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 |