Be ready to adjust for falling temps
For the first week of September for your gardening chores, remember to not prune any spring-flowering shrubs, such as forsythia, azalea, camellia, holly, lilac, rhododendron, Spirea, and viburnum. They are within three weeks of completing bud formation for next year’s...
Start your defense against stink bugs
Set up stink bug traps in your yard. These traps will lure stink bugs with an attractant that is odor-free to humans, before they enter your home or damage your vegetable or fruit gardens. A light can be purchased separately to be added to the trap for indoor use....
Quick summer tips are in season
Remember, lawns and established plantings need at least one inch of rain every week. If it does not rain, then one slow watering is best. Watering in the morning (5 a.m. to 10 a.m.) is best to prevent fungus and scorching. If you live in an area with sandy soils, such...
Don’t overwater in muggy weather
Is your lawn ready for dethatching?
Grass clippings left on the lawn are returned to an elemental state by microorganisms in the soil and recycled as nutrients. A quarter-inch layer of clippings is good; more is not. Clippings build when overdoses of pesticides kill the soil microorganisms, and when...
Beware of boxwood twig blight
Be on the alert for Boxwood Twig Blight. The fungus Cylindrocladium pseudonaviculatum first presents itself as leaf spot followed by rapid browning and leaf drop starting on the lower branches and moving upward in the canopy. The fungus can remain in fallen leaves, so...
March to it, prepare yourself
March is the month of preparation, so take the time to prepare your garden for the growing season by checking soil pH and cleaning up winter debris is a perfect way start. March is the best time for pruning trees and shrubs, especially for fruit and shade trees. If...
February can be mysterious
February is a month where the weather can vary widely. Even though it may still be cold, damp, snowy and sometimes miserable outdoors, occasionally Mother Nature will bless us with a day or two of sunshine, which inspires us to go outside and work in the yard. Pruning...
Hands off that Christmas cactus!
When the flowers on Christmas cactus fade, pinch off the blooms and begin a five-week dormant cycle. Do not touch the plant for five full weeks — meaning no water and no fertilizer. In the second week of February, begin bi-weekly feedings of Jack’s Classic 20-20-20,...
Garden chores don’t stop for cold
By Ken Morgan Try to keep your holiday cactus in the coolest possible room. This will help delay the opening of the buds until Christmas. Always feed your plant with Super Bloom when watering while the plant is flowering. • Keep leaves raked-up on your lawn and...
