day than in just the hot afternoon sun. This is particularly true if they are being used as foundation plants. For a planting on the west side of a building, a better evergreen choice might be the junipers, there are many low growing forms and they are available in different foliage colors and textures as well. Junipers would also tend to do better if the site is windy. I hope this helps you trouble shoot. Your county extension may also have suggestions and should be able to help you with testing your soil and interpreting the results. I hope you get something growing well there soon. |
