TIMELY GARDEN TIPS FROM

OVER THE GARDEN FENCE

June 18, 2005

What a wonderful week this has been for gardening. The soil is moist from recent rains, temperatures have moderated, and best of all the spring rush is over. Most "green-thumbers" looking back would say that April and May are just a blur. Now that the big spring push is over, we can take a more objective seasonal view of our lawns, gardens, and landscape.

A very important consideration could be the succession of blooms in the perennial flower garden. Does your garden have periods with little color and other times when there is an abundance of blooms all the same type? Often conditions are so good for a certain perennial that it spreads and takes over. Some gardens have blank areas where plants have died out. Then there are some perennials that we just don't care for.

Now is a great time to make corrections and improvements to perennial gardens for both long and short term enjoyment. Keep a garden journal to record the best and the not-so-good. Plants that have spread beyond their borders should be reduced in size. Sharpen your shovel blade and cut out side shoots and small surrounding plants, then surround the remaining plant with lawn edging to check its spreading habit. Then you can plant some new proven performer perennials. Wedel's Garden Center's selection includes over 700 varieties for summer planting.

Most perennial gardens will have some short spans of low color each summer; that's when strategically planted annuals are so important. Zinnias, salvia, marigolds, coleus, sunflowers, caladiums, larkspur, begonias, and cannas all make great "stand-ins" providing much needed shape and color.

Before planting perennials or annuals this summer, be sure to condition garden soil. Mix into the top six inches of soil composted cow manure, sphagnum peat moss, and Plant Tone. After plants are set, soak them well with Root Stimulator.

This morning, examine the following garden plants carefully for pest damage. Leaf miners are actively feeding on Columbine, Larkspur, Monkshood, and Delphinium. Control leaf miners with Pyrethrin or Permethrin.

Cottony maple scale eggs have hatched and are now in the crawler stage. This messy pest is most common found in Silver Maple, Honey Locust, and Linden. If they appear in large numbers, spray as much of the tree as possible with a combination spray of Malathion and Horticultural Spray Oil.

Four-lined plant bugs continue to leave their calling card with spotted leaves on many shrubs and perennials. First, you'll see small brown spots; then curled, brown leaves. Control four-lined plant bugs with all-natural Take Down Pyrethrin/Canola Oil spray.

Spittlebugs are beginning to show up on vegetable plants, perennial flowering plants, and many pines. Spittlebugs are 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 Take Down now and another spray in mid-July.

Any landscape and garden plants that have a history of leaf diseases such as anthracnose, scab, or black spot are sure to have a problem with leaf drop if they are not protected. Minimize leaf diseases on ornamentals with timely sprays of Halt Fungicide.

Slugs are multiplying faster than rabbits and damaging many of our prized flowering plants. If leaves and flowers are damaged or missing from your begonias, dahlias, marigolds, hostas, petunias, and other favorite plants, slugs could be the culprit. Though slugs can be very numerous, they are fairly easy to control. Scatter Bug-Geta pellets around vulnerable plants in the evening. One application of Bug-Geta every two weeks gives nearly 100% control of slugs.

Most all homeowners, garden and landscape enthusiasts, grounds superintendents, and landscapers recognize that mulching trees and shrubs adds considerable beauty to any landscape. Mulching not only enhances the beauty of any planting, but also plant health if selected and applied properly. Selection of the mulching material is important. Plants will perform better with an organic mulch; I prefer shredded cedar wood chips. Cedar mulch is slower to decay than many other wood mulches and needs to be freshened-up less often. Cedar mulch keeps soil pH correct for most plants. All shredded wood mulches help keep weeds under control, keep soil cool and moist, and encourage root development. Stone mulches around plants are seldom beneficial to plants. Stone mulch can raise soil pH levels, heat the soil, conduct cold, wick out moisture, and is a safety concern next to mowed lawn areas.

It is important not to use "green wood mulch" from recently live tree plants. Shredded or chopped live trees and branches, when used as mulch, will create a nitrogen deficiency in the very plant you are trying to help. Give the green wood at least a year to season before using it as a mulch.

How deep and how wide should a mulched area be around plants? Newly planted trees should be mulched as wide as the branches are long. Kill any grass or weeds with KillZall, no need to remove the dead vegetation. Begin applying the cedar mulch six inches from the tree trunk, working out to the desired diameter. Depth should start as one inch deep progressing to four inches in depth at the outer edge of the mulched area.

Extensive mulch material piled up against the base of a tree or shrub forming a mulch "volcano" keeps moisture in direct contact with the bark. The moisture penetrates the bark and suffocates the layer of living tissue that transfers food up and down the plant. When this supply of food from the leaves is limited, the roots die back. This leads to less water being taken up and the tree or shrub goes into general decline, leaf drop and premature death.

Secondary problems, like borers and fungi, move into plants weakened by improper mulching. In sugar maples, a fungal pathogen will move in because of the high moisture about the trunk. This may create a canker symptom that girdles the trunk and hastens the decline of the tree.

This summer enhance your plantings with proper mulching to save on irrigation, weeding, and promote plant growth.