2 Spring Home and Yard & The Dallas Post SD April 16, 1997 Simple instructions for growing daylilies Daylilies, what some call the perfect perennial, are easy for anyone to grow. They are very winter hardy and thrive in full sun or partial shade. The potted plants can be planted at almost any time of the year. They can survive and do well without feed- ing and, after established, they can go for long periods without water. In this minimum mainte- nance situation, they will bloom well at the peak time. Some new varieties are ever-blooming or re- blooming. If the foliage turns off color because it is too dry, water- ing the plants will improve their appearance. Daylilies are prolific bloomers and multiply quite rap- idly, but stay in tight clumps, making thém easy to maintain. Jim Stauffer of Stauffer’s of Kissel Hill in Lancaster has been growing daylilies in test gardens to examine varieties for hardi- ness, bloom size, texture, re- bloom, and blooms per scape. The varieties he recommends are as a direct result of his tests. The Pennsylvania Landscape and Nursery Association member says, “Although daylilies will grow in poor soil, to grow the best blooms, and to make your plants multiply faster, you should follow these recommended steps: remove sod [rom planting area; rototill, spade or turn over soil with a shovel; il the soil is poor, add Canadian peat moss, good top soil, compost or {ill in old decom- posed mulch from existing beds.” He adds that planting depth is very important. Set your potted plants with the top of mulch one- and-a-halfl inches above the soil level of the bed, then apply one and a half to two inches of mulch. This will help control the weeds and hold moisture. Stauffer rec- ommends a good grade of aged hardwood mulch. Plant clumps approximately 24 inches apart. Daylilies will bloom for three to five weeks, depending onthe vari- ety, and re-blooming varieties will last much longer. Most will bloom between early July through the middle of September. Everblooming daylilies begin to bloom in mid-June and continue to bloom until frost hits. Reblooming daylilies bloom more than one time a year. The blooms can be enjoyed indoors by snap- ping off blooms in the early morn- ing and placing them in a plastic vial. Each bloom lasts one day, and every day you will see new blooms open. Old blooms may be removed. While this is not necessary, it does make the garden look more attractive. The small flowering varieties, such as Stella de Oro, are more self-cleaning and may not require grooming. After the first bloom period is complete, the foliage may be cut back to 10-12 inches above ground level, provided you plan to supply SE Se ER AE Ne Ser Og Negeh I ER IR TR Wp Gi RETR AE adequate moisture. This proce- dure makes the plants respond with new foliage. You should only cut back some of your plants at any one time so your garden con- tinues to look good. Do not cut your plants back if you cannot water during dry spells. When frost turns the foliage brown, you may cut it to four inches above ground level, or leave the foliage to serve as mulch, but remove it in the spring when the new growth starts. Daylily clumps can be thinned every four to five years by using a spade or shovel to lift 2/3 of the clump, leaving 1/3 in place. You may then divide the lifted section in half, giving you two additional clumps. This thinning may be done at any time, but Stauffer recommends either April or late - August. If you allow your clumps to get too overgrown they will re- bloom much less. Horticultural Society honors Juniper with Gold Medal "The versatile Juniperus virginiana, Emerald Sentinel™ ‘Corcorcor’, is a selection of our native Eastern red cedar that meets many landscape needs, from a foundation or specimen plant to a hedge or screen. The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society honored this plant’s land- scape merit with a 1997 Gold Medal Award. The prestigious awards program identifies, evalu- ates, and promotes outstanding but under used woody plants. A sturdy dense plant, Emerald Sentinel™ creates a stately col- umn up to 25 feet high at matu- rity. It is effective in adding struc- ture and form to informal gar- dens, and also works well as an accent plant. It is hardy in zones 2-9. Unlike other junipers that turn bronze in fall and winter, Emer- ald Sentinel™ retains its rich, gemlike green color all year round. In fall this coloration is comple- mented by abundant berries that from a distance look like millions of powdery blue flowers. These provide nourishment to feathered friends throughout the winter. Introduced by The Conard-Pyle Co,, a member of the Pennsylva- nia Landscape and Nursery Asso- ciation, this exceptional shrub has passed the strict Pennsylvania Horticultural Society criteria and is certain to surpass gardeners. expectations as it meets their land- scaping needs. Emerald Sentinel™ is available at fine garden centers and nurs- « CTICS, (GREAT ADDITIONS, INC.! 3% Sunroom Additions i Class & S&creen Rooms % Friendly-Professional Remodeling Manufacturing Plant /Showroom 265-Charles Street Luzerne, PA 18709 Day: 283-5050 Ivenings: 675-0852 Style and Savings for Spring 0% off any landscape project ordered by April 30, 1997 Large or Small Complete Landscape Design and Maintenance Services © Stone Walls © Waterfalls ‘© Walkways © Patios © Shrubs & Trees © Trimming © Cleanups © Lawn Installation Stone Walls are our Specialty FERTAL LANDSCAPING « 477-3031 Insured * References * 18 Years Experience in the Back Mountain O oe Diving Into Spring .. with our NEW water features! We'll create ponds, waterfalls, fountains or whatever water feature you desire. And of course, we'll do all the landscaping. Just give us a call at: Footpaths & Land 0 O O - FF 675.8733. “Ask for Kurt, the expert in dirt” CIR Rie Phe Hb) he ie Sa RE RR TE TH Re EE Le PR Va vv - - he 4 -— he i Boye, & i a——— ENR Moe RE Wake | Sabu TORT - ee naib HE, 3 o Y, Y W v Spring Home and Yard The Dallas Post April 16, 1997 7 Spring into electrical safety, say professional It is impossible today to imag- ine a home not properly serviced with electrical power. From toast- ers to computers, lamps to hair dryers, justabout everything we've come to depend on requires the safe and adequate delivery of elec- tricity to various points through- out our home. Yet -few of us genuinely appre- ciate that electricity is a powerful, and sometimes dangerous, force of nature. Professional home in- spectors do. As they inspect our homes, so that we can find out what condition they are in before we buy them, they come across an alarming number of unsafe conditions. According to the American So- ciety of Home Inspectors (ASHI), the oldest and leading professional association for independent home inspectors in the US and Canada, improper electrical wiring is sec- ond only to water penetration as the top problem found in homes. This includes insufficient electri- cal service to the house, incor- rectly sized fuses and circuit breakers, and amateur, often dan- gerous, wiring connections. In fact, some members of ASHI esti- mate that as much as 70% to 80% of the electrical wiring they see done incorrectly is attributable to amateur, do-it-yourself repairs. Shocking Discoveries The most common problems develop when people try to out- smart the system by overfusing. “Particularly in older homes,” says ASHI member Tom O'Connor of Pittsburgh, “where the circuitry is not designed to handle today’s load of appliances, I've seen cop- per wires — even copper pennies — in the fuse outlets, instead of fuses, in order to allow more cur- rent. People also typically place 30 amp fuses in 15 amp outlets in an effort to draw more power. These techniques defeat the en- tire purpose of the fuse as a cur- rent overload protection device, and expose the residents to a "I Feel Sick And Stuffed Up. It's Too Dark And Small Inside!" PRE. SEASON SPRING SALE! GUARANTEED LOWEST PRICES OF THE YEAR!* America's Largest Sunroom Manufacturer BQ FOUR SEASONS HOBBS ONORN. = Financing Available Free SUNROOMS - CONSERVATORIES - PATIO ROOMS GLASS AND SCREEN ENCLOSURES - SKYLIGHTS Design & Remodeling Centers’ GLASS MESKO GLASS HOME ¢ AUTO « COMMERCIAL Independently Owned & Operated In-Home Survey Rt. 502 Moosic, PA 18507 Phone 457-1700 1 (800) 569-9066 Fax: 457-1714 serious fire hazard.” A similar danger, say the home inspectors, is the practice of double tapping full circuits. People often think they can save on ex- pensive rewiring jobs by tapping additional new devices into an existing circuit. This also over- loads the circuit and can cause _ wires to overheat and start fires. Open air splices is another fre- quent mistake. ASHI member Ken Salvo of Basking Ridge, New Jer- sey once found several spliced connections within one box in an unfinished basement laundry area. There was no cover, which is required by code, and the wires were simply twisted together with- out caps or tape as they dangled out of the box over the washing machine! The circuit was hot and live. When he pointed out this danger to the seller during his inspection, she was surprised because she had assumed her husband knew how to do every- thing correctly! Safety First As home owners become ener- gized by the approach of Spring to undertake repairs and mainte- nance around the home, ASHI strongly urges them to follow some basic and important safety rules concerning the electrical system: 1. Never work with or near elec- tricity when hands or feet are damp. 2. Never remove service panel covers. 3. Don’t use outlet multiplier plugs to connect lamps and appli- ances whose amperage totals more than the capacity of the circuit, typically 15 amps. 4. Avoid using extension cords whenever possible. Never run them across hallways, doorways, under carpeting or furniture, or through walls. Never staple them in place. 5. Never replace blown fuses with larger amp fuses. home inspectors 6. Don’t cut the grounding (3rd) prong off a plug to make it fit into a two-hole receptacle. 7. Keep electrical appliances such as hair dryers, radios, and shavers, away from bath tubs, sinks, and showers. 8. Don’t pull cords out of recep- tacles by the wire. Hold the plug and pull. : 9. Replace worn or frayed lamp and appliance wires. 10. Don’t try to extinguish small electrical fires with water. Use baking soda or a Type “C” house- hold halon extinguisher which is rated for electrical fires. 11. Always disconnect a circuit before making repairs on it or installing a light fixture. 12. Never leave wire splices exposed or in open junction boxes. 13. All electrical work done ina house should be inspected and approved by the local authorities. 14. When in doubt, call a li- censed electrician. RETAINING WALLS WERE YOU PLANNING ON HAVING A PRESSURE-TREATED RETAINING WALL INSTALLED? If the answer is "Yes", STOP! ab | ALLAN BLOCK™ | RETAINING WALL | {ISA MORTARLESS, STACKABLE CONCRETE BLOCK RETAINING WALL SYSTEM STAUB WALL SYSTEMS Distributor - ROUTE 118, LEHMAN, PA 18627 Installer Aliair Retaining Wall Block 717-477-2152 | Established 1902 287-2121 "We Fix An | TOOL REPAIR & SALES] "MIL WAUKEE" Authorized Warranty Repairs Also on: Porter Cable, Makita, Delta, Industrial Air, Coleman, Sanborn, Duo-Fast, Bostitch, Paslode Nail Guns ything - But A Broken Heart” Total Services & Systems (Division of Harris Industrial Supply) 166 W. Union St., Kingston, PA 18704 Fax 287-6443 se ee a a Ca a i ia sss
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