Garden Questions of the Week 

“When should I feed my lawn and which fertilizer do you recommend?”  – It may sound strange, but did you know that feeding your lawn twice this fall, will be the two most important feedings and will be the backbone to how well your turf can perform next year?  It’s true!  Feeding your lawn twice in the fall are the two most important feedings you can give your lawn – and that applies to cool season grasses like bluegrass / perennial ryes and tall fescues.  Two feedings of a high Nitrogen fertilizer replenishes the Nitrogen lost during the summer, improves fall and winter turf colors, helps earlier spring green up, increases shoot density and fall root growth, and enhances storage of energy reserves within the turf plant.  So, which fertilizers should you use?  Look for those with the higher first number. Fertilome’s Lawn Food with Iron, a 24-0-4 makes an excellent choice. Want to feed the lawn with a natural fertilizer?  Try Espoma’s Lawn Food or Milorganite – both all natural fertilizers.  And if you’re seeding or over seeding the lawn in September, use a ‘starter fertilizer’- still has a nice shot of nitrogen but has higher phosphorus and potash levels, which are very important to new grass, and still feeds the existing grass as well.  Remember your first feeding will be in September (weather pending).  The second and final feeding will be sometime mid to late November.   And if you’re thinking about doing some fall weed control, which is one of the best times, we’ll attack those weeds in October!

 “Do you have a particular grass seed that is best for our lawn?  It’s thin and needs over seeding.”  – If your lawn is looking a little thin right now or have a few bare spots, you’re in luck.  September is turf month, and the best month to sow grass seed (weather pending).  And the question that always comes up is, “which seed should I use?”  And the answer – try to use the same seed as the existing grass or one that is compatible.  Most lawns in our area are either a mix of  bluegrass, perennial rye and creeping red fescue, or they’re turf type tall fescues.  Not sure what you have?  Try scotts.com for a great web site to help identify your existing grass!  Now, once you know what type of lawn you have, look for the seed to match – bluegrass / perennial rye/ fine fescue mix, or look for the tall fescue blends such as Turner 5 Way, Scott’s Tall Fescues or one of my favorites, TLC with rhizoming tall fescues.  One last note on seed selection – If you have a bluegrass / rye mix lawn, do not over seed with the tall fescues and vice versa, unless the lawn is so thin you can barely tell grass is even growing.  If you want to switch the type of lawn you have from one to another, you’ll need to kill the existing lawn with Roundup, and then reseed with your new seed selection.  And when seeding, always apply a starter fertilizer to get that new grass seed up and growing.  And which is the best grass to grow here?  Well, there is no one best grass to grow, as it depends on the conditions, and the look you’d like your lawn to have.  But for overall performance, in the sun and partial shade, I personally recommend the turf type tall fescue blends.

Garden Questions of the Week

“When should I cut back False Indigo and how far back?  Should I cut off those black pods and what are they for?”  – Baptisia was perennial of the year last year – great plant!  The black pods are seed heads formed after it flowers, and have been used in dried arrangements.  But for the most part, remove the spent flowers before the seeds form.  This keeps the plant stockier and fuller, and all energy goes into the plant, not the seeds.  Let the plant stay green all summer, then once it turns brown / black in the fall, either remove the foliage late fall or in early spring.

“Is it too late to cut back leggy annuals?”   -Nope!  This weekend I cut back leggy petunias, coleus and some overgrown sweet potato vines.  Gave them a shot of water soluble fertilizer, and figure it will take about 10 days or so and they’ll be back into color / filling out.  By the way, just heard back from a gardener who had purchased a Ruellia for the first time this spring and it had stopped blooming.  We had them cut it back about one fourth, light feeding, and it’s now starting to re-flower! 

