Horticulture Tips for
By Wayne Wells, Lelia Kelly, David Nagel
Pre Stress Conditioning for a Healthy Summer Lawn
Drought stress can predispose our turf for other problems such as insect and disease attack as well as the encroachment of weeds. Since the weather is constantly changing and we never know for sure if we will get adequate rainfall we need to irrigate with a long-range purpose in mind. We can help our lawns tremendously as the summer heat intensifies by beginning pre-stress conditioning now. Pre stress conditioning is accomplished by watering less frequently but very thorough when we do water. A good thorough deep watering allows the water to infiltrate down three or more inches into the soil to encourage grass roots to go deep into the soil and become more numerous. Later in the summer as water becomes even more critical those lawns with a deep, large mass root system will be better prepared to forage much deeper for any available moisture. To help prevent an ideal environment for foliar diseases begin watering early enough in the day so that watering can be completed in time for leaf blades to dry before nightfall.
Trees and Shrubs
Remove any dead wood or weak branches on crepe myrtles so
new growth will be vigorous and show good form.
Cut back fast growing shrubs, such as eleagnus,
ligustrum, and photinia, as
needed. Prune spring-flowering shrubs
after their blooms have faded or they need to be reshaped or to have an errant
branch removed.
Avoid Stress
Avoid fertilizing or spraying during extreme heat or
drought. When plants are under stress,
the leaves may be damaged. Water well the day before spraying, and apply
pesticides only when temperatures do not exceed 90 degrees.
Azaleas
Feed plants with an acid-forming fertilizer, such as
Roses, annuals, and perennials need a boost after the first
round of flowering. Apply a cup of
granular fertilizer (
The recent salmonella incident with
tomatoes and rice "shortage" have persuaded many people to
grow their own food. There are many things that have to come together in order
for folks to produce their own food. The only thing people must have is
a location that is in the sunlight for at least half the day. Poorly drained
soil, infertile soil, lack of space, and most other obstacles can be overcome,
but no fruit or vegetable can produce without sunlight. Other things important
are water, labor, and inputs of nutrients, pest control, and time.
Gardeners double cropping on their black plastic mulch
should be aware that temperatures under the mulch can be high enough to
damage transplants. It would be wise to dilute white latex paint and apply it
to the mulch after removing the first planting. The white paint will reflect
some of the sun's rays and keep temperatures under the mulch from climbing to
dangerous levels.
Folks who want to grow their own ornamental corn for fall
decorating need to have the seeds in the ground by July 1. Most of these corns
are ninety to over one hundred day varieties. Remember that corn ear worm
populations grow as the year progresses, so some form of control will need to
be done to produce picture perfect ears for those fall gatherings.
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