I hope this information is helpful to you. Let me know if you have any further questions. Cheers...Dr. Robby

Another pet safe method is to use copper foil to wrap plants or planters. Unfortunately Hostas do not have one central trunk that you could wrap copper foil around, but if they are growing in a planter box you could wrap the box with copper foil. I was once told that slugs attempting to cross a copper barrier is very "annoying" to them. I was also told it would be analogous to us chewing on some aluminum foil. I'm not sure if that is true, but slugs/snails usually avoid crossing copper foil. Once the foil rusts, they will cross it though. Copy and paste the following link into your web browser's URL to see a picture of the foil in action! http://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentoring/project_ideas/Zoo_p019.shtml

Unfortunately, this trap only works for the snails immediately near the trap. It won't attract every snail/slug in your garden. I would say that the effective area of such a trap is probably only a few square feet. If your Hosta bed is rather large you may have to install several traps.

I would likely go for the buried Mason jar method because the snails/slugs are less likely to escape when the sides of the "trap" are steep. Also, this will prevent extensive evaporation. Interestingly enough the snails are attracted to the fermented sugar in beer, you could simply use water, sugar and yeast as a substitute. This may be a bit cheaper since you will have to replenish the trap from time to time.

Hey BettyAnn...I do have a remedy that comes to mind, which is pet friendly and relatively easy to do. I learned this trick when I was growing up helping my grandfather in his garden. I was skeptical at first, but I was amazed when I saw the results. This method will not completely eradicate a slug problem (few methods can claim that), but it will definitely reduce the number of slugs/snails that attack your plants. The active ingredient in this little remedy is BEER! My grandfather used to partially bury a pie pan so that the rim of the pan is at the same height as the soil. Then he would pour a beer or two in the pan. He did have dogs and I could not tell you how he was able to keep his dogs from lapping up the the pan of beer, but after a couple of days, the pie pan would be full of snails that have drowned in the beer. You can also bury a Mason jar to make it a bit more difficult for your pup to lap up the beer.

Hey Suzie...I'm going to send you an email which you can reply to. The reason why I spelled out the email address (I wrote at instead of @ and dot instead of .) is because there are scanners that scan for those symbols looking for emails to spam. In an effort to slow down the onslaught of spam emails to our plants email address, I simply spelled out the words. You should be seeing an email shortly from me. :) Cheers...Dr. Robby

Hey Suzie...This can be a number of things, but whenever I hear (or read in this case) the words "leaf curl", I quickly think of either leaf curling worms or aphids. Both are pests. On the other hand, these pests usually will not cause the leaf to completely dry up and die though. I think it would be best if I saw a photo. You can attach a photo via email to psplants at plantsense dot com. I will check out the photo and hopefully I can give you some good advice. Look forward to seeing your email. Cheers...Dr. Robby

Hey There...There are actually quite a few different types of evergreen azaleas, but generally speaking you would normally prune/deadhead after flowering is done. (Deadheading means to remove the spent flower. Be careful not to damage the new growth underneath the spent flower though. You normally will want those stems.) I'm not exactly sure how long your azaleas will be in bloom since they can have a wide range of time during the season when flowers may be present. As for shaping your azaleas, that really depends on what you want out of your plant. If you want to have a low growing shrub, you would prune off all the branches that are growing straight up. If you want more of a typical shrub, you can prune minimally (just basically deadhead). When you do prune, it's best to cut the stem just above where the leaves are. Let me know if you have any other questions or comments. Cheers...Dr. Robby

Definitely let me know. I'm always perusing these forums and am always willing to help. Cheers...Dr. Robby

Hey Suzie...If you're looking to go with another tree, I would go for a weeping willow (Salix bablylonica) or a red twig dogwood (Cornus sericea). You mention that this will be under a crabapple tree, which leads me to believe that a tree or shrub would likely not go that well in this location. You could also try Iris pseudacorus...aka Lily of the Kings. Actually there are a number of Irises that do fine with wet soil: Iris ensata, Iris siberica, Iris setosa. There are also a number of ferns that do just fine in wet soils: Dryopteris erythrosora, Athyrium niponicum, Polystichum minutum. I hope this is helpful. Cheers...Dr. Robby