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The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanville, Wednesday, May 19, 1999 Page 11 Midsummer Hints to Make Your Garden Grow Generally by midsummer, petunias in window boxes or garden beds begin looking rather leggy and forlorn. There are still plenty of flowers, but they are emerging emerging only from the tips of long, sticky branches with not-so-great-1 ooking foliage. This is not an unusual problem, problem, and there is a very quick fix. But you must be ruthless! The Canadian Garden Council urges you to take a pair of sharp pruning shears and cut back all of the flower stems to about one-third of their present length, or even less. In other words, give all of your petunia plants a brush cut! This will remove all of the flowers, so you'll have just green foliage for about a week or so. But the action of cutting back the plants will encourage them to bush out again in a much more compact form with many, many more flowers. There is one other part to this cutting-back operation that is likewise important. That is fertilization of the plants. Regardless of whether or not you have fertilized fertilized your petunia plants recently, when you cut them back as described, give them a good feeding with a soluble soluble plant food applied both to the foliage and generously to the soil. The action of cutting cutting the plants back, together with additional instantly available nutrition and the established root systems of the mature plants will mean you'll have substantial new growth and many flower buds likely within just 10 days, depending on the weather conditions when you do this little chore, Now remember, you have to be ruthless with this operation; cut back all your leggy petunia plants to one-third or less of their present size and then fertilize them well. The Canadian Garden Council says you'll be amazed at the results. Other plants in the garden will also benefit from a trimming trimming back of old flower heads. For example, the Anthony Waterer and Goldflame Spirea shrubs, having completed their flowering, flowering, may well have a few more flowers this autumn if you cut back the dead flowers flowers as soon as the colour has gone. The same generally applies to herbaceous perennials. As the flowers fade, cut them off. Many plants such as delphiniums, delphiniums, astilbe and phlox will often re-bloom later if the old flowers are removed before they have the opportunity opportunity to form seed pods. Applying a soluble fertilizer fertilizer to plants from which you have removed old flowers is also a good idea. The cutting-back cutting-back operation itself causes new growth, and if there is additional additional nutrition available, the new growth will be stronger and faster. Some groups of plants should not be fertilized or pruned after the end of August, or even mid-August in the colder regions of the country, according to the Canadian Garden Council. Evergreens, particularly cedar hedges, and rose bushes bushes are prime examples of such plants. New growth on these plants may not mature (harden) fast enough in the autumn and thus will be more vulnerable to frost damage in the winter months. Jr Decks Increase Enjoyment Our love affair with decks is very understandable. , Decks allow us to maximize our outdoor life. Decks expand our house size at a lower cost. Decks can help us take advantage of views, or protect our privacy. Decks reduce the amount of grass we have to cut. Decks are a great place for the barbecue, the hot tub, -flower pots, pets, kids and construction problems. Wood rot, water leaks and slippery surfaces are but a few of the more common deck problems. Poor choice of materials and poor construction practices tend to make decks a source of constant repair and problems. But new materials and techniques allow the construction of decks which can be regarded as permanent permanent structures with minimal maintenance. ■ Wooden decks have become more popular than ever with the introduction of pressure-treated lumber. Pressure-treated lumber is impregnated with various . types of salts which prevent wood decay. This type of , lumber is available in various grades, from lumber that can be in contact with the ground to appearance- - trade lumber which can be used for the most visible ; portion of the structure. The use of pressure-treated lumber by itself is not , enough to guarantee the quality of the deck. Well-built ■ decks are characterized by the following: • A deck may not need a foundation as hefty as that of a house, but it does need a good foundation. The best foundations for decks tend to be poured con- ! crete footings with metal post sad- \ dies. Small decks or those low to ; the ground can be built on concrete ; pier blocks. ; • If the deck is fastened to ? the house, it must be flashed in a ; way that will prevent water entry to ; the house. Nails and other fasten- ; ers, as well as flashing, joist hang- ; ers and hardware must be resistant ; to water and weather. Under normal ; conditions, hot-dipped galvanized material is a good choice. If your ; deck is near saltwater, you may ; want to use stainless steel. • • Some pressure-treated ; lumber has the capacity of withstanding withstanding soil contact for 40 years and more, but it will most likely last • longer if it is kept out of the soil, j • Pressure-treated lumber ; will tend to crack if not coated with. "a water sealer. The water sealer Should be applied at the time of • construction, and subsequently, ; every three years. • • Decks built with non- ! pressure-treated lumber, including 1 decks built with cedar, require periodic periodic treatment with a wood preser- i valive. Old-growth cedar, "heart- ; wood" lumber, has a relatively high ' resistance to rot. But most of the cedar we find in the lumberyard is : relatively young "sapwood" and ; will start to rot in a few years unless lit is treated at construction time and ! every three to five years afterwards. ; Eve n if you find and can afford top- quality cedar, the application of a wood preservative will help protect '.your investment, and a quickly disappearing disappearing wood product, New at the Comfort Shoppe : mmmimm/ïË Best Quality! Best I Selection! l/l Comfort £=>Ijoppc Elite 505 it/ f Spa §];, ij ' 1 ' • 26 Jets • 4.2 hp pump ' if ,j f • Best spa value " VA I All Weber BBQ's on Sale ■ FREE cover and 4 piece deluxe tool set. 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