Summer Gardening Tips
by Michael J. McGroarty -
www.freeplants.com
Don't be
afraid to trim those flowering shrubs and trees that need
it. Failure to prune is probably the biggest gardening
mistake a person can make. I spent 20 years landscaping
homes and businesses, and I watched people make the
investment in my services, then they failed to prune when
the plants needed it, and before you know it their landscape
looks terrible.
If
you make a mistake pruning, don't worry about it. It's like
a bad haircut, it will grow out. Of course use common sense
and read the previous articles that I've written on
pruning.
Summer gardening tips . . .
Along
with summer time comes high humidity. High humidity can
cause a lot of problems with the plants in your garden and
around your house. One of the simple things you can do is
don't water just before dark. Make sure your plants are nice
and dry when you tuck them in for the night and you can cut
down of the chance fungus being a problem.
One
of the more common fungi that I get asked about a lot is
powdery mildew. This appears as a white film on the leaves
of ornamental plants. Dogwoods and Purple Sandcherry are
often the victim of powdery mildew. Powdery mildew isn't
extremely harmful to the plants, it's just that the foliage
is damaged, and little growing takes place once it sets in.
Your local garden center will have a general fungicide you
can spray if you'd like to try and control it. Usually once
the plant defoliates in the fall the plant is back to
normal.
Summer gardening tips . . .
If
you have Perennial Rye Grass in your lawn, and you probably
do if you're in the north, you must be careful not to leave
your grass wet at night. There is a fungus known as Pythium
Blight that appears in very humid conditions. This fungus
attacks and kills perennial rye grasses. Here in the north
most of our lawns are a blend of fescues, perennial ryes,
and Kentucky Blue Grass.
If
you have problems with pythium blight you will lose the
perennial rye grass in large areas of your lawn, and even
though the other grasses will still be there and fill in,
your lawn will have areas that are much darker green than
the rest of the lawn because you will then have
concentrations of Kentucky Blue grass.
You
can see this fungus in the early morning. It looks like
white cotton candy laying on top of your lawn. It usually
appears along walks and driveways where the soil is the wet
if you have been watering. To prevent pythium blight water
as early in the day as possible.
Summer gardening tips . . .
Another nasty little blight that likes summer time is Fire
Blight. Fire Blight attacks ornamentals, especially Apple
trees, Crabapple trees, Cotoneasters, and Pyracantha. You
know you have Fire Blight when a branch on one of your
plants dies and turns almost red. The leaves usually hang on
but turn reddish brown. The damage usually starts out near
the end of the branch and works it's way toward the main
stem of the plant. There is little you can do except prune
out the affected branch, cutting it as far back as
possible.
Fire
Blight is very contagious to plants so you should burn the
branches you prune out. You should also dip or wash your
pruning shears in rubbing alcohol after each cut to keep
from spreading this deadly fungus.
Summer gardening tips . . .
Unfortunately, I've got one more summer time culprit to warn
you about. It's a handy little fungus that grows in mulch.
Actually there are all kinds of fungi that tend to grow in
mulches, and most of them are really disgusting looking. But
this little gem is unique in the fact that as it grows it
tends to swell. Then somehow it manages to explode, and it
will spatter your house with tiny brown specs. The experts
have appropriately named this one “Shotgun Fungus”. Isn't
that a cute name?
These
tiny little brown specs will fly as high as eight feet into
the air, and once they stick to your house or windows, they
stick like glue. I know that right now there are people
hollering across the house at their spouse, “Hey, remember
those brown specs all over the house? I know what they are.
It's from the mulch!” Tell me I'm wrong, but I know I'm
not.
A lot
of people are victims of this nasty little fungus, but they
don't know it. All they know is that there are tiny brown
specs on the house that look like paint. So far they have
blamed everything from spiders to aliens.
There's not a lot you can do to prevent this fungus. I have
found that if you keep the mulch loose so air can circulate
it is less likely to grow fungi. Don't just keep adding
layer after layer to the mulch around your house. You should
skip at least every other year and just loosen the mulch you
already have down. If you loosen it and then rake it flat it
will look like you've just mulched. Mulch is great, just
don't let it get packed down hard. Loosen it up at least
once a year.
Michael J. McGroarty is the author of this article. Visit
his most
interesting website,
www.freeplants.com and sign up for his excellent
gardening newsletter, and grab a FREE copy of his
E-book, "Easy Plant Propagation" |
