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Pulaski County Home and Garden
Gardening by Beth Phelps
Active Years Garden Checklist - May 2005
Keep It Green - The lawn is green and growing. Now is the time to
fertilize; fertilizing when grass is still brown and dormant is not the most
efficient use of the fertilizer. Fertilizing the lawn once or twice a year keeps
the grass healthy without overdoing it. More frequent fertilization increases
the need for water and mowing.
Which fertilizer is best? Without a recommendation specific to your situation
based on a soil test, a turf type fertilizer is the way to go. These
fertilizers, commonly called turf builders or lawn food, contain nutrients in
the ratio that the grass needs. Many different formulations are available; the
overriding characteristic is that the amount of nitrogen is higher than the
amount of phosphorus or potassium, for example 16-4-8 or 29-3-4. It is also best
to choose a fertilizer that contains a combination of soluble and water
insoluble nitrogen. The water insoluble or slow release nitrogen provides
nitrogen consistently over several months.
Tomatoes - Have you planted yours yet? If not, it is time to get them
in the garden. Since pollination and the development of fruit is affected by
high night temperatures, above 70 degrees, getting an early crop set helps
insure a bountiful harvest. As soon as tomato plants are in the ground, be on
the lookout for the first signs of Early Blight, a disease caused when soil
splashes onto the lower leaves carrying the Early Blight fungus. The leaves turn
yellow with target-like black spots. Mulching around plants with newspaper,
straw or pine bark helps prevent this disease. However, once started the fungus
quickly moves up the plant and will affect the harvest. Treat infected plants
with a fungicide labeled for use in the vegetable garden, such as Daconil,
Mancozeb, Maneb, Neem Oil or Copper Sulfate.
Flower Power - Garden centers and nurseries are exploding with color,
warm season annuals all in bloom. Add colorful annuals to your landscape and
containers; with a little fertilizer and water these plants provide color all
summer long. Annuals are a prefect complement to perennials. Impatiens,
Marigolds, Melampodium, Gomphrena, Begonias, Salvia, Periwinkle, Petunia,
Sunflowers, Blue Daze, Marigolds, Zinnias, Cleome, Lantana, Ageratum, Penta,
Nicotiana, Four-o’clock and Heliotrope will delight from planting to frost!
Bag the Bagworms - Bagworms build brown, tear-dropped shaped bags,
which hang from junipers, Leyland cypress, arborvitae and river birch all winter
long. Not only are the bags unsightly, if left untreated these insects can kill
the trees. Controlling bagworms is not difficult, but the timing has to be
right. And, now is the right time when the small newly hatched caterpillars are
feeding and just beginning to build their protective bags. Once the bag is
constructed, it protects the caterpillar and its eggs from insecticides and
predators. An application of an insecticide such as liquid Sevin, Malathion,
Orthene or non-chemical alternative such as Dipel, Thuricide or other BT product
will work if applied in May.
Azaleas and Lace Bugs - Azaleas have bloomed, announcing the arrival
of spring in every landscape across the South. Now the new growth begins, which
will provide next years bloom. This means that lace bugs are out and literally
sucking the life out of these tender new leaves. If the new green leaves fade to
yellow, then to almost white, flip the leaves over and look at the underside;
you may not catch the lace bug, but you will see the shiny dark spots they leave
behind. Any of the systemic insecticides - Orthene, Cygon, Di-Syston or Merit
will help control these common pests. Merit has the advantage of being applied
as a soil drench (no spraying necessary) and it is only applied once a year
instead of periodically throughout the growing season. Remember, as with any
plant care product - read and follow the label directions.
Horticulture Highlights - The University of Arkansas Division of
Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service has produced the first annual
Horticulture Highlights CD. The CD contains articles, fact sheets, plant of the
week, Arkansans Select Database and much more. The cost is $10.00. To order your
copy, contact your County Extension Office or visit their website at
www.uaex.edu.
Plant of the Month - Daylilies bloom beautifully this month, and
although each flower lasts only one day, there are so many flowers that the
season of bloom lasts for several weeks. With hundreds of varieties to choose
from in every color imaginable except a true blue, and a rage of heights from 4
to 48 inches (or more), there is a daylily to fit any sunny garden. If you are
adding new daylilies to your garden this year consider repeat bloomers such as
'Stella d'Oro', 'Black-eyed Stella', 'Happy Returns', 'Lemon Drop', 'Fairy Tale
Pink' or 'May May' to name a few. Repeat blooming daylilies yield traditional
spring blooms and then flower again periodically throughout the summer.
This article was Originally Published in
Active Years
Magazine
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