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May 7, 2003

Stormy Skies...
It sounds like we missed a doozy of a storm Sunday night.  We were in Maryland and did not receive the news about the tornadoes until Monday morning.  I certainly hope that if any Savvygardeners were directly affected by the storm they survived unscathed.  Mother Nature's fury can be particularly nasty this time of the year.  The rain is welcomed but the other nonsense we can certainly live without.  The word is that another strong storm system is moving in our direction and will be arriving sometime tomorrow.  Please take caution - it sounds as if this storm could be similar to the last with strong winds, heavy rain and hail.  Don't worry, I have had a word with Mother Nature and soon everything will be calm so that we may continue our daily gardening rituals.  

You should see our peonies!  This is the first year (they have been planted for five years) that all of them are busting with blooms!   Peonies always remind me of Memorial Day.  My Mom and Dad always take peonies to their parents' gravesides - a tradition that has been in the family for a long time.  If you haven't planted your own peonies don't worry.  Our sponsor Bannister Garden Center begins their annual Peony Festival May 14th continuing throughout the month of May while supplies last.  Tony and Neva Mistretta are the King and Queen of peony growers.  They have over 80 different varieties and over 40 will be on display!  So for you peony lovers this is the place to be.  Don't forget to tell them that you heard about them in Savvygardener.com!

For all of you Savvy Mom's out there, have a Happy Mother's Day!

~ Shelly  

For Trees That Have Been Through Hail and Back...
Sunday's severe storms are a reminder of how harsh Mother Nature can be.  Since many of our severe storms carry hail it's important to think about the implications of hail damage on our trees - especially those with thin bark.  Ned Tisserat, Plant Pathologist for the Cooperative Extension Service at the K-State Research and Extension Horticulture office explained the problem last year and the advice is as good today as it was then.  "Hail may strip the bark off trees or provide entrance points for canker and shoot blight diseases.  Thyronectria canker of honeylocust, perennial canker of peach and Sphaeropsis tip blight of pines may increase dramatically following a hail storm.  A fungicide application immediately following a hail storm is sometimes warranted.  However, the application should be made relatively soon after the injury (within a few days).  Unfortunately, in most cases fungicide applications are made well beyond the point they will do any good."

In other words, act quickly to thwart any unnecessary disease that might occur.

Cutworms Collared...
Cutworms can be a real problem for gardeners setting out transplants.  Protect your newly transplanted plants with collars.  Simply cut strips of cardboard 2 inches wide by 8 inches long and staple them into a band.  Place this collar around the plant stem and press it about 1 inch into the soil.  Simple and very effective!

Getting Rid Of Girdles...
Remember to remove old stakes, ties, and labels from your trees and shrubs.  Stems and trunks grow in diameter this time of year and it is important to remove any constrictions that exist around them.  Even a thin wire can completely girdle a branch causing it to eventually die. While it's true that tree trunks may grow around wire, nails, or ties, they will forever have a structural defect that may be unsightly and is likely prone to storm damage.

Source

A Clip In Time...
The proper time to prune continues to vex many gardeners.  This time of year can get confusing because some shrubs are flowering, some are done, and others are still getting ready.  Here's the deal:

Shrubs that flower in the spring are normally pruned immediately after flowering.  Examples of these types of plants include forsythia, Vanhoutte spirea, flowering quince, lilac and mockorange.  Though pruning during the dormant season does not harm the health of the plant, the flowering display will be reduced.  Shrubs that bloom on current season's growth or that do not produce ornamental flowers are best pruned in late winter to early spring.  Examples include Rose-of-Sharon, Bumald Spirea and Japanese Spirea.

There are three basic methods used in pruning shrubs:

• Thinning is used to thin out branches from a shrub that is too dense.  It is accomplished by removing most of the inward growing twigs by either cutting them back to a larger branch or cutting them back to just above an outward facing bud.  On multi- stemmed shrubs, the oldest canes may be completely removed. 
• Heading back is removing the end of a branch by cutting it back to a bud and is used for either reducing height or keeping a shrub compact.  Branches are not cut back to a uniform height as this will result in a "witches-broom" effect.
• Rejuvenation is the most severe type of pruning and is normally done during the dormant season.  It may be used on multi-stem shrubs that have become too large with too many old branches to justify saving the younger canes.  All stems are cut back to 3- to 5-inch stubs.  This works well for spirea, forsythia, pyracantha, ninebark, Russian almond, little leaf mock orange, shrub roses and flowering quince.

Source

Butterflies Will Flutter By...
Anyone else notice the butterflies returning to their gardens?  They're sure showing up around ours.  Attracting them to your garden is easy if you follow some simple rules.

• Grow plants that caterpillars enjoy eating and let them eat.  Remember, it takes a healthy caterpillar to make a pretty butterfly!  Try dill, clover, and fennel.
• Grow flowers that butterflies enjoy visiting for their nectar.  Aster, butterfly bush, coneflower, cosmos, and milkweed are excellent choices.
• Be careful with insecticides.  In addition to getting rid of other pests these poisons kill caterpillars and butterflies.  This is a good reason to establish a separate butterfly garden.

What's Hot On The Hotline...
Selection of certain insecticides and miticides has been complicated by the removal of some old standbys from store shelves on the initiative of the EPA or of the chemical manufacturers themselves.  A discussion of pesticides and alternatives is in this week's What's Hot On the Hotline...

The Turfgrass Two-Step?
Most of us are creatures of habit.  When it comes to mowing your lawn you probably follow the same back and forth pattern every time you cut the grass.  Unfortunately this regular practice will eventually wear ruts in the lawn where the mower wheels repeatedly follow the same path.  To avoid this problem try a four-way rotation of cutting patterns.  Picture your lawn as a sheet of paper and try these patterns.  Next week - tango lessons:

1. Horizontal - left-to-right, turn, right-to-left across the lawn.
2. Vertical - top-to-bottom, turn, bottom-to-top across the lawn.
3. Diagonal 1 - bottom-left to top-right, turn, top-right to bottom-left.  Work toward corners.
4. Diagonal 2 - bottom-right to top-left, turn, top-left to bottom-right.  Work toward corners.

Finally...
"There is more pleasure in making a garden than in contemplating a paradise."

~ Anne Scott-James, Author

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