OVER THE GARDEN FENCE

MAY 31, 2003

Gardening. More people garden than golf, bike, run, fish, hunt, bowl, play tennis, baseball, or horseshoes. Gardening is America's number one leisure-time activity. Those who cultivate their green thumbs as well as their gardens are among very good company. A quick look around any neighborhood will reveal most folks outdoors having fun, sprucing up their landscapes. It's never too late to begin gardening, matter of fact, there couldn't be a better time. The weather is perfect to plant most everything. Before we visit the garden this morning to plant, trim, feed, and cultivate, let's take a look at some gardening opportunities.

Some of us haven't been blessed with enough good weather days for spring planting. Consequently, we are not "up to quota." If you have more plants that you wanted to plant this spring, there is still plenty of time. At Wedel's, we receive many truckloads of plants every day. Our selection is great and the quality is the best. Garden soil is still cool and moist, making this an ideal time to plant your dreams.

When shopping for landscape and garden plants now, look for the following.

* Young bedding plants that will begin growing much faster than older, more mature plants.

* Never buy plants that are displayed on paved lots. Most often these plants have overheated, dried-out root systems and will be stunted.

* Stay away from packaged and bare root plants.

* All plants should be leafed out by now. If not, don't buy.

* Shop where Michigan certified Nursery Specialists are on staff. They are trained to advise you on what plants will perform best in your garden and landscape. Setting out the correct plant in the correct location the first time makes replanting unnecessary and gardening much more rewarding.

The unusually wet and cool weather conditions this spring have created some problems that gardeners will want to be aware of. Many maple, oak, and sycamore trees are infested with anthracnose. Many leaves are spotted, turning black, and falling. The leaves often have the appearance of being scorched or frosted. To control anthracnose, collect and destroy fallen leaves and prune out dead, weakened branches. Spray with Halt fungicide mixed with Spreader Sticker. To prevent infection next year, spray as buds open and repeat ten and again twenty days later. Try to time your sprays just before wet periods when infections occur. Also, be sure to fertilize with Tree Tone and irrigate maple, oak, and sycamore trees to stimulate vigorous growth and to heal disease cankers on stems.

Daylily leaf streak is showing up in many gardens. Leaf streak disease kills leaves and often the plant. Yellow leaf streaks by the center of the leaf vein are followed by browning and then death of the leaf. Control by the removal infected leaves, reduce overhead watering, and discard weakened plants. After cleaning up daylily plantings, spray plants and surrounding area with Consan 20 or Daconil fungicide. Next is mulching. After spraying fungicide, mulch daylily plants with one and one-half inches of cedar chips to eliminate infected soil from splashing onto foliage.

If seed planted in the garden, such as beans, squash, or melons nave been in the soil more than two weeks and have not sprouted, it could be because of the cool, moist soil. I would plant more seed. Moisture-laden, cold soil stops the seeds of warm-weather plants from germinating and the seeds often rot. To be assured of a good crop, reseeding should be done at once.

Cutworms don't seem to mind the cool weather and have become active in many gardens. Protect tender flower and vegetable plants from cutworm damage with Bug-Geta granules.

Lawn diseases that are active now, such as red thread, powdery mildew, dollar spot, and leaf spot, can ruin a lawn if a control material is not applied to check their spread. Apply Scotts Lawn Disease Preventer now for excellent lawn disease protection.

Spittlebugs are beginning to show up on vegetable plants, perennial flowering plants, and many pines. Spittlebugs can be distinguished by the white, foamy matter they form around themselves. They will damage plants by drawing the strength from stems and small branches. Control Spittlebugs with a strong, forceful spray of Pyrethrin now and another spray in mid-July.

We don't have to look very far to see aphid damage on shrubs, trees, and perennials. Curled and deformed leaves on the ends of branches are the tell-tale signs. Control aphids on ornamental plants with Isotox, Malathion, or Pyrethrin.

Perennial plants, annual flowers, and many shrubs are exhibiting leaves with brown circular spots. These leaves have been damaged by the four-lined plant bug. Especially look for four-lined plant bug damage on geraniums, chrysanthemums, viburnum, and Shasta daisy plants. Keep your perennials, annuals, and shrubs clean and healthy with sprays of Orthene.

Honey locust plant bugs are now feeding on many locust shade trees. Control locust plant bugs with sprays of Sevin or Permethrin.

We can't let the abundance of rain earlier in May fool us into believing all soils have adequate moisture. New bedding plant transplants, recently planted trees, and shrubs and some lawns need frequent attention and timely irrigation. A good rule of thumb - visit your garden, lawn, and landscape plantings often to observe their individual needs.

Oak trees with leaves that lack a dark green color and exhibit a botchy, light yellow appearance, no doubt, are suffering from iron chlorosis. Apply 15% granular iron, iron sulfate, or Ironite now over the oak tree root zone. Be sure to fertilize oaks with Tree Tone every October.

If time didn't allow for an early spring feeding for your perennial beds, don't delay any longer. Spring feeding perennial flowers will reap great benefits of more blooms and larger plants. Scatter one cup of Plant Tone or Flower Tone around each perennial clump.

Most gardeners that planted pansy plants last fall are enjoying bushels of blooms this spring. Cheerful pansy faces have been most welcome in my spring garden even on cloudy, rainy days. To keep pansy plants blooming, it is very important to pick off all spent flowers and seed heads and foliar feed with Bloom Plus every two weeks. This will assure plenty of pansy flowers until it's time to replace them with summer blooming annuals.

George Wedel