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How to Choose the Right Plants - It’s Plant Catalogue Time!
It is January, which means that it is seed and plant catalogue time. I have already received the first catalogues of the year shortly after New Year’s Day. If you are like me, you page through the catalogue, look at all the beautiful plants, and wonder if they will grow in your gardens. Step 1: Research Your Plants When you are deciding what plants you will purchase and use in your ornamental bed , do some investigation. The first thing you should do is some research on each plant. Most seed and garden catalogues provide information on the hardiness zones for each plant. I have included a Hardiness Zones map from the National Arbor Day Foundation in case the catalogue you have does not include that information. Use this information to determine if the plant will actually survive
Safely Remove Holiday Lights
Take Care When Removing Holiday Lights Many people put up lights and other decorations on their landscape plants for the Holidays. It is amazing how extensive some designs become as homeowners do their best Griswold impersonations. Not many people get as ambitious as Clark Griswold did in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation movie, although some give him a run for his money. Of course, there are usually a few Charlie Brown decorating jobs as well. Regardless of the extent of your Holiday display, care must be taken when removing strings of lights from your trees and landscape plants when the season is over. Unless you live in the far southern parts of the US, the weather was warmer when the decorations went up and often much colder when they come down. The tendency is to
Fairy Rings
Fairy Rings If you notice mushrooms growing in your lawn is a circle or an arc, you may be seeing signs of a disease known as Fairy Ring . Mushrooms are not the only indicator of Fairy Ring activity. Often times you may see a circle or arc of brighter green grass that range in diameter from 2 to 15 feet. Sometimes the rings may result in grass that appears dead or dying. There are about 60 different types of mushrooms that result in the development of Fairy Rings. Fairy ring folklore is varied and quite extensive. The name Fairy Ring may have come about from the legend that fairies were dancing in a circle at night and used the mushrooms as tables from which they ate. In other countries, Fairy Rings were omens of misfortune or ev
Southern Chinch Bugs
Southern Chinch bugs are a primary insect pest on St. Augustine lawns. They can be found in states such as Alabama, Louisiana, Texas and South Carolina. This tiny insect pest, less than ¼ inch in length, is responsible for millions of dollars in damage to home lawns throughout the south where St. Augustine grows. It is most active during the warm, humid periods of the year, but can be active even during the winter months, although at a much slower rate. Once the weather begins to warm up, they will start feeding close to where they stopped the previous year. Damage is usually seen is circular patches in the warmer parts of the lawn, along driveways or sidewalks. They often feed in a group, sucking out the plant juices, leaving the plant withered and dead. Once they are done with one
Red Thread Lawn Disease
Red Thread Lawn Disease - A Serious Disease, But Not Too Serious One of my favorite diseases is Red Thread as it is one of the easiest disease to identify. What makes it so is the pinkish-red color that is an indicator of its activity. Upon careful examination, you may see a thin antler-like structure protruding through the tip of the leaf blade, which may resemble a tiny thread. This is how the disease gets its one of its names – Red Thread. There is a similar disease, Pink Patch, that develops masses of pink fungal hyphae in the thatch or on the leaf blades. Both of these diseases can occur at the same time. Red Thread can develop in both spring and fall, but it is generally considered a late spring disease. Temperatures that favor i
Dormant Seeding in the Winter for Home Lawns
What is dormant seeding? This is a process where seed is sown during the winter months of November to March. The seed will remain in a dormant state until the ground warms up and soil moisture is adequate to promote germination. The key to dormant seeding is good seed-soil contact. A good way to create places for the seed to germinate is to core aerate the lawn prior to seeding. You can rent a core aeration machine if you have a vehicle large enough to transport it and the muscle strength to handle it. Most people hire a lawn service to do the work for them. The lawn has to be moist for good penetration of the coring tines and, of course, the ground cannot be frozen. The seed is generally spread with a rotary-type spreader that will evenly distribute the seed across the lawn. Dependi