Home Help: Don't be afraid to prune roses
Weekly Home Help with items on how to prune rose bushes, the launch of Facebook Deals, how to plant blueberries and more.
The main reasons to prune a rose are to remove dead canes, increase blooming and decrease disease. The best time to prune is early spring, just before new growth begins. The goal is to keep the center of the shrub free of twiggy, weak growth that's susceptible to insects and disease.
Collect your equipment. You'll need sturdy, thorn-proof gloves –– look for elbow-length gloves –– and safety glasses. You also need a pair of sharp hand pruners for canes up to 1/2 inch in diameter. Use long-handled loppers or a small pruning saw to cut larger stems.
Determine where to cut. Prune canes back to buds that face the outside of the shrub. Cut the spindly canes back by half their length or to 2 to 3 feet long. Cut or break off canes completely that grow from below the graft union. Remove diseased canes and those that rub or crowd others. If you see brown tissue in the center when you cut, prune a little farther back until the tissue is clear and healthy.
Make the right pruning cut. Cut about 1/4 inch above a healthy bud and at a 45-degree angle. The bud and the high point of the cut should be on the same side of the cane so that water will drain away from the bud. To prevent the spread of disease, clean your pruning tools between shrubs with a mix of one part bleach and nine parts water.
Remove spent flowers. To encourage repeat flowering, remove flowers as soon as they finish blooming. Cut each flower stem back to the next lower set of leaves. (No longer is it recommended to cut back to a 5-leaflet leaf because this removes too much foliage and can slow re-blooming.)
For more tips and garden information visit www.garden.org
-- Family Features
Home-Selling Tip: Sometimes it pays to hire help
Although home repairs and maintenance should be completed before putting a house on the market, it is important to evaluate the project with an unbiased eye before attempting it yourself. Leaving a project with shoddy workmanship because of lack of experience will result in a lower offer from buyers because they will have to pay to repair it. In the end, don't be afraid to invest in professional help because it will most likely pay off.
-- EngerizedSeller.com
New Product: Facebook Deals means competition
Facebook is now offering Facebook Deals in Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, San Diego and San Francisco. The plans are to expand across the country soon. The new service will compete with other group-buying services like Groupon and LivingSocial. The 'deals' will be focused on social activities, such as concerts, birthday parties and horseback riding.
-- ConsumerReports.com
Existing-home sales rose 3.7 percent from February to March, but they are 6.3 percent less than March 2010 numbers.
-- Realtor.org
Home Improvements: Install an outdoor water feature
Find a space in your backyard to turn into a tranquil water escape. Install a fountain, pond or waterfall as big or as small as you want. You can create a tabletop fountain to bring the tranquility indoors, or buy a small fountain for your balcony or patio. The options are limitless, no matter if you live in an apartment or a house.
-- HGTV.com
Garden Guide: Planting blueberries
The blueberry is a small fruit that is very popular among home gardeners. But growing blueberries can be challenging and frustrating because they require acidic soils with high organic matter content. They can be injured by late-spring and early-fall frosts, and the plants are expensive, about $7 each.
To plant blueberries, purchase 2- or 3-year-old healthy seedlings. Plant in early spring –– as soon as the ground can be worked –– 4 to 6 feet apart within the row, and plant closer on less fertile soils. Plant 1 to 2 inches deeper than they were grown in the nursery. Firm soil around the base of the plant, and water immediately after planting.
-- University of Illinois Extension
Going Green: Pantene to switch to sugarcane plastic
Proctor & Gamble has recently announced that the Pantene Pro V Nature Fusion line will soon be manufactured with a new plant-based sugarcane plastic, instead of standard petroleum-based packaging. Debuting in Western Europe in April and reaching the United States within 18 to 24 months, the plastic will be marked as a No. 2 plastic. Proctor & Gamble has been criticized in the past for using chemicals in its cosmetic lines. The company has a goal of manufacturing 25 percent of its packaging from renewable resources by 2020.
-- Earth911.com