It is not unusual for some plants to blossom out of season. Magnolia, crabapple, lilac, and forsythia are notably spring-blooming plants, but stressful growing conditions can instigate a type of dormancy that pushes flowering to later in the season. Lilacs are a great example this year. To better understand why this happens, it is helpful…
Category: Weather
Fertilizer Time!
It’s the first of September…that means for cool season lawns such as tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass, it’s time to fertilize. After a long summer of heat, drought and pests, it’s time.
Fall army worms rearing their ugly heads throughout the US and Nebraska
Many of you may recall the devastating outbreak of Fall army worms in Nebraska decades ago. Well, put your tray tables on the upright and locked position and fasten your seat belts!
Patio Planter Care in Mid-Summer
In mid-summer, especially when a hot, dry week is predicted, (like this upcoming week), patio planters and houseplants need a little TLC. Four actions are involved:
Billbugs – Our #2 Lawn Insect
The lawn looks “splotchy brown”…what could it causing it? As you think through all of the possibilities, you are probably also thinking about what you’ve done and haven’t done this year in terms of yard care – fertilizer applications, keeping the turf roots moist, weed control, 3 inch mowing height, sharpened the mower blade – but what about bugs?
Drip, Drip, Drip – Efficient Watering for Veggie Gardens
Are you looking for a good way to water your veggie garden? Think drip. Drip irrigation has many advantages over overhead watering, including less evaporation loss, fewer foliar diseases and fewer weeds.
Lawns, Kids & Pets
Many families that have a lawn to care for also have children and pets. Are they mutually exclusive? In short, no. However, if you want the 3 of them to thrive and the kids/pets to be safe, there are some common sense guidelines to follow.
Spring Lawn Care
Spring has sprung and cabin fever is high. Not just cabin fever; COVID-19 cabin fever. As we start venturing outside and focus attention on the lawn and landscape, here are some spring lawn care tips to keep in mind:
The Word is WAIT
If ever there was a year for cabin fever, it’s 2021. In mid-March, all Midwesterners are ready to do something outside in the lawn, landscape, veggie garden, patio…anywhere but inside. Add to that the feelings of enduring COVID-19, and the need to do something outside is almost at a fever pitch.
Rules 3 and 4 of Garden Catalog Shopping
The first two rules of shopping for landscape plants with garden catalogs are centered around needs, much like shopping for groceries. The next two focus on the landscape itself in terms of cold tolerance and disease susceptibility of certain plants.