INPUT ARTICLE: Article: When watering your photinia shrub, use a watering can to apply water directly to the soil. Do not allow any water to get on the leaves, flowers, berries, or stems. Wet leaves are more likely to become infected with leaf spot or other fungal diseases. Photinia do best when watered regularly, but established shrubs can tolerate mild drought. As a general rule, make sure that each photinia plant receives at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water on a weekly basis. Provide more or less water as needed depending on the health of your plant. Yellowing leaves usually indicate an over-watered plant. Wilted leaves can indicate an under-watered plant. Apply a balanced fertilizer in the spring to encourage new growth. A "balanced" fertilizer contains equal parts nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Do not fertilize photinia in the summer. Doing so can promote new growth late in the season. New growth that appears later in the season will be weaker against disease and frost. The exact amount of fertilizer needed will vary on the type and brand you choose, so follow the label instructions to determine the proper dosage. Usually, you should apply fertilizer in the early morning or evening after watering the plant. Yearly pruning is vital since good air circulation is required for the long-term health of the plant. Prune once at the beginning of winter and once more at the start of spring. Avoid pruning the plant during the active growing season. New growth is weaker and more likely to fall victim to leaf spot and other diseases. In the winter, remove any diseased, damaged, or dead wood. Look for crowded areas and remove the weakest and most poorly positioned branches within those areas. Thinning the plant out improves air circulation and reduces the risk of disease. In the spring, do some light pruning after the red growth begins to fade to encourage new growth. Remove the tips of new shoots as they first appear, cutting them just above an outward facing bud. Remove any infected plant material or fallen leaves as soon as you spot them. Do not wait until a winter or spring pruning to do so. Spread approximately 2 inches (5 cm) of organic mulch around the bottom of the photinia plant. Do this once in early to mid spring and once more in late autumn. Always rake away any old mulch and debris before applying new mulch. Autumn mulch protects the plant against frost and other winter injury. Spring mulch keeps the soil adequately moist and minimizes potential weed problems. Entomosporium leaf spot is the most common problem faced by photinia plants. As soon as you see early signs of leaf spot, you should treat the shrub with an appropriate fungicide. Entomosporium leaf spot can be identified in it early stages by a splattering of small red spots over the upper and lower surfaces of new leaves. These spots gradually spread and deepen in color as the disease progresses. Choose a fungicide labeled for use against leaf spot. Formulas containing chlorothalonil, propiconazole, or myclobutanil are usually best. Photinia plants are weak against several other diseases, too. These include mildew, leaf spots, and fireblight. Scale insects can also cause problems. Each of these issues should be treated with an appropriate fungicide or pesticide as soon as they are noticed. Apply your chosen fungicide (or pesticide) directly to diseased areas and new growth. Re-apply every 7 to 14 days until the problem disappears. Never apply fungicides and pesticides during hot, dry weather. For best results, apply the chemical in the early morning (before the heat of the afternoon sets in) or in the evening.

SUMMARY: Water the root zone. Feed with a general purpose fertilizer. Prune during dormancy. Protect the plant with mulch. Watch out for fungal diseases and other problems.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: These are considered to be clouds that are between 19,500 feet (5,943 meters) and 42,500 feet (12,954 meters). This encompasses cirrus, cirrostratus and cirrocumulus clouds. These clouds tend to be frozen (filled with ice crystals) and have blurry outlines; they are generally thin and wispy to the human eye. Contrails from jet airplanes are also found at this level in the Earth's atmosphere. High clouds produce beautiful red, orange and yellow colors in the sky at sunrise and sunset. Rings of light around the moon or the sun are caused by cirrus clouds. A halo around the sun or moon can suggest rain or snow on the way, especially if accompanied by thickening lower clouds. Cirrus clouds often partially obscure the sun. Cirrus clouds are distinguishable by their thin, white and wispy appearance. They generally reach an altitude above 20,000 feet (6,000 meters). The thinness tends to be due to the frigid winds in the upper atmosphere. Cirrus clouds are made up of ice crystals formed by supercooled water droplets. Cirrus clouds that are sparse and stay that way usually show signs of fair weather. When cirrus clouds change into cirrostratus clouds, wind and precipitation are probably on their way within the next 24-36 hours. Cirrus indicates moisture above; if cirrus changes to altostratus and then stratus, a storm approaches soon. You'll see cirrus clouds as a warm front advances. The direction in which cirrus clouds move will usually tell you the direction of air movement, namely the weather coming your way. Cirrus clouds are sometimes referred to as horse's or mare's tails because they curl out like a horse's tail. These clouds are often found in rows and they look like little puffed-up ripples. Some people think these clouds look like fish scales. The broken or rippled nature of these clouds is caused by air turbulence; it's bad news for anyone flying through them, but great news on the ground because these clouds usually mean that the weather is going to stay the same with no major sudden changes. These clouds tend to lack shape and have a hazy appearance. They usually spread across much of the sky. They suggest moisture is present in a large part of the sky, indicating that rain might be due soon. Thicker cirrostratus clouds can come from the top of an advancing storm system. Cirrostratus clouds are made up of ice crystals as well, but unlike cirrus clouds they can cover the entire sky and be up to several-thousand feet thick. Cirrostratus clouds are sheetlike and nearly transparent. Although these are machine made by jet airplanes, contrails can help you to know the weather in the heights above. Contrails are condensation, formed when the jet's warm exhaust mixes with the very cool air surrounding the jet in the upper atmosphere. If the contrail disappears quickly, or you see a jet with no contrail, this means that the upper atmosphere you're observing is dry. On a lovely day, you can usually take this as a sign that the weather is going to remain fine for a while. On the other hand, if the contrail is obvious for a time, is long and spreads, the upper atmosphere you're observing is wet. Grab your coat and umbrella because the weather will probably change soon, if it hasn't already.

SUMMARY:
Look for high altitude clouds (also known simply as "high clouds"). Know your cirrus cloud. Spot a cirrocumulus cloud. Look for cirrostratus clouds. Learn how to tell the difference between cirrus clouds and cirrostratus clouds. Watch for contrails.