Posts Tagged ‘grub preventer’
Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009
“Are there any regular shrubs that we can add to our landscape that will flower in the summer?” -Absolutely! Take a look at shrub and ground cover roses, especially the great Knock Out rose series, Hydrangeas, with many selections flowering right now, Potentilla with its summer white or yellow flowers, Sorbaria (False Spirea) with great fluffy plumes of creamy white flowers, Clethra (Summersweet) with its sweet smelling summer flowers, Northern Bush Honeysuckle with its yellow flowers, and Rose of Sharon (single and double flowers of many colors) that blooms late June thru mid September. By the way, Rose of Sharon flowers are highly edible and a great addition to just about any salad. My two daughters and I used to eat the Rose of Sharon flowers that were in front of our local McDonald’s order board. I tried to fill them up on the flowers before they ordered. It never worked, but it was kind of fun eating the flowers.
“Is it too late to apply a grub preventer to my lawn?” -Nope, but get on it right away. If not, then you’ll be using a grub killer such as Dylox later in the summer (one time kill).
“My butterfly bush has been flowering like crazy, but now all I have are a few flowers and lots of dead ones. Is that it for the year?” -Nope, but you need to do a little deadheading. Go through and clip out those dead flowers. That will encourage new growth and more flowers. Some folks forego the deadheading and just shear back the entire plant. That’s up to you.
“Tell me more about killing weeds with vinegar. Does it matter what type of vinegar? Will it also kill the grass?” -No and yes. Doesn’t matter what type of vinegar is used, but the higher the percentage of acidic acid the better it works. And it is a non selective vegetation killer, meaning it kills what you spray it on, weeds, grass, and all. Vinegar is strictly a foliar kill, and does not kill the roots.
“We have ants galore in our yard and landscape beds this year. How do we get rid of them?” -Granted high populations of ants can be a nuisance, and depending on the type, can cause some destruction. They can also be great soil aerators, cleaning machines, etc. And do remember there is no way you could get of all of them, nor would you want to. OSU Extension has a great fact sheet on identifying ants in your yard or home (ohioline.osu.edu – yard and garden fact sheets). Try to identify which ones you have. Controls include commercially developed insecticides and ant baits, as well as many ‘natural’ home remedies. We have a tip sheet that includes many of the ‘natural’ ways to repel or reduce ant populations that have been collected over the years. Go to our web site and find ‘The Ants Go Marching Naturally’ tip sheet. Good luck!
“My Red maple has developed multiple cracks on the trunk, and it looks like some of the leaves are getting a tinge of red. What should I do?”-First of all, you’re not the only one experiencing this right now (not that it makes you feel any better!). Secondly, cracks in tree trunks can be the results of many factors – drought, frost crack, sun crack, tree stress, root decline, top decline, herbicides, poor graft, too wet, too dry, planted wrong, compacted nasty soils, tree growing too fast, and on and on. But this year we are seeing more than usual, in several different types of trees, and in some cases, multiple cracks rather than just one. For the past month, I personally have been going back and forth with Joe Boggs (OSU Extension) looking at examples and the sudden increase in cracked trunks, and in many cases, we are not seeing any one thing that stands out as thee factor for the cracking! But one factor that has not been mentioned is the 70 mph plus winds from Hurricane Ike. There is a good chance these cracks may be the results of twisting and bending from the high winds! Unfortunately we can’t be totally sure, but it does stand to reason. Nevertheless, if trees are splitting / cracking, make sure the tree is as healthy as possible (proper cultural practices), make sure loose bark is removed to encourage sealing over and keeping insects out, and wait to see what happens. Some will recover – we’re already seeing some that looks like they may not recover. Note: I do want to say that several trees that I have visited (turning early colors) were simply drought stressed. Yep, lack of moisture in the root ball area.
“I may have missed it, but did you announce the dates for yourNursery Outlet Sale?” -We haven’t officially announced it, but I did let it slip a few times. The sale is open to the public Sept 18, 19, and 20,25,26,27 (added a Friday this year!). We will have a special website for all the information, so keep reading our newsletter. We’ll let you know when that is ready – probably in a couple weeks. But don’t tell anyone that I told you!
[Can vegetarians eat animal crackers?]
Tags: butterfly bush, clethra, flowering summer shrubs, grub preventer, red maple, rose of sharon, shrubs, Weeds
Posted in Problems in the Garden This Week, Weeds | No Comments »
Thursday, June 25th, 2009
Hey Ron, is it Grub Ex time?“ -Why, yes, yes it is! Grub preventers can actually be applied anytime mid May thru sometime in July. Mid May also covers a few nasty bugs that can affect bluegrass lawns. Remember to make sure you’re using a “Grub Preventer” not a “Grub Killer”. Preventers (kill grubs at an early stage) last all summer (about 90 days) where as the killers are a one shot application (used early or late in the season). ‘GrubEX’ by Scotts and ‘Annual Grub Beater’ by Bonide are the products you’re looking for to be used a season long grub preventers.
