To-Do List for June

Allium at Garvan Woodland Gardens, Hot Springs, Arkansas

Ornamentals

Deadhead bulbs and spring flowering perennials as blossoms fade.

Watch for bagworms feeding on many garden plants, but especially juniper and arborvitae.

Thin seedlings to proper spacings before plants crowd each other.

Plant tropical water lilies when water temperatures rise above 70 degrees.

When night temperatures stay above 50 degrees, bring houseplants outdoors for the summer.

Apply a balanced rose fertilizer after the first show of blooms is past.

Rhizomatous begonias are not just for shade. Many varieties, especially those with bronze foliage, do well in full sun if given plenty of water and a well-drained site.

Most houseplants brought outside prefer a bright spot shaded from afternoon sun. Check soil moisture daily during hot weather.

Apply organic mulches as the soil warms. These will conserve moisture, discourage weeds, and enrich the soil as they decay.

Apply a second spray for borer control on hardwood trees.

Softwood cuttings can be taken from trees and shrubs as the spring flush of growth is beginning to mature.

Continue spraying roses with a fungicide to prevent black spot disease.

Trees and shrubs may still be fertilized before July 4th.

Pruning of spring flowering trees and shrubs should be completed before the month's end.

Lawn at P. Allen Smith Garden Home Moss Mountain near Little Rock, Arkansas

Lawns

Water turf as needed to prevent drought stress.

Mow lawns frequently enough to remove no more than one-third the total height per mowing. There is no need to remove clippings unless excessive.

Gradually increase the mowing height of zoysia lawns throughout the summer. By September, the mowing height should be 2 to 2.5 inches.

Mow bluegrass at 2 to 3.5 inch height. Turfgrasses growing in shaded conditions should be mowed at the higher recommendations.

Zoysia can be fertilized now while actively growing. Do not exceed 2-3 pounds of actual nitrogen fertilizer per l000 sq. ft. per year.

Fruit & Vegetable Gardens at P. Allen Smith's Garden Home on Moss Mountain near Little Rock, Arkansas

Fruits & Vegetables

Repeat plantings of corn and beans to extend the harvest season.

Plant pumpkins now to have Jack-o-lanterns for Halloween.

As soon as cucumber and squash vines start to 'run,' begin spray treatments to control cucumber beetles and squash vine borers.

Set out transplants of Brussels sprouts started last month. These will mature for a fall harvest.

Soaker hoses and drip irrigation systems make the most efficient use of water during dry times.  To minimize diseases, water with overhead irrigation early enough in the day to allow the foliage to dry before nightfall.

Start seedlings of broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. These will provide transplants for the fall garden.

Stop harvesting asparagus when the spears become thin.

Control corn earworms. Apply several drops of mineral oil every 3 to 7 days once silks appear. Sprays of Bt are also effective.

To maximize top growth on asparagus, apply 2 pounds of 12-12-12 fertilizer per l00 sq. ft., water well and renew mulches to conserve moisture.

Oriental fruit moths emerge. They are most serious on peaches where the first generation attacks growing tips. Wilted shoots should be pruned out.

Thinning overloaded fruit trees will result in larger and healthier fruits at harvest time. Thinned fruits should be a hands-width apart.

Enjoy the strawberry harvest.  Renovate strawberries after harvest. Mow the rows; thin out excess plants; remove weeds; fertilize and apply a mulch for weed control.

Summer fruiting raspberries are ripening now.

Begin control for apple maggot flies. Red painted balls that have been coated with tanglefoot may be hung in apple trees to trap egg-laying females.

Spray trunks of peach trees and other stone fruits for peach tree borers.

Prune and train young fruit trees to eliminate poorly positioned branches and to establish proper crotch angles.

Source:  Missouri Botanical Gardens

Posted: 5/30/2014

Horticultural Tips

My Top Ten Horticulture Tips 

by

Pat Miller

University of Missouri Extension Agronomy Specialist and County Program Director

I am finishing my twenty-fourth year with University of Missouri Extension.  During that time I’ve answered a lot of questions, looked at a lot of plants.  Here are my top ten horticulture tips:

