TIMELY GARDEN TIPS FROM OVER THE GARDEN FENCE

July 3, 2004

The joy of gardening doesn¹t get much better than this: perfect summer days, excellent plant growth, and a tremendous show of blooms. In my memory, Southwest Michigan hasn¹t been this green on the first of July with so many flowers gracing the landscape. Add in the many clear blue lakes and streams, beautiful farm fields, and lush woodlands; why would anyone want to live anywhere else? Sounds like a tourist bureau advertisement; but really, look around, there is more garden and horticultural activity here than anywhere else in the Midwest. Southwest Michigan is truly a jewel.

Want some more color in your garden? Does your landscape need some rearranging or maybe a partial makeover? Well, there is no better time than the present to plant. If you will be available to irrigate, then feel confident of planting any potted or balled-in-burlap plant now. At Wedel¹s Nursery, the plant selection doesn¹t decline, but it increases during the summer. Wedel¹s has over 600 varieties of perennial plants, 100 tree varieties, 112 shrub, 65 evergreen varieties and water garden plant varieties now number over 40.

Before beginning a new planting this summer, be sure to eradicate all perennial weeds and grasses first. Define the edges of your new planting with a water hose or twine. Apply one inch of moisture. Wait twenty-four hours, then spray with Kill-Zall. Wait six days, then repeat. Wait two days, remove sod, then spade or rototill. It¹s always best to start your new planting clean of perennial weeds - especially quack grass. Once planted, these pests are much more difficult to remove.

Next step is to have the soil analyzed. For the best success with your new plantings, good drainage, enough organic content, and soil pH questions should be addressed.

Heavy soils should have clay soil conditioner and gypsum added. Low pH soils should be amended with lime. Soils with poor organic content should be amended with sphagnum peat moss, composted cow manure, and leaf compost. The folks at Wedel¹s examine soil free and can help with suggestions on the correct materials for success. The best flower and vegetable gardens, tree and shrub plantings, and lawns all had soil adjustments before installation.

Speaking of planting, here are some suggestions for great summer landscape and garden color.

Potted summer blooming perennials that can be planted now and will blossom immediately include: Gloriosa Daisy, the 10 varieties of yarrow, 20 daylily varieties, 25 colors of hybrid lilies, all 30 colors of Astilbe, 6 Shasta Daisies, yellow evening primrose, and hollyhocks. More great summer choices include bright gold helianthus, the 8 varieties of coreopsis, any of the 40 varieties of hostas, and ornamental grasses for both gardens and landscape. There are tall and short grasses, green, blue, and variegated foliage grasses, and grasses with plumes of all sizes. Wedel¹s stocks over 30 ornamental grass varieties.

Possibilities abound for folks who want to use summer flowering shrubs to liven up their landscape. Wedel¹s selection of summer shrubs is now in bloom and ready to move to your landscape. Some summer bloomers include hydrangea, the nine varieties of spirea that bloom from June through August, pink white and yellow flowering potentilla, butterfly bush, and blue flowering caryopteris.

Some perennial flowers will bloom more than once a season if spent flowers are dead-headed. Cutting of the flower stems will, of course, enhance the beauty of the garden, but it will also encourage some perennials to have a second burst of blooms. To encourage a second bloom time on perennial flowers, be sure to scatter Flower Tone under plants and soak foliage and root zone with Pro Formula Miracle Gro. The same techniques apply to annual bedding plants; trim off old flowers, feed every ten days with Bloom Plus, and keep them evenly moist.

Fall flowering garden mums and asters should be pinched back now. Tall, ungainly asters and mums in our autumn gardens are seldom an asset. By pinching or pruning mums back now to about eight inches tall, they will grow more compact and be more attractive this fall with many more blooms.

Remember, keep lawn mower cutting height at 3 to 3 * inches. Scalping lawns with a low cut now will encourage poor turf density, stress, and conditions for more crabgrass and broadleaf weed problems. Mowing turf at the highest setting will encourage deeper grass roots, which conserves moisture and discourages weeds.

Now that surface soils are drying, irrigation of gardens, container plantings, lawns and landscape plants becomes a priority. As a general rule, lawns and garden plants will perform best when temperatures are above 68 degrees and receive one-half inch of water twice a week. The irrigation needs of ornamental landscape plants are very different than lawn, flowers, and vegetable gardens. Ornamental trees, shrubs, and evergreens can be damaged from the regular irrigation that a lawn or garden requires. Be sure to direct sprinklers away from ornamentals when watering turf areas. Porch, deck, and patio planters need special moisture needs. Containers tend to dry out quickly and need daily monitoring. Once an annual plant wilts from drought, it takes quite some time for it to revive and begin to set blooms again. Check container plantings daily. Use the thumb method: if the soil is moist to the touch, don¹t water. Always allow for perfect drainage, never let outdoor pots sit in a saucer of water.

Bacterial Speck, Bacterial Leaf Spot, Early Blight, and Anthracnose are showing up on tomato plants. Tomato leaves, stems, and fruit can all be affected. Keep plants sprayed with Daconil 2787 to control these tomato diseases.

Check cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and other cole plants often for worm damage. Sevin or Pyrethrin will control cabbage worms.

The best way to control weeds in sweet corn is to continually mound up and smother small weeds at the base of the corn stalks with loose soil. This not only smothers and controls weeds, but the mounded soil provides for better support and stronger stalks because the air roots grow into the added soil. Hill up or mound sweet corn about every two weeks. Before mounding up, fertilize sweet corn with urea nitrogen.

Now that spring flowering shrubs have finished blooming, it is time to shape them up. By shaping up, I mean it is time to prune them to the shape you desire for the plant. Many folks hesitate to prune for fear of harming a favorite shrub. I¹ve always felt that pruning never harms, but only improves plants. Pruning will make all shrubs more compact and produce more blooms on a stronger plant. Always fertilize with Plant Tone after pruning.

Earwigs are showing up everywhere. The pesky little critters have become real nuisances in outdoor living areas and gardens as well as in the house. Use either Permethrin spray or granules around the house foundation to keep earwigs, ants, and other crawling insects at bay.