TIMELY GARDEN TIPS FROM OVER THE GARDEN FENCE

June 5, 2004

Gardening is America's number one out-of-doors pass time for many reasons; not the least of is the challenges our fickle weather presents to us! Some years it's frost, some wind and cold, this year we are dealing with wet conditions. The weather-wise gardener makes on time adjustments and still has a great show of summer flowers and fruits from the garden. What adjustments have and will be made in good gardens to assure success with record rainfalls?

· First, if your garden soil is heavy clay, increase the tilth by adding clay soil conditioner to flower beds and gardens. Incorporating clay soil conditioner into heavy soils will improve drainage, air movement in plant root zones, and root growth.

· Don't allow irrigation systems to daily drench your flowers and ornamental shrubs.

· Be sure to apply a preventative fungicide now to plants that have a history of disease problems.

· Watch all plantings for fungal activity; if found, apply the proper fungicide at once.

· Improve drying conditions in gardens by cutting back or removing a few plants.

· Apply a fungus preventative spray to the following plants during extended wet periods; flowering crab, dogwood, rose bushes, pyracantha, mountain ash, and sycamore.

· Visit valuable garden and landscape plants daily during abnormal weather periods.

There are many fungicides available to control diseases in the garden and landscape. Most are very use-specific. Be sure to correctly identify the plant and disease before application to assure success. If in doubt, bring samples to Wedel's Plant Diagnostic Center for identification of problem and prescription for cure.

Some very current issues gardeners should be alert to include the following.

High winds and driving rains last week created perfect conditions for the spread of bacterial disease on tomato and pepper plants. Keep tomato and pepper plants free of bacterial leaf and fruit diseases with sprays of Daconil 2787 Disease Control.

Wind, broken branches, and rain are a combination for Fire Blight infection. Pear, apple, crabapple, hawthorn, and mountain ash trees are all candidates for fire Blight. Protect your trees if you suspect there are infected trees in the neighborhood. Fertilome Fire Blight spray or Monterey Aliette will check Fire Blight.

Soft annual bedding plants, such as impatiens, begonias, zinnias, torenia, and coleus that are without perfect drainage, or if they have been over-watered, are succumbing to root rot or damping off diseases. These plantings should be sprayed with Captan.

Consider feeding you lawn now. Sunny lawns that were fed in early spring are now ready for another feeding before the heat of summer. The heavy rains of late have depleted the plant food supply. Scotts Lawn Pro Lawn Fertilizer that contains water insoluble nitrogen and 2% iron used now will keep turf at its best. Well-fed lawns stay greener longer with less watering and fewer problems.

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 Fungus Control now for excellent lawn disease protection.

Mildew is abundant on roses, lilacs, and azaleas. Control mildew on these plants with Funginex.

Anthracnose disease is running wild among maple, oak, and sycamore trees. The rainy weather makes perfect conditions for anthracnose to spread from one tree to the next. Brown, curled and falling leaves are the most obvious signs. Anthracnose can be prevented if trees are sprayed with Halt Fungicide as they leaf out. To prevent further infection later in the season, spray trees again with Halt. To help infected trees recover, fertilize each autumn with Tree Tone and water well during the summer. Well-fed, healthy trees will grow faster and heal over branch cankers that harbor anthracnose spores.

Several gardeners have brought in samples of damaged daylily leaves to the garden center this week. The problem seems to be daylily leaf streak disease. To control daylily leaf streak, remove all damaged leaves and spray with sulfur plant fungicide. If, after two treatments of the sulfur, the leaf streak persists, remove plants. Mulching with wood chip mulch will prevent splash-borne infection.

Ants, millipedes, sowbugs, earwigs, and ticks all seem to be present in greater numbers than usual. Sprays of 33 Plus will rid outside areas of these pests.

Oak trees, rhododendrons, and azaleas with leaves that lack a dark green color and exhibit a blotchy, light yellow appearance, no doubt, are suffering from iron chlorosis. A mixture of 22% Granular Iron and 55% Sulfur should be applied now over the plant's root zone. Be sure to fertilize oaks with Tree Tone every October and rhododendrons, azaleas, and hollies each spring and fall.

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 around each perennial clump, then soak well with Nursery Select water-soluble plant food.

Tulip and hyacinth plantings that are ripe may be lifted now. Lift bulbs carefully, cut the stems off of the top of bulbs, remove all soil, and peel off small bulblets. Put bulbs in a paper sack with pre-mixed Bonide Bulb Dust and shake gently to coat each bulb. Store for the summer in mesh bags in a well-ventilated area. Proper care and storage will assure good tulip and hyacinth bulbs for fall planting.