“I remember reading about a fungus that looks like vomit on mulch beds. I have sprayed with a fungicide, and seem to remember you saying chlorox would work as well. Should I remove it after I spray it?” -That fungus is actually a slime mold and is called “Dog Barf (Vomit) Fungus, also known as egg batter mold. Despite being commonly referred to as the dog vomit fungus, it is not a fungus at all. Slime molds can be described as yellow, slimy, multinucleate bodies called plasmodia, simply stated; a big colony of slimy blobs! The reason the yellow slime appears to move across our flower beds or lawns is because it really does. If enough moisture and food is available the slime could move up to several feet a day. As the environment around the slime mold dries out the movement stops and so to does the slime. As it dries it develops spore-producing structures and its color fades from the bright yellow to a dull earthy brown. As the new spores develop they are disbursed into the wind and the entire organism disappears. Because slime molds do not cause diseases of plants or turf, there are no pesticides available or other products recommended for their control in the landscape. The best way to get rid of slime mold is to break it up and dry it out. If the slime is still moist, simply rake it up with the substrate it is growing on and dispose of it in the garbage. Do not use fungicides NOR Chlorox to get rid of these slimy blobs!
“The bottom leaves on my container tomatoes are turning yellow. Should I be spraying for a disease?” -Not necessarily, especially if they’re growing in containers and you’re using potting soil. Chances are its just a natural thing happening. Mine will do that as well. By the time mine are 3 feet tall, I will have picked the bottom 10-12 inches of leaves off the plant. This is actually a good practice if you’re growing them in the ground, as this keeps the bottom leaves away from the soil and the possibility of soil born diseases splashing up onto the plant. Limbing them up, as well as a good mulching around the plants, can really help reduce leaf diseases (soil born) on tomatoes growing in the ground. But again, they will naturally yellow a bit on the bottoms. Just to be sure, you can always take a leaf to your local garden store for someone to see.
“Hey Ron – have you set the dates for this year’s Nursery Outlet Sale yet?” -Yes we have, but we don’t usually let the cat out of the bag until a little later. But if you’ll keep it to yourself, the sale opens to the public Sept. 18,19,20,25,26,27. We added an extra day this year. But that’s between me and you. Okay?
Readers Comments:
“For the lady with the hydrangeas that don’t bloom – too much shade will cause that to happen as well.” (-Good point! I forgot to mention they were on the SE side of the house. But you are right – that can be an issue!)
Tags: bagworms, dog barf fungus, grub preventer, tomatoes containers
Posted in Diseases, Questions of the Week | No Comments »
Saturday, May 30th, 2009
“When is the best time to apply a grub preventer to my lawn?” -Actually, it can be applied anytime late May thru July (and sometimes into August) but I usually look to do it sometime in June. If you have a bluegrass lawn, applying the grub preventers now (May) will also help control billbug, which can be very damaging to bluegrass lawns, especially if it is a dryer late May and June. Remember to buy the grub preventer for summer coverage, not the grub killer, which is used later for a one time shot / kill.
“Last year you mentioned some drought tolerant annuals that you actually planted in your containers on the southwest exposure. What were they again?” -Just finished planting those again! Ornamental sweet potato vine, creeping Jenny, Angelonia, Magilla Perilla, and Diamond Frost Euphorbia. They all do a great job baking in the sun!
“My 25′ blue spruce has lost all the needles at the top of the tree. I can see the brown cones hanging down, but no needles and no new growth. What can I do?” -Sounds like you have bagworms (brown cone like things hanging from the branches) that stripped the needles last year. If those were closer to the ground, I’d say pick them off now and destroy them, as the egg will be hatching out of those bags within the next 2-4 weeks. And, each bag (if a female is inside) can have 500 eggs or more inside! Picking off now and destroying them physically eliminates them before they hatch. But in this case, where you can’t get up there to pick them off, just keep watching. They’ll be hatching out in the next 2-4 weeks, and when they do, and you see those little bags moving around the spruce, spray with ‘Bt’. May take two shots, but that should take care of them. Keep monitoring to be sure. As for the dead top, if nothing regrows, you may need to have the dead top removed.
“After your class with Rita Heikenfeld, I purchased about 10 herbs which have all been planted. When will it be OK to harvest them? Do the plants need to reach a certain size first? I am afraid to pull some leaves off now, and have almost nothing left of the plant. Always love your classes!” -Thanks! Okay, why not let Riat answer your question today? -”You’ll be glad you purchased those herbs. For harvesting, it depends on how big they are. Here are some tips: Start when the herb has enough foliage to maintain growth. Perennial herbs, like oregano and thyme can be harvested now now, cut back up to 75% and will give you a second flush of growth during the season. Basil: let it get several sets of healthy leaves. By the end of June/early July the plant will be very large and you can harvest a good amount and pick off any flower heads that form (use those too). Leaf production of annual herbs is most abundant before flowering. Annual herbs have the best volatile oil flavor when harvested after flower buds appear but before they open. Dill doesn’t take to pruning as well as basil, and neither does Cilantro. I toss a few seeds of each in the ground on a bi-weekly basis to keep a nice patch going. The bees love all flowers of herbs, especially thyme. Harvest early in the morning after the dew dries but before the heat of the day drives the oils either back down to the roots or out the top. (Lavender is notorious for being immensely fragrant right before noon) Herbs like lavender and tarragon love to be pruned – you can go about halfway down for each when they are large and you’ll get a second flush of growth. Prune/harvest perennial herbs until one month before frost date. Too late pruning makes tender growth come out and sometimes that new growth can’t harden off before winter. Hope this helps.” -Rita
Tags: drought tolerant annuals, grub preventer, herbs
Posted in Questions of the Week | 2 Comments »
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