Compost question

My dear friend had a big willow limb ripped off in a storm. The rest of the huge limbs were trimmed back and she ended up with all the ground wood for her compost. The willow tree had botrytis. She wants to know how this will affect the compost. Can anything be done to get rid of the problem? I'm sure she shouldn't use it around peonies or irises but what about other plants?

arlene, from what i've heard, you are supposed to dispose of anything with botrytis on it. it is such nasty stuff. it would be a shame to take the chance. debi

Hi Debi,

Our radio gardening guru is Ralph Snodsmith. I began writing to him when he awarded me the one and only NY Bayer prize to Pasadena last August. The prize was for four days in Pasadena, tour of the float barn, Rose Parade, Rose Bowl, etc. Jan. 1 is our wedding anniversary so that made it even more exciting.

Anyhow, I wrote and asked him and he said the tree may have anthracnose but not botrytis and she could use the mulch.

If it had Botrytis she could not have used it.

Thanks for the input.

Arlene

wow, what a cool prize. i'll bet you had a blast. do they make any floats with daylilies? debi

Debi,

The line to get in for the floats was blocks long. Being part of the Bayer tour, the sponsor of the parade, we just went directly from the bus to the Pavillion. It was so great, words fail me. The patience on the part of the volunteers was amazing. One lady sat at the wheel of the Honda piece - a locomotive about 40' long - and glued on red rose petals, one by one. There were thousands on just one wheel. Seeing it all up close was the experience of a lifetime. I've been in many big churches that didn't impress me as much. Even St. Patrick's in NYC is so vast you can't comprehend the detail work but the floats were all detail work. Even the toenails of the giraffe, made with almonds and more almonds, was exquisite. I didn't see any daylilies but cartons and cartons of Brussels Sprouts, trays of plumerias, vast amounts of orchids and roses by the zillions.

When the floats are taken apart the flowers go to hospitals and nursing homes and if you wondered what happens to the vegetables - they go to the zoo. Isn't it all amazing?

pirl--didn't know you were in Pasadena last new year's. so were we. you know we lived in Pasadena for many years until 2004 and went to many rose parades and were involved with many floats...lot's of fun and an unbelievable festival.

Did you go to the Huntington Gardens? We lived about four blocks from there.

so happy you enjoyed your prize trip. what a lovely and fun experience. t.

They had us busy every minute of the day and evening so we didn't have any chance to explore Huntington Gardens as we wanted to. We won the prize from Bayer (yes, the aspirin people, but also manufacturers of Rose Food and my entry was the winning one in NYC). We had a fabulous time and I only took 34 rolls of film but that included three weeks in Arizona, too.

good to have you back pirl! debi

Thanks Debi. This gives me the chance to say that I felt Bayer was watching over us as carefully as could be and that we felt like teenagers who'd get in trouble if we had 30 minutes alone. It was the trip of a lifetime and we'll always have a cherished memory.

can't wait for pics!!!