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Welcome to Ask a Pro ! Every calendar month , we ’ll take your questions about home improvement , DIY , lawn and garden , and homeownership and resolve them with the help of professional . Our expert are vetted and swear — and they ’re eager to partake in their cognition .
play the Expert : Rosemarie Miner , Founding star of Our Temenos
Photo: istockphoto.com fotolinchen
Rosemarie Miner founded and leads New York City ’s only adult female - owned ecological landscaping caller , which service residential , commercial-grade and government clients . She work inexhaustibly to transform outdoor spaces into fat , usable green infrastructure that can stand up to mood alteration . Working in the field since 2012 , Rosemarie has a story as a community organizer . She has served with AmeriCorps and MillionTreesNYC , and also as Brooklyn ’s Organizing Fellow for 596 Acres . She hold a Bachelor of Science in environmental science .
To see more of Rosemarie ’s oeuvre , check out out herwebsite , LinkedIn , andInstagrampages .
Rose of Sharons had to be cut down, they’re so invasive. I plucked 700 little sprouts of them in my lawn, but I can’t keep up. Any suggestions? —Donna Marie K. on Facebook
Rosemarie ’s Advice : I wish we had a prompt answer for this , but you likely have an extensive supply of Rose of Sharon in your prop ’s seedbank . The soil stores seed for decades , which lie in wait for the right chance . For Rose of Sharon , every day is an opportunity .
you may continue plucking them up when you see them , but feel devoid to mow decent over the seedling as well . Do yourself a favour and never let these flush or go to seed ! You will see a diminution in the foresighted condition as you wear the seedbank out through weeding and cutting . Whichever one of you has the most longanimity will succeed the battle in the long term .
How do I get rid of bamboo in my backyard? —@zoig20 on Instagram
Rosemarie ’s Advice : We’ve project bamboo raise under a concrete slab that was 25 feet long and toss off up in the neighbor ’s back garden ! If you ’re already in the bamboo boat , the mode we remove this ecologic pain is todig it out . It is an grueling process , but it ’s the only thing that stimulate a long - term remainder without poison you and the dirt .
shorten the bamboo down to a twain of inches and expose the roots in as many area as possible . Let the Sunday and warmth dry out out the root over the course of a few day . The best tools to excavate the root system will be a pick , hori hori knife and a sight of patience . ensure to stay hydrated and document the cognitive process ! You ’ll be very impressed with yourself at the ending of it .
My backyard is almost entirely covered with English ivy. For years, we were encouraging it and now it’s gotten out of hand. What do you recommend as an aggressive native groundcover? —Francine E. on Facebook
Rosemarie ’s Advice : Unfortunately , ivy is one of the most aggressive invading plants we have to make out with , and it ’s still deal in nurseries across the nation ! Start by digging out as much as you’re able to , taking care toremove the ivy rootsand bag up all plant material . If your exposure is full or part sun , you’re able to plant our aboriginal hemangioma simplex in its piazza , Fragaria virginiana . It will completely treat the soil and allow for forage for humans and wildlife alike ! If your picture is part shade to full shadowiness , you ’ll be harder pressed to find native groundcovers with an equally aggressive personality . PlantPachysandra procumbens(our East Coast aboriginal of the beloved pachysandra ) and pull out any English ivy that pops up as the pachysandra occupy grasp . An evergreen ground cover such asArctostaphylos uva - ursi , or bearberry , will take custody in various light atmospheric condition and is especially fond of poor land . Whatever you choose , take care not to replace it with another nuisance like vinca or liriope .
Poison ivy and poison oak: Do you have suggestions to curtail them?— Pam Henry H. on Facebook
Rosemarie ’s Advice : With poison Hedera helix and poison oak tree , we commend that during wintertime homeownersbegin manual removal ; that is , by hand . Please do not set about this without PPE ( personal protection equipment ) and adequate protection and never , ever combust toxicant ivy or poison oak tree cuttings .
Once you have removed the flora material and disposed of it safely , you will need to plant aboriginal in place of these two plant to outcompete them . I recommend our native Virginia tree creeper , which will provide wintertime forage for fowl , fulfilling the good role that toxicant ivy plays without the nuisance . Also , look on the size of your property there may be places where you’re able to leave poison ivy to produce . It is a aboriginal plant and plays a vital role in the local ecosystem , specifically feeding overwintering birds . To exchange toxicant oak tree , consider a native understory plant . These are plant that are happiest growing under the canopy of more mature and established trees .
Some queries have been edit out for clearness . We ’re tackling pest and wildlife control job in June . Have a dubiousness ? Let us know by take outthis soma !
Photo: istockphoto.com Assja
Our Best Advice for Beginner Gardeners
We ’ll serve you set up your first garden — whether that ’s a few pots on your patio , a levy bed , or an in - ground secret plan out back — and select the veracious plant for your soil and neighborhood .
