Page 11 - Free State Summer 2022

one step way, besides the expense, might mean we would type vehicle are great tools to have. They don’t have the
have to give up the retail part of our operation. At my age power to shoot very high, but for low level spraying they
I would not make that change; Larry and Robert can. But are great. I use mine in a golf cart, being careful to attach
not me; I’m too old. I changed our operation basically the wires on the terminals of 2 of the 6-volt batteries to
by myself on a shoestring from an in-ground landscape only get 12 volts for use. They are easy to use, clean and
nursery to a wholesale retail container operation. Any repair when needed as Tractor Supply has a good supply
of you that have done something similar knows, once is of replacement parts.
enough! In the past I have mocked Hydrangea hybridizers for
Only two things have made this Spring somewhat pushing on us a long list of very similar pink, blue, greenish
unpleasant at times. One being the already mentioned or very slightly pink-flowered plants. Many are not different
windy weather, the other, Odocoileus virginianus a plague enough to sell well without a ton of advertising that
otherwise known as Bambi. I remember when there were makes the plant expensive. Well, I’ll give the originators
not enough deer on the Shore to eat a shopping cart of Hydrangea MiniMauve credit; it’s a worthwhile and
of hosta. A state of affairs I’d gladly return to given the original enough plant to be interesting. A different and
choice. Anyway, my new neighbor who bought the part nice purple colored fine textured flower on a definite dark
of the nursery we sold off to settle my father’s estate, green leaved native plant. It seems to have stout enough
changed everything. He made new trails for his kids to stems to not get all flopped over when the flowers get wet.
ride ATVs on. That changed the deer traffic pattern, so Some new hydrangeas we gave up on as the stems were
they are now walking in areas they never did before. just too weak to handle their own wet flowers. They just
Deer can’t walk without eating apparently, hollies, hosta, never stayed nice looking.
hydrangea, dogwood and other plants that are salad A plant I might have jumped the gun on liking too quickly
to them. So now I’m spraying regularly a product called is Chestnut Hill Cherry Laurel. We got some in this spring;
Deer Away on attacked plants. An expensive and a time- I liked the look and future size. It has nice leaves and is a
consuming annoyance, but it has worked, so far. Other good-looking low shrub for foundation planting. Not long
users have warned me that while it doesn’t smell bad after getting them a grower offered us some one gallons
when used, if it spoils look out, it’s vile. Out of the bottle it’s at a low price. I bought a nice lot and moved them into
an oil of wintergreen odor. So far, I’ve managed to clean #3’s and they look great. Problem is the original #3’s aren’t
the sprayer well enough to keep it from stinking.
selling very fast so far. Oh well; we shall see.
Also, it became obvious one day that a deer had entered I am really enjoying working with and giving pointers to
a house full of hosta. It didn’t eat much but stumbled my grandson Robert on when and how to do pruning,
around knocking some of the plants over. How to keep fertilizing, and spraying. Earlier I showed him how and
Bambi-the-stumblebum out of the house? It’s covered with when to apply a pinching agent to azaleas. Then, I went
shade cloth, so the only entry is through the doors. I was to check the results and see if additional trimming was
thinking we needed easy access and easy to move, for necessary.
my wife, doors of some kind. Everything I thought of was
too heavy and or clumsy to open and close. However, my Last winter I put him in charge of dividing and potting all
grandson Robert, simply and quickly came up with a light the hosta. He did a good job and at a reasonable speed. I
weight easy to make and handle “deer door”. Four pieces am making a suggestion list of when to do all these types
of lath held together with eight drywall screws. The doors of jobs. The jobs that need to be done every year always
use the brackets that hold the heavy winter doors in place. at about the same time. A
Simple answers are often the best.
Mike Hemming
We are also having to put up a cloth “Bambi Barrier” Eastern Shore Nurseries Inc
around the hosta display right behind the sales office 410-822-1320
every night. Another area they had never entered before. esn@goeaston.net
easternshorenurseries.com
Speaking of sprayers, the 12-volt electric plastic-bodied
15-gallon size that you can load into a golf cart or ATV

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