Fall Inspection of Trees and Shrubs

September and October are great months to enjoy working in the garden and viewing landscape plants, enjoying the outcomes of season long efforts of care.  In addition to digging, replanting, weeding, dividing and other fall routines, inspection is a key step in maintaining a sustainable landscape.   Inspection?  What does that mean?  Simply put, it’s…

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Weed Musings

In the midst of September, if weed management isn’t on your autumn to-do list, it definitely should be. Fall is the best time to be applying herbicides to perennial weeds. Why is this so? As plants ready for winter, sugars produced in leaves are transported to the roots for storage.  With herbicide applications, the plant’s…

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Planting in Fall

The Nursery Council says, “Fall is for Planting” – Trees, Shrubs, Bulbs, Lawns and Flowers.   Fall is actually one of the best times to plant.  Why?  Many reasons.   First, the soils are warm in fall.  Warm soil temps are necessary to encourage new root formation into the planting hole to help establish the tree,…

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It’s Time to Fertilize

Is your lawn a bit lackluster?  After a long summer of bugs and fungus, it could be.  September is an ideal time to feed turfs, because the cool nights and warm days favor its growth and development.  Because bluegrasses naturally send out more rhizomes in fall than in summer, lawn recovery is enhanced with fall…

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Fall Webworms – A Nuisance and Pest

If you have a fruit tree, mulberry or ornamental fruit tree, you may be experiencing an infestation of insects called fall webworms.  The first sign of them in a tree is a cottony mass of webbing, inside of which are dozens of 1 inch (plus or minus) sized white to tan fuzzy caterpillars.  The first…

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Rose of Sharon for Fall Color

Let’s face it – most of our flowering shrubs are showy in spring.  Viburnum, dogwood, spirea, forsythia and lilac sport hues of yellow, white, pink and purple in April, May and June.  While this is a welcome change from the drab grey of March, once the color is gone in spring, we’re left with a…

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Bee Hotel

At some point in time you have probably seen a bee hotel at your favorite garden center.  They usually have bundles of bamboo inserted into a structure.  Most of them are brightly painted and whimsical in appearance.  North America is home to around 4,000 bees.  Most of them nest in the ground but around 1,200…

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The Dreaded Japanese Beetle (Again)

Despite winter and spring conditions that we hoped could thwart them, the Japanese beetles are at it again. They fall on us as we mow beneath trees, eat our hard-won fruits as they multi-task, and drown in the dog’s water dish.  Here are some important considerations: ▪Japanese beetles do lay their eggs in the soil. …

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Double Trouble

Visit any of your favorite garden centers and you will see new introductions of old familiar favorites.  For instance the purple coneflower is no longer purple.  It comes a range of colors from red, yellow, orange, green, and white.  You will even find cultivars where the traditional cone has been modified into flower petals often…

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Lawn Sprinkler Gaps

“So, Rocky, what do you see in my sister?”  “Well, Pauley, it’s like this.  I got gaps, she got gaps, but together, we got no gaps.”  Unfortunately, just like two of the actors in the movie Rocky, all lawn sprinkler systems have gaps; gaps in coverage; aka uneven application patterns. If you ever doubt this,…

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