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August 8, 2001

Scorched By The Sun...
I feel as if this summer heat is scorching not only my plants but my gardening spirit.  As hard as I try I am having a tough time keeping things watered and cut back.  By the end of the day when the temps are still in the high 80's I find I have little energy to tackle the tasks in the garden.  It is truly August - the time of year when the gardener in me becomes tired of looking at her wilted plants.  Every night before Kevin and I go to bed we watch the weather forecast to see if there is a change in the near future.  We are still anxiously awaiting that change.  I dream about being in the garden toiling in the dirt and preparing it for bulbs and other perennials that we will plant this fall.  I guess we have to remain patient and hope that the month of August will hold a few cool days for us.  So for now I sit inside enjoying the coolness, wishing I was outside.

Kevin and I will venture out to the K-State Research & Extension Center this weekend to walk and gaze upon the results of their cultivar trials.  We are headed out early before it gets too warm.  Join us for this spectacular look at thousands of different cultivars of annuals and perennials.  Sounds like fun!  Click here for times and more information on this extravaganza.

Here's hoping that rain and cooler temperatures are right around the corner!

~ Shelly  

Oak Wilt Worries...
There sure has been a lot of talk in the media about Oak Wilt in the Kansas City area.  It's a troubling tree disease that can really devastate our beautiful oak trees.  We've unearthed an excellent resource published by the USDA Forest Service.  How to Identify, Prevent, and Control Oak Wilt can be found  here...

Suspicious Soil Structure...
Our rosarian Al Karsten sent us a message last week concerning, of course, roses.  Al wants all Savvygardeners to think about soil structure in our rose beds.  If your roses exhibited stunted growth or you have just been disappointed with your roses this growing season it may very well be due to the soil.  Now is a good time to have your soil tested.   Roses do best in soil around 6.0 to 6.5 pH.  If the laboratory testing results indicate a pH around 5.5 you've probably found the reason your roses did not develop as you had expected. 

To get a soil sample for testing Al suggests you dig down in the dry soil of your rose bed (near where the roses are growing) with a trowel taking a small sample of the soil from one end of the rose bed.  Again with the trowel take a small sample of soil from the other end of the bed.  Finally take samples from the front and back of the bed.  Mix the four small samples together and place them in a zip-lock plastic bag.  Contact your local extension office for details on where to take the sample and any associated fees. 

Savvy Strawberry Strategy...
It may be difficult to think about next year's strawberries already but this is a critical time for the 2002 crop.  In August and September the cell size of next spring's fruit bud is determined.  The more favorable the growing conditions now, the bigger the cells this fall, which means bigger berries in the spring.  Yea!  Unfortunately just a week without water can stress the plants and reduce next year's berry production.  Plants require one to two inches of water per week through the summer.  Take extra care in watering so that the soil does not remain soggy for any prolonged period of time.

Cicada Killers On The Loose...
Last week we talked about those noisy cicadas.  This week we thought we'd mention the cicada's sworn enemy - the aptly named
Cicada Killer Wasp.  You've probably seen one or two of these big, lumbering wasps recently.  Or maybe you've just seen their nesting areas which resemble anthills.  So, where does the name come from?  Well, the female paralyzes cicadas with her stinger.  She then drags or flies with her prey back to the nest where she will place the cicada in a "cell" along with a single egg.  The cicada then becomes the food source for the soon-to-hatch egg.  

While they look menacing cicada killer wasps aren't likely to hurt people unless they are really provoked.  The female uses her stinger to kill cicadas, not to defend the nest.  The male actively defends the nest but lacks a stinger.

Strip Trees Show...
Several readers have written to us with concern over trees that are shedding bark.  Fortunately, shedding bark on some trees is a completely normal development.  The bark of most young trees is smooth and thin.  As the tree grows, the bark layer thickens with the outermost tissue eventually dying.  Continued growth pushes the bark outward, causing the outer layers to crack.  On some trees, the outer dead layers peel and drop off, thereby revealing the inner layers of bark.  

Shedding or peeling bark is characteristic of trees such as the sycamore, redbud, silver maple, shagbark hickory, birch, and Scotch pine.  The grayish brown bark on a large sycamore tree, for example, flakes off in irregular blotches revealing a cream or whitish gray inner bark.  Last winter's extreme cold may be contributing to more bark shedding than we've seen in a while.  

Cracking and peeling of bark on the south or southwest sides of young fruit trees, red maples, and lindens often indicates a serious problem however.  Often attributed to sunscald, the damaged bark comes off completely down to the wood.  The loss of bark will reduce the vigor and health of the tree and possibly shorten its life.  If the trunk eventually becomes completely girdled, the tree will die.  Unfortunately, not much can be done to help trees with severely damaged bark.  Wound dressings or tree paints are of no benefit.

Source

What's Hot On The Hotline...
The past five years have seen a steady increase in interest and enthusiasm for Clematis, an amazingly versatile and rewarding genus of vines and herbaceous shrubs.  There have been some recent calls about the proper care of clematis.  You'll find tips and a little clematis history in this week's What's Hot on the Hotline... 

Ozone, Mowzone...
By now you've heard your favorite weather personality refer to Orange and Red Ozone Alert Days.  These are the hot, humid days that have lead to unhealthy concentrations of ground-level ozone pollution.  One contributor to the problem is gas-powered lawn mowers.  Oversimplifying a little, daytime heat, sun, and mower emissions combine to create the "bad" ozone.  Here's where you come in!  By waiting until evening to mow your lawn you can realize the following benefits:

  • Your gas powered mower will produce fewer ozone-creating emissions.  
  • Your lawn will have the relatively cooler night to recover from the cutting before being exposed to the daytime sun and heat.

Everyone wins!

Finally...
"Summer set lip to earth's bosom bare, 
And left the flushed print in a poppy there."

~ Francis Thompson, Poet, Writer, 1859-1907

 

 

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