Red twigs aren't really showing until late fall and winter after the leaves
fall.

As for the broccoli, I think too much nitrogen will create lots of foliage
at the expense of your flowers.

--
Baine

"Raleighgirl" wrote in message
. com...
I hope everyone can get out and garden today. So many days of
rain at least makes the weeding go faster!
Two years ago, after long conversations here, I bought and
planted a red twig dogwood. From all of the pictures I thought
it would certainly be one of my favorites. Well, in actuality,
it's nothing special. Maybe I just don't get it or maybe it's
just not planted in the right spot. Right now it just looks like
a dogwood bush with multiple stems coming straight up from the
ground. The stems are red(ish) but not at all showy. The whole
plant is only about 2' high. It's in a spot where it gets a
couple of hours of afternoon sun. Any ideas? Is it something
I'm doing wrong? Should it be growing more? Any suggestions
appreciated.
One other quick question- why would broccoli have HUGE leaves but
nothing edible? Is it because the hubby keeps dowsing it with
fish emulsion (YUCK)?
Have a great day, hopefully outdoors!
Jeny

Well, Jeny,

After spending much of the weekend outdoors, I'm now at the point where I
can finally spend time on the NG since I can barely lift my arms to do much
else (so much for my planned comeback on WordRacer, sigh....).

I think redtwig dogwood is a confusing term, actually. I'm not sure whether
or not it is related to the dogwood trees we all know & love, as my only
experience with redtwig was in northern VT, where dogwood trees did not
thrive. I do know, however, that the red stems were attractive in winters
there, as they showed up really well against the white of the constant snow
background.

Also, the thing reminded me a lot of Medusa(?) -- cutting off one stem
caused a proliferation of stems in retaliation.

I don't actually have any suggestions except to learn to live with the
redtwig or replace it with something else -- no innovative thought there,
I admit!

As for the broccoli question, I'm not familiar with fish emulsion except
that it's apparently popular with organic gardeners; however, it could be
that there is too much nitrogen in it. Generally, nitrogen will encourage
leafy growth, often at the expense of fruit production, especially in
tomatoes.

I'm not sure how long it takes for broccoli to produce, but if you have the
room, you might let the plants alone for a bit.

Anne Lurie
NE Raleigh



"Raleighgirl" wrote in message
. com...
I hope everyone can get out and garden today. So many days of
rain at least makes the weeding go faster!
Two years ago, after long conversations here, I bought and
planted a red twig dogwood. From all of the pictures I thought
it would certainly be one of my favorites. Well, in actuality,
it's nothing special. Maybe I just don't get it or maybe it's
just not planted in the right spot. Right now it just looks like
a dogwood bush with multiple stems coming straight up from the
ground. The stems are red(ish) but not at all showy. The whole
plant is only about 2' high. It's in a spot where it gets a
couple of hours of afternoon sun. Any ideas? Is it something
I'm doing wrong? Should it be growing more? Any suggestions
appreciated.
One other quick question- why would broccoli have HUGE leaves but
nothing edible? Is it because the hubby keeps dowsing it with
fish emulsion (YUCK)?
Have a great day, hopefully outdoors!
Jeny