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Denny's Soapbox |
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Some of this, Some of that
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| We are little more than half way through the 2010spring growing season. Time to reflect back and plan ahead. The weather this month could be called challenging at best. The normal spring rains which typically occur in April actually happened in May and vice versa. You may still have some spring outdoor projects to complete. Don’t let the calendar stop you. Memorial Day is this weekend, but the planting clock keeps on ticking. You can plant trees and shrubs all summer. There is still a wonderful selection of perennials and annuals in all sizes to choose from. Landscape designers are just as talented and enthusiastic now as they were in March. Lot’s of professional advice is available all summer. Just ask! Now some this and thats - Deer Update Keep rotating deer repellant products between taste types and smell types every 30 days until your deer hopefully find a new browsing area in another yard. Remove any tree trunk guards from your trees and leave them off until October. Get in the habit of removing them in March. If you choose to leave tree trunk guards on year round they can seriously harm the tree. Latent Cicada damage Cicada damage from 2007 Brood14 emergence is still showing damage. As Cicada damaged wood continues to expand in size, some branches are starting to show some twig die-back. Prune off as it appears. Knock-Out Rose size You can control the height and width of your Knock-Out roses with your pruning shears. Prune back the rose canes monthly to your desired size. Bug lights and beetle traps Lights and traps will attract more new bugs to your landscape than you would normally have and then only kill or trap about half of them. Don’t pay money for more bugs! Lawn Grub Worms It’s been a long time since we have had a problem with grub worms. In fact total lawn insects are way down due to the popularity of Turf Fescue that provides its own insecticide. Just another reason not to plant Blue Grass. No grub treatment is needed for your lawns unless you have a beautiful Blue Grass lawn. Grubs have expensive taste. Great Trees to Plant this Summer Please consider planting more color and shade to your landscape. These suggestions don’t require a lot of space either. Serviceberry – white spring flowers, lots of small berries that Robins love to eat in June, and great fall color. Canada Cherry – green leaves in the spring that turn to burgundy, fragrant pink flowers in spring, and a beautiful upright shape. Prairiefire Crabapple – upright growing with greenish/bronze leaves, pink flowers in the spring, and beautiful purpleish fruit. Very disease resistant too. Magnolia Galaxy and Moonglow – two varieties of Magnolias that bloom large tulip size flowers in the spring. Narrow, upright growing, both of these trees make good street trees as well. Have a wonderful Memorial Day and oh yea – go plant a tree to remember future generations who will also appreciate your tree. |
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