”What are the pink lilies that have been coming up recently on a long stalk with no leaves?  Where can one buy them and when should they be planted?”  -Don’t look Ethel!  Those are ‘Naked Ladies’!  Also called Surprise Lilies, Magic Lilies, or Resurrection Lilies (Lycoris), they produce foliage in the spring which dies back, then the flower stalk and pink flowers in August / early September. They actually appear within 3-5 days after emerging thru the soil surface. Once they finish flowering remove the spent flower stalk and all.  (This would be the time to divide them if needed – also done after the foliage dies back in the spring – but don’t like being divided).  You’ll find them sold in garden stores in the fall.  Plant them and leave them alone.

“We’re new homeowners, and have noticed our plants and lawn are covered with spider webs.  What spray do you recommend to get rid of them?”   -None!  I know it’s hard to accept, but the spiders in the garden are our friends.  They’re the good guys.  They’re predators, and right now, they’re doing a fine job reducing the bug populations in our yards.  So we do not recommend spraying for spiders in the garden.  If the webs bother you, feel free to eliminate them with a broom or strong stream of water, but please don’t spray to kill them.  Leave the outdoor spiders alone.

“This year, my junipers have developed berries.  I have kids and pets and was wondering if those berries were poisonous?”   -Well, let’s just say it’s probably best if the kids and pets don’t eat them.  They are bitter and not very palatable, but never the less, shouldn’t be eaten.  Now, juniper berries are actually used for many things, and have been for centuries, including aromatherapy, soaps, food flavoring, and of course, the flavoring for Gin.  But it’s also used as a diuretic, and eating the berries will cause severe increases in urinating, diarrhea, and intestinal pain.  So, show the kids what they are, and tell them to look but don’t eat.  On that same token, some Taxus (Japanese yews) will also produce berries that are a bright red and very fleshy.  Do not eat these berries.  The fleshy fruit on the outside actually is edible, but the seed on the inside is highly poisonous.  Birds can eat them and be okay, as they do not crush the seed and it passes through them.  But, it’s not the same story for others.  Do not eat the berries from Japanese yews!

Garden Questions of the Week

“Heard you mention a natural algae stain remover.  What was the name?”  – It’s called “Wet and Forget” – nonabrasive natural spray that eliminates algae and moss and their stains.   Spray it on and forget about it (for most algae / moss stains).  Some go away quickly, some may take a few weeks, but it does the job.  You can use it on just about any surface, and it really does work!  Just go to their website to see and learn more about it.  It’s www.wetandforget.com.  You’ll also find a store locator on the site- good stuff! J

“Why are my tomatoes cracking on the top?  Are they still edible?”  -Cracking will vary by variety, but it is the results of irregular watering.  If the tomatoes are dry, then suddenly lots of water, the insides grow faster than the skin and they crack on the top.  Of course, they’re still edible, but just don’t last as long.

“Why aren’t the tops of my tomatoes ripening?”   -High temperatures and extreme sunny days will cause irregular coloring (or ripening) of the fruit.  And yes, they’re still very much edible.

“Why are my tomato skins so thick?”   -Obviously tomato skin thickness will vary by variety, but due to dry weather and high temperatures, the skins can become thicker as needed to maintain moisture inside the fruit.  By the way, I really shouldn’t refer to tomatoes as a fruit.  Botanically they are a fruit, but according to the law (Supreme Court), they’re classified as a vegetable.

“My lantana had flowers, but now has purple berries and no flowers.  Any ideas?”  -Yes, it went to seed.  Cut off those seed heads, and clip back tips of the plant.  Hopefully we’ll get it to re-grow and keep flowering.

“How do bagworms move from plant to plant?”   -Each bag can contain as many as 500-1000 eggs.  In June, when they hatch, you can imagine how small they are!  Well, they get into the wind, and fly to other plants (or stay put on the home plant).  They can also move around the plant they hatch on, as well as onto neighboring plants if the branches overlap and touch.  Ps. A spray now may kill a few, but what we have found is that it stops them from feeding any more! 

“My Autumn Joy Sedum always flops over this time of the year.  What can I do to prevent this?” 1.) Place a grow ring or peony ring over them before they start to grow in the spring (for support) 2.) Cut them in half in late May/early June.  This delays flowering by a couple weeks, but keeps them shorter, stockier, and less apt to flop!