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1 week ago | 
salisburypost.com | Darrell Blackwelder
Published 12:00 am Saturday, May 31, 2025 A friend of mine is so excited that her husband purchased her a truckload of fresh, new mulch. Fresh mulch can turn a drab, lackluster landscape into a flowing master design in just a matter of a few minutes. A layer of mulch also protects trees and shrubs from freezing weather and helps maintain moisture during dry weather. However, some mistakes are made applying to landscapes and other areas. Below are a few major mistakes.
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2 weeks ago | 
salisburypost.com | Darrell Blackwelder
Published 12:00 am Saturday, May 24, 2025 The cool weather and abundant rains during spring weather provides perfect growing conditions for fescue. Unfortunately, as the temperature climbs in early summer, so does turf disease. Brown patch is a common turf disease caused by a soil borne fungus Rhizoctonia solani. Early symptoms are small circular brown patches of turf a foot in diameter. Small patches often melt together and may engulf entire areas of a lawn.
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3 weeks ago | 
salisburypost.com | Darrell Blackwelder
Published 12:00 am Saturday, May 17, 2025 With summer weather arriving, pansies and other winter annuals are beginning to fail. Even though the winter annuals may still look beautiful, it is time to decide which summer annuals will replace them. Garden centers and retail outlets have been bustling over the past couple of weeks. Plant your favorite annuals soon, because the longer you wait, the slimmer the selection at garden centers and retail outlets throughout the county.
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4 weeks ago | 
salisburypost.com | Darrell Blackwelder
Published 12:00 am Saturday, May 10, 2025 Many native flowering dogwood blooms are gone, however there is another interesting dogwood now in full bloom. Kousa is a showy flowering dogwood that leafs out before it flowers, providing a wonderful green backdrop for its colorful flowers. North Main Street in Salisbury has an excellent example of Kousa dogwoods now in bloom along the roadway.
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1 month ago | 
salisburypost.com | Darrell Blackwelder
The Charlotte Hornets (14-45) are heavy underdogs (+12.5) as they try to stop a six-game losing streak when… On Sunday, March 16, 2025, the Los Angeles Clippers (32-28) square off against the Charlotte Hornets (14-45) at… The Wichita State Shockers versus the North Texas Mean Green is one of many strong options on Monday… The Kansas Jayhawks versus the Houston Cougars is one of two games on Monday’s college basketball schedule that… The college basketball slate on Monday should provide some...
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1 month ago | 
salisburypost.com | Darrell Blackwelder
Published 12:00 am Saturday, April 19, 2025 I’m mowing my lawn now two times each week and I seem to always pay for it the next morning. I have a lot of leg pain in the mornings. Over exertion and soreness take much of the pleasure out of early spring gardening. Below are a few tips that may make gardening efforts less painful. • Take time to stretch before strenuous work. Stretch and warm up before entering when battling weeds and planting. • Be sure to take frequent breaks.
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1 month ago | 
salisburypost.com | Darrell Blackwelder
Published 12:00 am Saturday, April 12, 2025 A few of my hydrangeas were damaged during freezing weather earlier this spring. Many ask when is the best time to cut them back. Hydrangeas don’t really need heavy pruning to produce ample flowers. There are four major types of hydrangeas grown in Rowan County and all are pruned differently and at different times. Those with deadwood can be pruned or deadheaded at any time of the year.
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2 months ago | 
salisburypost.com | Darrell Blackwelder
Published 12:00 am Saturday, April 5, 2025 Friends I’ve spoken with seem to have a love/hate relationship with wisteria. Many love the “Old South” look of the vines cascading over trellises and trees. Others hate the vines’ aggressive growth which often causes serious problems to trees and structures. The plant was introduced to the United States from Japan and China in the 1800s as an ornamental vine.
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2 months ago | 
salisburypost.com | Darrell Blackwelder
Published 12:00 am Saturday, March 29, 2025 I was visiting a friend’s home last week and she seemed to be concerned about masses of small, bright, colorful flowers spotted throughout various sections of her lawn. Most of the flowers are vivid white, but there were some light shades of blue and purple. The spreading flowers were identified as spring star flowers, or Stars of Bethlehem (Ipheion uniflorum). The bulb, a native of Argentina, is rather thin and easily blends into fescue lawns.
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2 months ago | 
salisburypost.com | Darrell Blackwelder
Published 12:00 am Saturday, March 22, 2025 A friend of mine asked me why he would have pecans for some years and none other times. Harvesting pecans can be a challenge for those who live in our area. My family farm had four gigantic trees planted in the ’40s that produced massive crops for some years and other years virtually none. There are several factors for lack of pecan production: poor pollination, insects and diseases, weather, etc. The most common issue is poor pollination.
