Denny's Soapbox

To say this summer and early fall has been challenging is an understatement as far as your landscape is concerned. We will learn the severity of any drought and heat damage over the next several years. Many of you have been asking a lot of great questions about your current landscape situation and today I’d like to share with you my answers to some of these inquiries.

Q. I seeded my lawn with Finelawn Elite grass seed two weeks ago. It is now starting to grow. Should I put down a seed starter fertilizer or is it too late?

A. Seed starter fertilizer contains a good amount of phosphorus which helps new grass plants develop a strong root system. You can go ahead and still put it down, the sooner the better. You still want to feed new and established lawn areas with a high, quick release nitrogen lawn food in November.

Q. We have a spruce in our backyard that we planted 7 years ago. About half the branches on the lower half have dropped their needles. The tree is located too many feet from our house to water with a hose. Will these needles grow back next spring?

A. Your spruce is suffering severe drought damage. The needles that have fallen will not be replaced. Your only hope is that the bare branches stay alive to develop terminal end buds that could help a little next year. The fact is your evergreen could still continue to drop needles despite new rain fall and not even survive until winter. Only time and water will tell.

Q. My lawn, like all my neighbors, is brown and straw like. Is there anyway I can tell if the grass is still alive before I reseed.

A. It’s fairly safe to assume most lawns that have not received any water help from a hose are dead. I say this because some areas in the tri-state received more rain than others. Brown dormant grass needs at least ¼ inch of water per week to stay alive. You can double check your brown grass by setting up a fountain type sprinkler and running it for two to three hours in one location. With the cooler temps, if it’s alive, it will start to green up immediately.

Q. I was very disappointed in my Wave Petunias and Periwinkle. I thought both of these were heat beaters and thrive in hot weather. Am I mistaken? They did wonderful last year.

A. So did I! I enjoyed last summer a lot more than this one. September has had all but 3 days of temps above normal. That follows a July and August with temps mostly in the nineties. Add no rain to the weather mix and it’s a miracle our flowers did as well as they did. Speaking of flowers, check out how well the Angelonias (new annual) did at the zoo trail gardens. You might consider some for next year’s color. That did fantastic in this past summer’s heat.

Q. With all the summer plant woes, is it advisable to still plant some new trees this fall or wait until spring?

A. Fall will always be the best time to plant trees and shrubs regardless of the past summer’s heat and drought. All plants make most of their new root growth in the fall which gives you a whole growing season jump over spring plantings in terms of establishment. Just make sure you select healthy, well maintained trees and shrubs to install in your landscape. Another incentive to plant now is the reduced prices that nurseries charge to help get you in the fall planting mood.