The lilac bush bloomed white with subdued scent and the leaves are sparse and tiny; throughout the neighborhood lilacs are are all normal.The interwebs say it is due to heat shock from our hot spring, or possibly September’s week over 100 degrees.The cherry had a normal bloom, and is now beginning to carpet the ground with petals.Today’s jerb is full service for the Ficus. It didn’t really fit in the sunroom this winter and has overgrown the deck.The sideways-ness is from multiple years of being blown over in summer squalls, coupled with under-rotating.The patient is doing fine.The root ball is reduced down to the core by loosening the soil with a little steel pick, then the ol’ Ginsu knife cuts through like a foot through a watermellon.Potting soil, coconut coir, perlite, and earthworm castings blended to my custom mix. Should be much better than last time’s yard dirt and garden soil.This is the biggest planter that can fit through the sliding glass door for winter, but the Ficus still overpowers it and will fall over, or just spin out of, the containment. So today I drilled some holes and ran bolts with welded hoops (leftover from an MFA mold I tossed out), and tied the Ficus to the planter. Prior to surgery I tied the trunks together midway up with the red rope, and at the bottom with green velcro tape; this stabilizes everything so she doesn’t rip apart her roots.Stood upright and the crazy overhanging branches stand up straight. Now it is even taller!After getting out the ladder and doing quite a bit of pruning. I should go shorter, but how much more can she take?Next all the ferns and other plants can find places. The Ficus is on the E side this year, as the morning sun was rough on the ferns last year. This way everything should be in shadow by 10am. The ferns are up high enough, and far enough back to keep out of direct mid-morning to afternoon sun. 50# of stone sits on the Ficus’ planter to keep it grounded from wind. The little Jade is tied with hooks and plant tape, as are all the other plants on the deck. The wind takes it as a personal challenge, at worst toppling everything while we are in Montana. Next I’ll hook up all the water lines- which all need rethinking for the new configuration.
DangerHart 