Hi, I am re-paving my driveway (1050 square feet) and want to prevent weeds and grass from growing under it. My neighbours did theirs 2 years ago and either the grass or weeds pushed their driveway up and and it cracked causing the grass and weeds to grow throughout. Having your driveway paved isn’t inexpensive and should last between 7 and 10 years if well maintained. Any suggestions

I would think that a reputable contractor should be able to install a driveway without it heaving and cracking and weeds growing through. I my eyes your neighbour has a warranty claim. That however isn’t your question so on to your question. You could use an underlay called geotech. This is a think fabric and should aid in reducing any movement and will block weeds from pushing through. Good luck with the project.

Our hydrangeas after 20 yrs are no longer blooming and r lacking iron so for the past 6 seasons I have tried iron/chelate and fertilizer with no success. Is ther another shrub that loves the south that is around 5 feet, easy to maintain that would nice with shubert choke cherry trees? Thaxt

Other Full Sun shrubs, that would get about 5 feet, would include: Cistena Cherry Ninebarks (Satin Chocolate, Tiny Wine, Coppertina) Dogwood (Ivory Halo, Red Osier) Lilacs (Wonderblue, Royalty Preston) Blue Muffin Viburnum To name a few… There are lots of options that would fit those characteristics.

I planted 3 blue spruce and they grew rapidly — too big for where I put them ,so I want to transplant and am scared to. When ,and how much root ball needs to come out ? Thanks you .

Now (the winter) is a great time. The tree will be dormant and will have the best chance of survival. How big the root ball is depends on how big the tree is however the bigger the better. The less root system you disturb the better. The more roots you rip out and leave behind the more that have to re-grow and remember the root system in place has grown to support the size of the tree as it is now. So if you remove half of the root system you will have half as much root system available to sustain the canopy of the tree. So you will have to cut the tree back and then water, water & water so the roots that are left can absorb as much water as possible to support the canopy. Also using a transplanting fertilizer would help your cause 10-52-10 would be good or something akin to that with a big middle number (phosphorus).

Hello, I have an angel trumpet to plant. Can it be planted where a tree was cut down & the stump was ground up? Thank you

Angel’s Trumpet plant can be planted in the area you are speaking of where a tree was taken out and the stump ground out. This is assuming the tree was not a Spruce variety – the needles make the soil very acidic and therefore not a good choice for the Angel’s Trumpet plant. Angel’s Trumpet is a self-seeding plant that likes the sun so please ensure that the area is not overly shaded by other trees. If it likes the area then you may find next year that there are more of them due to the self-seeding nature of the species. Thanks for a great question. Ron Paul Garden Centre