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Our knowledgeable staff here at Garden-Ville are available to answer many of the questions you might have about gardens, landscaping, and trees. Many problems with plants, however, cannot be responsibly diagnosed other than in person. We're located in central Texas and may not be familiar with the details of gardening in very different climate or soil zones. One of the guiding principles of organic growing is adapting methods to the particularites of local soil and climate. With that in mind we'll do our best to answer your question, but if we can't we'll be happy to help you find the appropriate resources or professionals in your area.

Feel free to browse the topics below to see if we've already answered a question similar to yours. If you can't find the information you need, the question submission form is located at the bottom of the page.

  • Hello. I've gotten advice from you in the past on what to do for roses. It's helped out. But this year, it's not been good for the roses. We inherited a bunch of rose bushes and a few trees and vines when we bought our house a year ago in Cedar Park. They're all in the ground (a couple in whiskey barrels). I've been told I have a green thumb, but I've had at least seven of them die since we moved in. So I've met my match with roses, and can verify I, indeed do not have a green thumb at least with roses. We planted a native/adapted plant landscape garden in San Antonio and never had problems with it. I trimmed when necessary and fertilized at the beginning of the season with a liquid fertilizer, then as needed during the growing season. I watered every week or two during the hottest, driest weather, and got nice comments from our neighbors and how nice our yard looked. I guess I got spoiled. Don't get me wrong, we get really nice comments from everyone who visits our house about how beautiful the yard looks with the roses and other plants out there. I'm just having problems keeping some of them nice. New growth comes out, then it sometimes shrivels later. Then canes start dying. I've used Rose Defense, Potassium Bicarbonate, Rose Food from Gardenville, Soil Food from Gardenville, have composted mulch on them, etc. It tends to work in the short term, but eventually, they go back to looking diseased. I feel like I've done all I can with them. I have a feeling they've been too wet this year. So I'm letting them dry out some while we have this dry, warm spell. They seem to do better in the hotter, drier weather with periodic watering, rather than a constant soaking. I'm trying to stick to the organic route. That's not easy. But since we have a dog, and I don't like to mess with chemicals if I don't have to, I think it's safer. Anyway, if you have any other suggestions from an organic standpoint, please let me know. Thanks. Sincerely, David Cullen

    10/9/200710:34:43 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment

    Compost, Plant Questions

    David,

    You might want to try and acidify the soil around the roses. Our soil here in South Texas is an alkaline soil. One way to change the ph of the soil is to add a 2" layer of compost around the plants and mulch with a pine bark mulch. That should drop the ph of the soil and help the roses out. You also might want to take a gallon sample of the soil around the plants and send it off for analysis. You can go to http://www.txplant-soillab.com/, and get the details on a standard topsoil analysis. Let me know if you have any other questions.

     

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