Dozens of ideas, loads of how-tos, and the latest advice on the projects and products you need to improve your home today, plus special offers.
Twice-monthly advice for bringing your home outdoors, from year-round yard upkeep and planning to the wonders of making your garden grow, plus special offers.
Twice-monthly advice for bringing your home outdoors, from year-round yard upkeep and planning to the wonders of making your garden grow, plus special offers.
Conventional wisdom says that slow-maturing trees live longer and are stronger. So can you grow a tree that’ll shoot up without toppling onto your house?
Yes—with some careful vetting. First, refine your notion of fast growing to a growth rate of 1½ to 2 feet per year. Or, as Warren Roberts, longtime superintendent of the UC Davis Arboretum, puts it: “A fast-growing tree is one you can sit in the shade of, five to six years after planting.” Keep in mind that most trees grow fastest when young and when planted in soil that supplies optimum moisture and nutrients. Choose well, and you can enjoy your tree in both the short and long term.
We canvassed tree experts to find good choices for shade, for screening, or for outstanding ornamental qualities that’ll grow in various areas of the country (check your Plant Hardiness Growing Zone). Read on for a dozen fast-growing trees with staying power.
4-inch-wide by ¾-inch-thick plywood strip, used as a hole-drilling template
Sleeve anchors, for securing cable end to brick wall
Liquid thread lock, used to seal and secure threaded fittings
Twice-monthly advice for bringing your home outdoors, from year-round yard upkeep and planning to the wonders of making your garden grow, plus special offers.
What to prune: Summer-flowering deciduous shrubs that bloom on new growth, such as butterfly bush, rose of Sharon, and crape myrtle.
When and why: These are still dormant in late winter/early spring, making it easy to see your cuts—and they’ll heal up quickly with the flush of new growth in spring, which is when the shrubs set the summer’s buds.
What to prune: Random-branching conifer trees and shrubs, such as arborvitae, juniper, yew, and holly.
When and why: Prune in early to late spring, once lighter-colored new growth appears, which gives time for cuts to heal and new buds to form. Use thinning cuts back to a main stem to tame overgrown shrubs; for heading cuts, prune back to a branch that has needles or leaves on it so new growth can sprout.
What to prune: Deciduous perennial vines that bloom on new growth, such as trumpet vine, climbing hydrangea, and Boston ivy.
When and why: Heading cuts in late winter or early spring control growth and encourage branching. Ivies can be trimmed anytime, but save heavy shaping of deciduous varieties for late winter/early spring, before leaves appear.
What to wait on: Prune azaleas and rhododendrons in spring or early summer, after flowers wither, so as not to remove next year’s buds and reduce blooms. Traditional mophead hydrangea sets buds on the previous year’s growth, so while it’s safe to snip spent flowers and dead branches, avoid major shaping until summer’s end.
If you want to DIY hydronic radiant, you can use a specially engineered foam panel from Schluter Systems called Bekotec. You lay the panels directly on the floor, press-fit PEX tubing into them, and add a thin layer of specially mixed concrete—five parts sand to one part portland cement.
The panels provide a modest thermal break (R3), so you don’t have to install an extra layer of insulation. Using this system adds less than 1¾ inches—including concrete—versus about 4 inches for the old-school method of tying tubing to wire mesh. That leaves you more headroom in basement applications. And the thin slab will heat up and cool down more quickly, allowing you to use lower water temperatures and save on your heating bill. Overall, it makes for a more responsive radiant slab.
Installation by Beta American Services
Steps:
1. Prep floor with leveling compound, if necessary.
2. Clean floor and install foam edging.
3. Lay first row of click-together panels.
4. Measure and trim the row’s last panel to fit.
5. Cover the remaining area with panels.
6. Determine PEX spacing: 6-, 9-, or 12-inch rows.
7. Press-fit PEX between “studs” in panels.
8. Cover area with one continuous loop of PEX.
9. Leave extra tubing at boiler-room end for plumber to make connections.
10. Mix up a batch of “dry pack” concrete with a 5:1 ratio of sand to portland cement.
11. Spread and level over PEX, leaving a minimum of 5/16 inch of material above foam “studs.”
12. Allow concrete to cure for a few days, then install your flooring of choice.