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May 7, 2003 |
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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:
-
Horizontal - left-to-right, turn, right-to-left across
the lawn.
-
Vertical - top-to-bottom, turn, bottom-to-top across
the lawn.
-
Diagonal 1 - bottom-left to top-right, turn, top-right
to bottom-left. Work toward corners.
-
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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