TIMELY GARDEN TIPS FROM OVER THE GARDEN FENCE

June 26, 2004

Experienced gardeners seldom need a calendar to know when certain events are, or will be, taking place in their landscape. Some examples: when black raspberries are ready to pick, the Japanese beetle begins to emerge; when dandelions are in the puff ball stage, it¹s time to apply crabgrass preventer; and when magnolias bloom, we usually have a hard frost. You¹ll find when corn silks appear, corn earworms begin their annual feast, when it rains every other day, there will be a host of plant diseases, and when we have a mild winter, dogwood and redbud will put on a spectacular spring show. Watching the seasons unfold and working with God¹s creation is what makes gardening so very interesting. I have never experienced a dull moment in our garden.

This week, we picked our first black raspberries from the garden. Delicious and priceless. A taste that is very hard to buy. In most any landscape, there is room for a small raspberry patch; I highly recommend one.

Our garden dried out enough this week so that we could finally run the rototiller through and knock down the weeds. What we were thankful to see was extra large and healthy potato plants and weak corn. Again, it¹s all about timing. Potatoes planted in early May grew well in the cloudy, wet weather and the corn is waiting for warmer days to really take off. I also had a chance to plant more green beans and some late sweet corn. It sure has been a challenge planting and cultivating between rain showers this spring. The bright side is that we didn¹t have to irrigate so the water bills are down.

When cultivating the vegetable garden, I noticed the Colorado potato beetles were very active. One shot of Pyrethrin/Canola Oil fixed them. Other unwanted pests in the vegetable garden should be watched for such as cutworms in newly sprouted seeds. They especially like green beans and onions. Control cutworms with Bug-Geta pellets. Protect squash and pumpkins from squash vine borers and Pythium blight with Pyrethrin and Maneb sprays. Tomato worms will arrive soon as well as Anthracnose leaf spot. Protect tomatoes with Pyrethrin and liquid fungicide.

Keeping our lawn green in this unusually damp season can be a challenge. Poor turf color can be an indicator of several things. If soil is heavy and doesn¹t drain well, chances are the soil is just too wet for good growth. Too much moisture forces air out of the soil and results are light green to yellow grass blades. Lawns showing soil drainage problems are good candidates for soil plugging, gypsum, and clay soil conditioner. Lawns built on light soils that are off color most likely are in need of additional fertilizer. Use slow feeding Super Turf Builder for slow, non-surge greening.

All lawns are experiencing some disease problems, some more than others. Anthracnose, Leaf Spot, mildew, Red Thread, and Melting Out are a few turf diseases now causing real problems. Bring turf samples to Wedel¹s diagnostic department for identification. Some lawn disease controls are very specific as to their target disease, so be sure to identify the problem first.

Mildews are now showing up on some annual and perennial plants including rudbeckia, buddleia, and impatiens. Downy mildews are not normally as prolific in Michigan as Powdery Mildew. The two are not related, so identification is important for good control. Bring in samples to Wedel¹s for identification. Downy Mildew is controlled on a host of plants with Aliette fungicide. Powdery Mildew is controlled with Funginex.

Another garden and landscape project today could include planting more flowers and vegetables from seed directly into the garden. Calendula, sunflower, caster bean, and zinnia planted now will be very successful. Cucumber, beans, parsnips, radish, cabbage, broccoli, snap beans, and short-day sweet corn seeded now will yield well.

June planting can be successful if proper soil conditioning, fertilization, weeding, and watering practices are followed. So if you missed planting in May, plant now for a bountiful harvest of blooms and vegetables all summer and autumn.

Keep a sharp eye out for slugs. They can quickly defoliate many plants such as marigolds, salvia, hosta, and dahlia, to name a few. Control slugs with Sluggo or Bug-Geta pellets.

Adult Japanese beetles are out and about devouring flowers and foliage on many plants. Instant control is seen with sprays of 38 Plus.

Rose Chafers are beginning to feed on roses, Mountain Ash, and crabapples. Control Rose Chafers with sprays of 10% Permethrin.

Spruce and arborvitae evergreens need to be inspected for mites. If present, spray spruce and arborvitae with Malathion and summer horticultural spray oil.

Rose bushes are blooming really well now with huge bouquets on nearly every bush. To keep roses blooming all summer, be sure to prune off all dead flowers as soon as they fade. Prune back to first stem with five leaves. Fertilize roses the first day of every month from April to August with Rose Tone.

If rose blossoms fail to open properly or not at all, thrips could be the culprit. Flower thrips cause the rose buds to ball up without opening and petals to turn brown. When infestation is heavy, few flowers open normally. To control, all infested buds should be picked off and destroyed, then spray with Orthenex. If roses haven¹t received several sprays of fungicide this season, they are certain to be infested with black spot fungus. Keep rose plants free of black spot fungus by spraying with Orthenex every two weeks.

Aphids are active on the tender new growth of many plants. Gardeners should check their flower and vegetable plantings several times a week to prevent aphid buildup. Control aphids with Pyrethrin or Malathion.

Pesky four-lined plant bugs continue to plague our perennial gardens. Spotted, distorted, and curled leaves are sure signs that the four-lined plant bug is active in your flower garden. Plants most often damaged are geraniums, Shasta daisy and rudbeckia perennial flowers, and caryopteris and viburnum shrubs. Control four-lined plant bugs with sprays of Orthene or Pyrethrin.

To prevent garden phlox and zinnia plants from becoming infected with mildew this summer, begin a preventative spray program. Spray phlox and zinnias twice a month with Ortho Funginex for clean foliage.

Bronze birch borer adults are emerging from infested birch trees. The adult stage is a one-half inch long beetle. The beetles will nibble on birch leaves and begin looking for weakened trees to deposit eggs on. Suspect trees should be sprayed with 10% Permethrin or Cygon now. Most important is to keep birch trees healthy with a yearly feeding of Tree Tone, water during dry spells and mulch with cedar chips to their drip line. Apply Systemic Tree Insect Control to birch trees in October for 12-month borer and leaf miner control.

Honeylocust plant bugs are creating more damage than usual on locust trees. Spray locust trees with Isotox every two weeks and deep water once a week to encourage new foliage. Be sure to fertilize locust trees every October with Tree Tone. To avoid many locust tree insect problems next year, apply Bayer Systemic Insect Control to roots in October.

If your traditional blue hydrangea shrub¹s flowers are not as blue as they once were, the soil pH is probably not to its liking. For blue hydrangeas to keep their striking blue color, soil pH should be in the range of 4 * to 5 *. To lower soil pH to the correct level, apply garden iron containing sulfur to assure bright blue hydrangea blooms every year.

Tough summer vining weeds that are showing up in many lawns can be successfully controlled now. Spotted spurge, knotweed, clover, veronica, and ground ivy are best killed with a spray of Triclopyr Weed Killer mixed with Spreader Sticker. A repeat application should be applied one week later to completely eradicate.

Young crabgrass plants are beginning to make their presence known in some lawns. As soon as young crabgrass plants are visible, spray with Fertilome Crabgrass Control. Be sure to keep mower cutting height set high, at three inches, to help discourage broadleaf weeds and crabgrass.

What can be done about mushrooms that are so abundant in many lawns? It¹s been forty years since we have had a control for toadstools and Fairy Ring in turf areas. Now Consan is available to help. Mushrooms and other above ground fungi are the evidence of mycelia growing underground. The formula to restore good turf in a toadstool-infested area is to pick all fungi as soon as they appear, fertilize to keep turf growing, irrigate as needed, and spray Consan fungicide on area. Consan will be a great help to lawn owners who have suffered from toadstools and mushrooms. Now there is a solution!