A friend recently asked me when he should prune or cut back his hydrangeas that are growing in his landscape. Although I know a good deal about pruning, this answer required an explanation. There are four basic types of Hydrangeas: Mophead Oakleaf PeeGee Annabelle The first two types (Mophead, Oakleaf) produce buds on old wood, or stems that have been on the plant for more than a year. The best time to prune these varieties is after they are done blooming in the summer, but no later than the end of July s
I recently received some pictures that one of our Field Service Professionals from Columbia City, IN of a lawn that he has been taking care of this year. Earlier in the summer, the lawn suffered from damage caused by mowing during the heat of the day that resulted in some disease activity on the stressed grass plants. As you can see from the first two pictures, this lawn was seriously stressed by heat and a lack of water.
For much of the country, fall means the end to working outdoors for another year. There are always many tasks that have to be completed before the first snowflakes start to fall. 5 Gardening Chores to Accomplish this Fall: Pull Plants - Within the next couple of weeks, I will be pulling up my vegetable garden plants and all the flowering annuals that I put in this past spring. I will probably wait a little while before cutting back the perennial plants. As long as the sun continues to shine, those plants will continue to grow
Although much of the country enjoyed summer like weather well into October, it is going to get cold and it is going to happen sooner than we may think... Where I live in northern Illinois, we had some light frost one week and then temperatures in the 80’s 4 days later. I guess you can blame it on global warming, but enjoying summer time temperatures in the middle of October is a blessing. As the temperatures drop, insects that have been living outside are going to creep into our homes. These insects do this by squeezing through some of the tiniest cracks and
The one yard task I dislike the most is raking leaves. I have a very large Silver Maple tree on the side of my house. My neighbor has a multi-trunk Silver Maple that is not as large as my tree, but it formed many years ago, probably from one seedling that was mowed a couple of times, resulting in a “clump” Silver Maple. Eventually, the five trees that are all growing into each other at the base will start crowding each other out and, eventually, the entire tree will probably come crashing down. Anyway, that group of trees also produces an abundance of fall leaves. Raking all t
It is at this time of year that I start to evaluate how well my plants grew this past summer. My tomatoes did not get enough sun to produce much fruit, so those will have to be moved to a new location next year. The Variegated Ribbon Grass that I planted several years ago is spreading out way too much as it has aggressive underground roots called rhizomes. If I don’t cut it back every couple of years, roots and all, it will overtake the garden in a couple of years. Changing up your plants
I would guess that many of dog owners have had to deal with their dog being “skunked” at least once during its lifetime. Skunks have adapted to living in an urban environment and can be found in most major metropolitan areas. They are becoming very active at this time of year as they are building up food reserves for the winter. Although skunks don’t hibernate, they do enter a type of dormant state and rarely leave their underground den during the winter. The chance of your dog getting “skunked” increases at this time of year due to the increase in skunk foraging. Skun
One of my coworkers sent me a picture of some weird looking growths in her garden areas. They rose quickly, arising with a red stalk and a brown tip and they stink. The common name for this organism is a Dog Stinkhorn. Fall is the traditional time when Stinkhorns will push up in gardens, landscape beds and even in lawns. They are in the mushroom family, but instead of relying on wind to carry its spores, this species produces a thick slime at the tip that attracts insects, including flies that carry the spores to other locatio
The best time to aerate your lawn is based on 3 conditions: Type of grass in your lawn Weather conditions in your area Amount of moisture your lawn has received Aeration can take place at any time of the year, but the best time is usually in the spring/early summer or fall.
During a recent trip to meet with our Franchise Owner in Springfield, MO, I got to witness an amazing amount of damage from Fall Webworms. This caterpillar is a gregarious feeder on the leaves of over 100 tree species, but it prefers mulberry, oak, hickory, walnut among many others. As many people are familiar