Multi-room streaming speaker has great sound
Bluesound’s Pulse Mini 2i Bluetooth 5.0 speaker is great to turn on, pair your smartphone or tablet, and play music. Then the fun begins.
The attractive, compact multi-room streaming speaker produces great sound and lets users create a music scene perfect for specific environments.
Before you power the speaker, it’s important to know the features of the Pulse Mini 2i. Features include dual-band Wi-Fi as well as support for two-way Bluetooth aptX HD, ensuring interruption-free music.
Music can be controlled from the music app within your smartphone, iPad, or wherever it streams from but another option includes the BluOS Controller app for iOS, Android, Kindle
Fire, and Windows & Mac OS X desktops.
And if that is not enough, there’s also the RC1 remote control, which operates all the Bluesound Players. The wireless remote is well-designed with a user-friendly and ergonomic design.
When I review high-end speakers such as the Pulse Mini 2i, I always come back to a trick a friend told me years ago. Despite any personal preference, he told me to crank up the sound in all directions; bass up, treble down and reverse it with the bass down and treble up. While doing this test with the volume up, is the sound clear and distortion-free?
The Pulse Mini 2i passed the extreme settings test and provided sound that was clear.
www.bluesound.com, $499, available in white or black matte
I have thorny plants growing in a wooded area. I think they’re native greenbriar, but I just don’t like the nasty thorns. Do you think it’s a good idea to remove and replace it with something that attracts pollinating insects and birds/wildlife?
First get a positive ID. You can send us photos of the plants through the Home and Garden Information Center website to see what you are dealing with. They could be invasive plants.
Or, view ‘weed identification photos’ on our website, which includes vines.
If you want to attract wildlife and birds, by all means keep the greenbriar. It provides berries for birds and wildlife. Thorns ward off predators, providing a safe haven. Another good thing about greenbriar (Smilex rotundiflora) is that deer don’t eat it. Since our deer over-population is wreaking havoc with natural areas by eating all the natives that wildlife need (and leaving invasive non-native plants), woods can use all the native plants they can get. For exciting native additions, go online to “Native Plants for Wildlife Habitat and Conservation Landscaping: Chesapeake Bay Watershed.”
Of course, avoid greenbriar in gardens. Dig it up when small, as soon as you spot it. Removing an established plant can take years of cutting and digging.
Last year, my zinnias looked great all summer and fall. I want to plant zinnias again, but people often advise not to put the same plants in the same place in consecutive year for vegetables. Does this apply to annual flowers, too?
You are referring to crop rotation. Zinnias are susceptible to powdery mildew and some leaf spot diseases. Usually in the first season or two you may not get a lot of insect and disease issues but, yes, these problems can build up over time. Crop rotation combats that. Using crop rotation, you try not to grow plants from the same botanical family in the same spot because they may be susceptible to the same problems.
If you cannot rotate, one of the best defenses is to choose plant varieties bred for disease or pest resistance. For example, with zinnias look for seeds or transplants labeled for powdery mildew resistance. And, as always, the healthier the plant, the more robustly it fights pests. Keep proper plant spacing, good drainage, soil, light, and proper nutrients. Mulch to keep weeds down. Add native plants to your landscape to encourage beneficial insects that eat pest insects. On the Home and Garden Information Center website, search ‘crop rotation and crop planning.’