TIMELY GARDEN TIPS FROM

OVER THE GARDEN FENCE August 14, 2004

As summer winds down, it seems as though our schedules become more and more full. Gardening, county fairs, back-to-school buying, and the necessity to squeeze in some more vacation time all occupy our August calendars to overflowing. Even though they are very busy, green-thumbers should start some very important projects at this time.

August and September are the best months of the year for starting or improving our lawns. Late summer and early autumn produce the optimum amount of daylight, moisture, and soil temperatures for grass seed germination, and grass plant growth.

The first step to a better lawn is deciding the quality of turf desired: best lawn in the neighborhood, rough and tough play area, or just green grass. Next, survey the present lawn to determine its condition and what steps will be necessary to bring turf up to the standard you want. Lawn grasses are out of their natural environment and should not be considered permanent. As grass thins, it is usually replaced by broadleaf weeds, undesirable grass plants, or moss. The best weed control is to maintain a thick turf.

Let’s begin, then, by eliminating all broadleaf weeds with Fertilome Weed-Out Broadleaf Weed Killer. This spray will kill broadleaf weeds without harming good grass plants. Next, eliminate crabgrass with a spray of Fertilome Crabgrass Killer.

Reseeding is most successful using a slicer/seeder rented from Wedel’s to sow grass seed.

If lawn is hopelessly thin or is infested with coarse perennial grasses, the answer is to start over. First, apply a spray of Kill-Zall Weed and Grass Killer, which will kill almost all vegetation. Seeding may commence four days after application. If starting over with Kill-Zall, soil should be amended before seeding. Rototill in gypsum, clay soil conditioner, lime, and composted cow manure humus as soil conditions dictate. Before seed is sown, always apply Scotts Starter Fertilizer to speed up turf establishment.

When selecting grass seed to improve your turf, be sure to buy blends containing new improved varieties. The advantages of improved varieties are many - disease resistance, more vigorous growth habits, and better color. Look for these new varieties: Victory Fine Fescue, Spartan Hard Fescue, Crest, Alpine, and Baron Bluegrasses, and Fiesta III turf-type perennial ryegrass.

God creates perfect conditions at this time of year for making lawn improvements and repairs. By taking action soon, the wise lawn owner can fully capitalize on ideal late summer and early autumn seed starting conditions. There is no better time of the year when your time and dollars will reap more benefits for your lawn.

Make your first stop at Wedel’s Garden Center. Be sure to bring sod and soil samples for testing. Our Lawn Pros will gladly share their turf knowledge with you and give you a personalized lawn improvement program as well as a schedule for maintaining a great turf. A greener, more lush, thicker turf can be in your future when lawn improvements are begun now.

This is also a great time to assess your entire landscape and gardens. Most of us have plants that haven’t lived up to expectations this year. Now is the time to remove these poor performers and replace them with plants that will be an asset. Perennial flowers that have become invasive, bloom poorly, have diseased foliage or attract excessive insects. Trees that have diseased leaves every year, are weak stemmed, and create a mess on the lawn after every storm. Trees with girdling roots, damaged trunks, or split branches. Evergreens that have overgrown their intended environment and are brushing against the house, blocking a choice view, or were planted too close together and are now over crowded and beginning to exhibit dieing and dead branches. Old fruit trees that have just one week of beauty in the spring and 53 weeks of decaying fruit on the ground. Overgrown shrubs. And sun-loving plants that were once attractive but now doing poorly under a large and growing shade tree.

What, oh what should we do? First of all, don’t procrastinate any longer. We all do it. Joyce and I had difficulty in deciding if and when a large hemlock should be removed that was next to the corner of our house. Well, last week we finally got off the fence and removed the fourteen-foot giant and replaced it with a six-footer that I promised myself I would keep sheared to a reasonable height. Wow, what a beautiful change! More light pours through the windows, our window box is far more visible, and every other plant on that side of our landscape is no longer overpowered. Now we are wondering why we waited so long.

After removing poor performers, spend some time wandering through Wedel’s Nursery looking for some new plant varieties. No doubt there are some plants you have yet to discover that will make a positive difference when included in your garden and landscape scheme. Be sure to visit with Wedel’s Michigan Certified Nursery Specialists and Master Gardeners who will be pleased to share their plant knowledge with you.

Wedel’s Garden Center’s diagnostic department has been very busy this week examining many plant parts, insects and diseases including some of the following.

Fall tent worms are appearing in walnut, crabapple, and beech trees. Take care of these pests with one spray of Spinosad.

Mildew is running wild this summer, spoiling the foliage of phlox, lilac, azaleas, heliopsis, begonias, and many other flowers and shrubs. Control Downy Mildew with sprays of Aliette. Control Powdery Mildew with Funginex or Banner sprays.

Speaking of mildew, there seems to be a great deal of mildew on cucumber, melon, squash, and pumpkin vines this summer. Mildew not only reduces plant thrift, it also reduces the harvest and storage life of the crop. Control mildew on vine crops with sprays of Daconil 2787, spraying every ten days.

You’d better check your vegetable garden every day for disappearing tomato plants. Big, fat tomato worms are very active now. A few tomato worms can reduce a once large, healthy plant to bare branch stubs in just a few days. Control tomato worms with Pyrethrin sprays.

Is there a magnolia or tulip tree in your landscape? If so, be sure to examine it closely for scale infestation. Scale insects are very numerous on magnolia and tulip trees in many neighborhoods. Scale can cause the death of branches and sticky drips of honeydew on anything under the tree, which attracts a ton of other insects to the infected area. Control scale with sprays of Ultra-Fine Horticultural Oil mixed with Malathion. Usually, scale-infested plants are covered with black mildew growing on the honeydew. One spray of Funginex will clean up the mildew. Apply Systemic Tree & Shrub Insect Control around these plants in October for twelve-month scale protection.