TIMELY GARDEN TIPS FROM
OVER THE GARDEN FENCE
MARCH 20, 2004

"Hello" and "Merry Spring" to all our "green thumb" friends. It's a sure sign of spring when we once again return to the friendly WKZO air waves to share gardening experiences with you "Over the Garden Fence". A winter of more snow and cold than most winters leaves many gardeners suffering from cabin fever and can hardly wait to dig into a new gardening season. On the calendar, spring has arrived, so let's make it official with this season's first visit "Over the Garden Fence".

What a blessing it is that we all are allowed to participate in the wonderful event of spring. For gardeners, spring spells the beginning: the first warm breeze, new life coming to long-dormant branches, a warm rain, the greening of the new grass, fragrant newly turned soil, and our snowbird friends and neighbors arriving daily from the south. Within our souls there stirs a renewed urging to enjoy the great outdoors and our gardens once again.

As I experience these wonderful sensations, I am reminded that God always keeps His promises. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. As long as the earth remains, there will be springtime and a harvest. From God's word in the Song of Solomon, it is written, "For behold, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers have already appeared in the land; the time has arrived for pruning the vines, and the voice of the turtle dove has been heard in the land." Song of Solomon 2:11&12

I am grateful for God's promise of spring. Barren days and dormant branches soon will be behind us; green grass and the flowers and the fruits of the vine are before us. What a wonderful hope and joy we are blessed with.

As we start the 46th year of "Over the Garden Fence", I hope God blesses each of you, my green thumb friends, with a great gardening season, an abundant harvest of flowers and vegetables, and with many sunny, enjoyable hours in your gardens.

Many green thumbers have spent time this winter pouring over last year's gardening journals, sketching flowerbed plans, and reading every garden magazine available. Well, folks, its about time we took the plunge and begin digging, planting, pruning, and such. Our gardens are beckoning!

In the woodlots, forest anemones are greening, and on the south side of a large tree trunk a close look will reveal a bud or two. Heleboris - Lenton Rose - is blooming under the white pine, early crocus are flowering, daffodils and Dutch iris are right behind with foliage and buds showing well. Red and silver maples will be shedding their flower shucks any day now, and the branches of the weeping willow by the creek are beginning to turn yellow. Every pond, marsh, and pothole that sports dormant cattails is now alive with the songs of the red-winged blackbird. The unmistakable honk of the sand hill crane and the return of turkey buzzards are all sure signs of spring. These are just a few of the sights and sounds of another growing season arriving.

Another early spring happening is Wedel's Nursery, Florist & Garden Center's annual Spring Garden Expo. Stop by today to catch the excitement of gardening. See the new products for 2004 that will make your garden and landscape more beautiful and easier to care for. You'll also take home some great landscaping ideas. Today until 5:00 at Wedel's, you can visit with over 20 of our suppliers, win door prizes, pick up product samples, attend informative seminars, and take home some real bargains. You'll also get the chance to visit with folks from the Hosta Society, Iris Society, Rose Society, Peony Society, and Kalamazoo Garden Councils.

Many anxious gardeners have been busy on good weather days cleaning up leaves and litter that has worked its way under every shrub and every green planting. The early spring opportunities abound in most every garden and landscape. Let's sort out the immediate from the important and the wait-until-later chores.

The first item on my to-do list this spring will be the necessity to prune damaged trees, shrubs, and evergreens. The strong winter winds coupled with very low temperatures and considerable deer, rabbit, and rodent damage has created many pruning challenges this spring. Prune out all cracked branches on shade and ornamental trees. Where branches have been torn off the main stem, smooth the wound with a sharp knife, then apply Tanglefoot pruning wound paint. Delay pruning any wind-burned evergreen foliage, both needled and broadleaf, until May. If new growth doesn't appear then, prune or shear before the end of May. Examine deciduous flowering shrubs closely for winter dieback. Prune back all damaged branches to green, live wood. I've noticed some plants show considerable damage and will need pruning; golden privet, Japanese beauty berry, and butterfly bush to name just a few.

Fertilizing winter damaged plants right now will encourage new growth later, which will help plants to fill out to original shape. Feed broadleaf evergreens, such as holly, lucothoe, peris japonica with Holly Tone. Rhododendrons and azaleas should be fertilized with Holly Tone in late May. Feed needled evergreens, ground cover plants, trees, and shrubs with Tree Tone now.

Ornamental grass plants need some attention in March. Using a long-handled lopper for some torque, prune back to six inches all ornamental grasses with one exception - blue fescue -which should be pruned back only 50%. If thinning or dividing is necessary, dig ornamental grass plants up, divide them, and replant at this time. When transplanting, be sure to condition the new planting area well with composted cow manure and sphagnum peat moss. Fertilize established ornamental grass plants now with Tree Tone.

