I see it every day. Wrong Plant, Wrong Place. Perhaps it’s an occupational hazard. Maybe job security. Maybe just (as the Spanish speakers say) “así es”, or “it is, what it is”. On a recent trip, in a location known for “good horticulture”, I ran across some good, er, bad examples. There were trees…
Author: John Fech
John Fech is a horticulturist with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and certified arborist with the International Society of Arboriculture. The author of 2 books and over 200 popular and trade journal articles, he focuses his time on teaching effective landscape maintenance techniques, water conservation, diagnosing turf and ornamental problems and encouraging effective bilingual communication in the green industry. He works extensively with the media to extend the message of landscape sustainability, making over 100 television and radio appearances each year.
Fall Tree Planting in Spring
If you want it to look good this fall, plant it now…in spring. Everyone loves the gold, bronze, red and purple colors of shade trees in the fall, but many put it off and put it off. Why not enjoy the green of spring and summer and the glory of fall all in one?…
Tangled Roots and Potting Soil
Getting annuals, veggies and perennials off to a good start in container gardens is crucial to their success. This starts with choosing well branched, stocky plants and examining the roots. First, gently squeeze the pot between your hands or fingers and then tease the root mass out. Inspect the roots. They should be white, bright…
Warm Season Veggies
Cool season veggies are great – cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, cabbage and George Bush’s favorite – broccoli. As the soils warm however, the time for planting warm season veggies is upon us. Crops such as peppers, eggplant, squash, tomatoes and cucumbers thrive on warm growing conditions – 75 to 85 degrees F. Hopefully, your weekend project…
Apply a Preemergence Herbicide – Lawn & Garden
Each year, we struggle to keep the weeds out of the garden and lawn. Oh sure, not too many show up in May, and the ones that do sprout are easily controlled with a hoe or a dandelion digger. However, human nature being as it is, we soon tire of weeding. When early summer rolls…
Pruning Hydrangeas
I’ve been planning to write a blog this month on pruning hydrangeas. Why? We get lots of questions on doing so, as it’s a bit confusing, and they certainly look better and are healthier if they are pruned, and pruned correctly. This morning, lo and behold, a wonderful article on this subject came across my…
Veggie Container Gardening – A Viable Alternative
For many reasons, container gardening is a great way to produce veggies and herbs. Maybe you live in a townhouse and just don’t have much room for traditional gardens. Maybe you have a traditional residential lot, but most of the landscape is too shady for an edible garden…most crops need at least 6 hours of…
Pruning Fruit Trees
In order to be productive, fruit trees need to be pruned each year…yes, every year. In fact, one of the most common problems that we encounter is homeowners with trees that have been unpruned for a year, or two, or three and as a result the tree is a tangled mess of branches here and…
Snap, Crackle, Pop
Though this phrase might conjure up images of a certain breakfast cereal, it should also communicate thoughts of a durable, widely adaptable flower for the landscape – the snapdragon. It might also bring back fond memories of gardening with your grandparents; snapdragons have been around forever and are popular across the generations. This worthy species…
Bark Bummers
Bark Bummers This time of year is good and challenging for Midwesterners. The challenging? The weather. Nuff said. The good? It’s a great time to notice potential problems in trees and shrubs in the landscape. At this point in the season, there aren’t any leaves, fruit or flowers (except for a couple species) to…