1. Never use a string weeder near young tees.  Once girdled, they will die. 
2. Check the mature size before planting any trees or shrubs.  I know it’s hard to believe that this little twig will someday be 60 foot tall and growing into the power lines, but it happens.  And I know this little shrub may look like it’s out in the middle by itself.  But it will fill in the space eventually; just plant some annuals around it in the meantime. 
3. Check light and water requirements before planting.  Plants like peonies needing full sun won’t bloom well in shade.  And shade plants like hostas will sunburn in full sun.  Plants like impatiens that need lots of moisture won’t thrive in droughty soil and plants like butterfly bushes that like dry conditions will probably die in a wet spot. 
4. Make pruning cuts back to the branch collar or just out from a bud; don’t leave stubs.  Don’t top trees as this weakens the tree and causes regrowth that is more likely to break in storms.
5. Know the expected problems and be prepared to take control measures or plant resistant varieties.  Roses get black spot unless they sprayed regularly with fungicides or are resistant to the disease.
6. Protect the trunks of young trees during the winter to prevent frost cracks.  These cracks occur when we have cold nights and sunny days or drastic drops in temperature.  Maples are especially prone to this. 
7. Growing fruit requires a lot of work:  spraying, thinning, pruning and then harvesting and preserving.  Count the cost before planting.
8. Blueberries require an acid soil.  Do a soil test and amend the soil with sulfur as recommended six months to a year before planting.  They also require frequent irrigation.
9. Mow tall fescue lawns at three to four inches in the summer.  The grass will be healthier and shade out weeds better.  Keep mower blades sharp to make the grass look greener and help prevent water loss and diseases.
10. Use a herbicide that kills only grasses to reduce weeding chores.  It will probably require several applications.  Use a pre-emergent herbicide and mulch in areas where you don’t need plants to reseed, like your perennial and shrub beds.  This will reduce your weeding chores. 

Tree Loss

Losing a Tree Can Be Like Losing an Old Friend

by 

Pat Miller, Agronomy Specialist

The old elm tree in the front yard may be more like an old friend than a landscaping asset.  You may remember when your children played under its branches.  Or maybe your grandfather planted it when he first settled here.  But time and disease have taken its toll and now the tree is dying.  Your first consideration should be if the tree is a hazard to people or property.  Have the tree evaluated by a professional to see if it might recover or should be removed. 

Removing a tree can be costly but consider the danger and possible damage if it were to blow over during a storm.  You might be tempted to only have the large dying branches removed instead of removing the tree.  But often the tree will have to be removed entirely in a few more years, leaving you with two costly services instead of just one if you had removed it in the first place.

Removing a large tree should be left to professionals.  Check the phone listings, usually it will be under Tree Service. If possible, check to see if they are part of an established business in the community or nearby area.   Ask for current certificates of insurance showing that they are fully insured for property damage, personal liability, and worker compensation. Call the insurer for verification.

Ideally, the company should have someone on staff who is a member of a professional association such as the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), the National Arborist Association (NAA), or the American Society of Consulting Arborists (ASCA). Certified arborists are trained and have access to current technical information on tree care, repair, and removal.

Don't top your trees

Untrained individuals may urge you to cut back all of the branches in the mistaken belief that reducing the length of branches will help avoid breakage in future storms.  Professional arborists say that "topping" -- cutting main branches back to stubs -- is one of the worst things you can do for your trees. Stubs will tend to grow back many weakly attached branches that are even more likely to break when a storm strikes.

Some trees simply can't be saved or are not worth saving. If the tree has already been weakened by disease, if the trunk is split, or more than 50 percent of the crown is gone, the tree has lost its survival edge.  Even if a storm has damaged the tree, do not top the tree.  The broken branch should be pruned back to the trunk.  Also, the tree will need all its resources to recover from the stress of storm damage. Topping the tree will reduce the amount of foliage, on which the tree depends for the food and nourishment needed for re-growth. A topped tree that has already sustained major storm damage is more likely to die than repair itself. At best, its recovery will be retarded and it will almost never regain its original shape or beauty.

A look to the future

Finally after the tree is removed, plant a tree for future generations.   Pick a tree that will fit the location.  A common mistake is to not take into account the final size of the planted tree.  It can be hard to imagine that this small sapling might someday crowd into the house or interfere with utility lines. 

For more information, check your local University of Missouri Extension Center for the following guides:  G6867 First Aid for Storm Damaged Trees, G6866 Pruning and Care of Shade Trees and G6850 How to Plant a Tree.  Or look for them at Extension’s website:  www.extension.missouri.edu.   

Posted:  5/16/2014

Make Peace with Bumblebees

All members of the genus Bombus, the world’s roughly 250 bumblebee species are critical pollinators. In natural ecosystems, bees are by far the most important pollinators of native plants, and the insects are essential to producing more than a third of the foods and beverages humans consume—an industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars annually. Bumblebees are particularly major players: Because their large bodies allow them to generate heat, the insects can fly earlier and later in the day and in colder weather than most bee species, including honeybees.

To learn more about the problems bumblebees are facing and how to help the insects, go to www.xerces.org/bumblebees.

Bumblebee on St. John's Wort

How to Garden for Bumblebees

Bumblebees face many threats, ranging from pesticides and disease to overgrazing, climate change and competition from European honeybees. While individuals can do little to combat many of these problems, anyone with a garden—no matter how large or small—can make a difference for bumblebees that live nearby.

Here’s how to get started:

•  Provide pollen and nectar for food: Active from early spring through late fall, bumblebees need access to a variety of nectar- and pollen-producing flowers so food will be available throughout all stages of the insects’ life. Bumblebees prefer flowers that are purple, blue or yellow as well as perennial versus annual plants. To accommodate species with varying tongue lengths, cultivate flowers of different sizes. Native plants are best because they require less maintenance, rarely become invasive and have coevolved with indigenous bumblebees. To see a list of native plant recommendations for your region, go to www.xerces.org/lbj.