All dead perennial plant flower stems should be removed now before growth begins. If chickweed or other cool season weeds are thriving in your perennial garden, quick action is called for. Cultivate out and remove all annual broadleaf weeds. Feed all perennial plants now with a mix of 45% Plant Tone, 45% composted cow manure, and 10% bone meal, using one cup of this mixture around each plant. The next thing to do is shake on garden weed preventer or spray soil with Weed Impede to prevent more weed seeds from sprouting. Lastly, apply a fresh layer of cedar bark mulch. It's amazing how much less work it takes to freshen up perennial flower beds now that when it is put of until late April or May.

If ground cover beds are given attention early, the time savings will be tremendous. First, remove all broadleaf weeds including roots. If your groundcover beds are infested with grasses, I would recommend spraying Grass Getter. Grass Getter will kill the grass plants, roots included, without harming the groundcover plants. Next, fertilize groundcover beds with Tree Tone. If soil is poor, top dress with a mixture of 50% sphagnum peat moss and 50% composted cow manure. Lastly, apply a weed preventer. Preen for groundcovers is no longer manufactured. Wedel's has replaced Preen with two very efficient products; Eptam granules for dry application and Weed Impede spray weed preventer.

Many lawns are showing snow mold damage. Most lawns would benefit from a light raking that will fluff up the matted grass. Raking now will help dry out turf and stop snow mold. Bare or thin turf areas should be seeded now. Grass seed sown now will get off to a better start than seed planted in warmer weather. Any lawns that were not fertilized last November should be fertilized at half rate with Scotts Lawn Pro Lawn Food as soon as possible for early spring green up. Bumpy, uneven lawns should be rolled soon while the soil is still moist.

Lawns that have that "plowed" appearance this spring from mole activity during the winter need an application of Repellex mole chaser now. A spray of Repellex Mole Chaser on the lawn each October and April will prevent most mole damage.

A reminder: wait to apply lawn crabgrass controls until late April. Crabgrass seeds won't germinate until early May. The combination of early crabgrass control application and a rainy spring will shorten the control period.

Grub controls need to be timed very carefully for satisfactory results. Permethrin can be applied now to lawns and immediately watered in. Grubex, the 12-month grub control, is best applied in June or July. Milky Spore, the more permanent solution to lawn Japanese beetle grub problems, can be applied any time during the growing season. Milky Spore grub control will last in the soil for 20 years or more.

Folks with backyard fruit trees will want to begin their dormant spray program soon. Fruit tree insects and diseases will become active soon and will continue to be whenever temperature is above 40 degrees. Be sure to finish all fruit tree pruning projects as soon as possible.

At Wedel's Garden Center, we examine hundreds of samples of diseased and insect-injured plant leaves, stems, and fruits for our customers. Often, the plant parts are brought in to us during the summer for diagnosis. A large percent of the plant problems could have been prevented with a dormant spray. Of course, summer is not the time for dormant spray, so a more extensive control program must be prescribed at that time. I mention this now, because now is the time to dormant spray many ornamental and fruiting plants in our landscape. Dormant spray must be applied before any bud growth appears. For dormant insect control, spray Saf-T-Side horticultural spray oil. For dormant disease control, spray Hi-Yield Lime Sulfur. If both are needed, use oil spray ten days after the Lime Sulfur. The following plants are good candidates for dormant spraying; flowering crab trees, rose bushes, fruit trees, berry vines, euonymus vines, and lilac shrubs.

If these projects aren't enough to keep you busy, just take a stroll through your garden and landscape. I'm sure at least a dozen more projects will make themselves evident! The nice thing about gardening is that you can work at it whenever time allows - no need to make reservations, phone ahead, hook it to your car, wait for perfect weather, or wait until the entire family is available. I hope you get some time this week to enjoy America's #1 pass time - gardening.

Interested in more garden, lawn, and landscape tips? At Wedel's there are six more seminars today that should be of interest to many green thumbers. At 11:00 this morning, Gail Gray from O.M. Scotts Company will present "You Can Have the Best-Looking Lawn on Your Block". 12:00 Ed Huchison, Gazette Garden writer, presents "The Best Plant Care for Great Summer Porch & Patio Containers". 1:00 Kay Wedel presents "Herb Gardening for Culinary Success". 3:00 Andy Wedel presents "Water Gardening as a Major Landscape Component". Linda Charvat will share "What's New in Rhododendrons" at 4:00. Wedel's Garden Expo runs until 5:00 today.