•  Ensure bumblebees have nesting sites: Unlike the majority of native bees, bumblebees, like honeybees, are social insects that live in colonies containing between 50 and 500 members. Most bumblebee species nest underground, usually in abandoned holes created by ground squirrels, mice or rats. Others nest aboveground in abandoned bird nests, grass tussocks or cavities such as hollow logs or spaces beneath rocks. In gardens, the insects make use of compost piles and unoccupied birdhouses. Having as many of these habitat features as possible will help bumblebees, as will minimizing practices such as mowing and tilling that destroy both nests and potential future nest sites.

•  Provide overwintering habitat: In late fall, bumblebee colonies die, leaving behind only new queens, which will hibernate during winter and emerge the following spring to form new colonies. Most queens overwinter in small holes just below or on the ground’s surface. In yards and other human-dominated landscapes, they may seek shelter in sheds, rock walls and woodpiles. Leaving leaf litter, downed wood and uncut bunch grasses provides additional options. If you mow, do so with the mower blade set at the highest safe level. When spring arrives, avoid raking or mowing until April or May to protect hibernating queens.

•  Avoid or minimize pesticides: Designed to kill insects, insecticides should be avoided, as should herbicides that may kill the plants on which bumblebees depend. In cases where pesticides cannot be avoided—to control a destructive invasive species, for example—The Xerces Society recommends that you “choose targeted formulations with the least-toxic ingredients, follow the manufacturer’s directions, apply the pesticide as directly and locally as possible and apply when bumblebees are not active (either after dark or during winter).” In addition, steer clear of systemic pesticides (such as neonicotinoids, which are taken up by the vascular systems of plants) and broad-spectrum pesticides (such as organophosphates and pyrethroids).  More information.

For more information and identification of bumblebees in Missouri see MDC

Sources: 

Senior Editor Laura Tangly  http://www.nwf.org/

Missouri Department of Conservation

Posted:  5/9/2014

Rabbit Manure

Enrich Your Soil with Golden Nuggets from the Ozarks 

Rabbit poop has made my gardening easier and more productive. It is considered a "cold" manure; because you don't have to let it age or compost before you use it. Other manures that come from chickens, sheep, horse, cows, and pigs are "hot" manures, they need to be composted for months before you can safely use them or you'll burn your little plant darlings to death.  Manures are an excellent way to give back to your garden the nutrients that has been taken out through previous harvests. Manures also improve the soil's organic matter and stimulates microbial activity. All these things also helps the water drainage of heavy clay soils like we have here in the Ozarks. 

Hot manures needs to be composted before using. The composting process will kill most weed seeds and pathogens. The hot manures come from mostly cows and horses. They are grazers and eat a large amount of foliage that contain weed seeds that can re-sprout in your garden if it is not composted. Rabbit poop does not have that problem because most rabbitries feed their rabbits pelletized feed, avoiding the weed seed issue. There are two camps of thought as to whether rabbit poop should or should not be composted. Some feel all manures should be composted for safety reasons. It would be the best advise to do so. However, I have never found that necessary in the 40 years I have gardened. I have used it fresh for years without any issues nor have I ever heard of anyone having any problems with fresh rabbit poop burning their plants.

Rabbit is also higher in nutrients than other traditional manures. As a comparison, rabbit poop has Nitrogen (N) - 2.4, Phosphorus (P) - 1.4, Potassium (K) - .60. You would think the higher nitrogen rate would burn garden plants. It does not burn because it decomposes slower releasing its nutrients over a longer period of time.  For more information about traditional manure choices and their comparison see:  http://extension.missouri.edu/p/g6220

The biggest negative part of rabbit poop is finding a good source. Rabbitry numbers have dwindled down a lot in years past do to a loss of commercial buyers for rabbit meat in the Ozarks. However, rabbitries still abound and can be found. Due to their small scale, you will not find them in the yellow pages. Look for them on Craig's list or other local sources. You will more than likely pay a higher price because rabbitries are very well aware of the magical growing properties and its limited availability. 

In the spring as I drive down the gravel road in my pickup for a load of rabbit poop, I have the biggest smile on my face because I know how abundant my garden will be.  This manure choice has made gardening so much easier for me. I don't have the weeds that I use to have using traditional manures. I also just don't have the time and available space to manage a large compost pile. The way it releases its nutrients over a longer time frame ensures my garden has all it needs all season long. In my option it is truly magical and I am willing to find a source and pay little higher for it...it is worth it!

Rabbit Poop was added to my terraced Ozark gardens again in 2014; a week before planting cold crop seeds mid-March.  The green rows in the photo are spinach that was planted late last fall and went dormant after the first couple leaves emerged.  It survived a very harsh winter uncovered and started growing again in mid-March.  Harvested 10 gallon bags of spinach on April 14, 2014.  

Spinach is a super-food…or was it the rabbit poop?

Source:  Keith Pearson, Hickory County Master Gardener;

Plants to Grow website 

Posted:  5/2/14