Gardening Tips!
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This area is devoted to Gardening Tips to help you enjoy improved landscape or house plants, and will be updated regularly with advice from our Members, Master Gardeners, and Speakers!
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Suzanne Steed of Steed & Co. Lavender told us to trim about 1/3 off our lavender plants in early spring or late fall to promote a healthy, vigorous and flowerful plant. Harvest the flower buds just as the first buds show signs of opening by cutting the stalks where they join the leafy part of the stem, then hang upside down to dry for a few weeks or more. www.steedandcompany.com
Roland Craig, our September 2013 speaker, told us a lot about Dahlias, and passed along this recipe for a home made insecticide:
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Our September 2012 speaker, Diane Vaughan, told us that it was important to plant Tree Peonies deep, with the soil at least 4" above the graft, so that new roots can sprout from the stem above the graft, forming a much healthier plant.
While websurfing for a suitable illustration, I found a great illustration and a very thorough discussion of planting all kinds of peonies at www.peonysenvy.com/peonycare.html#plant Be aware that if you get on their mailing list you will receive large numbers of email ads in the fall! (Nick)
Brenda Campbell from Cozyn's told us in April 2014 (among many other things!)
Don't go out onto your lawn or garden until the Forsythia blooms! Soil compaction will result if you are too eager to get out and rake or mow, making your soil hard like concrete. This one is from our November 2012 speaker Kim Burgsma on the subject of Garden Rooms.
Ceilings can be made of an overhead pergola or the canopy of a gazebo or with plant material such as the canopy of trees or vines planted on an arbour. Be careful not to choose trees such as walnut or vines such as grapes which may drop onto your guests or stain their clothes! |
Dormant Spraying
Dormant spraying combines Horticulture Oil and Lime Sulphur to kill overwintering insects (such as scale and mites), insect eggs, and diseases on certain hardy landscape plants.
What Plants Benefit From a Dormant Spray Application?
Dormant spraying combines Horticulture Oil and Lime Sulphur to kill overwintering insects (such as scale and mites), insect eggs, and diseases on certain hardy landscape plants.
What Plants Benefit From a Dormant Spray Application?
- Dormant Oil and Lime Sulphur are best applied to fruit trees, roses, ornamental shrubs like Highbush Cranberry and European Snowball, evergreens such as Cedars, Green Junipers, and Euonymus, and trees like Hawthorn, Crab Apple, and Honey Locust.
- Do not use a dormant spray on Beech, Butternut, Colorado Blue Spruce, Hickory, Holly, Sugar Maple, Japanese Maple, or Walnut.
- This combination spray can only be applied when plants are completely dormant.
- Applying at the incorrect time can burn leaf buds that have started to swell or show any sign of green.
- Choose a day from February through March when the temperature will remain at 5°C or above for a minimum of 24 hours.
- Distribution of the spray will be more efficient on a day without wind. Higher wind speeds will result in little of the mixture adhering to the plant.
- Dormant Spray will coat and dry most effectively when no rain, snow, or sleet is in the forecast.
- Spray early in the morning so the plant will be completely dry by evening. Do not spray if there is any chance of frost overnight.
- For roses, be sure to spray the soil around the base of the plant as well to control Powdery Mildew and Black Spot.
- Mix only what you can use. You cannot save the prepared solution for later use.
- For spraying any garden pesticide, wear protective clothing, long sleeves, a hat, chemical-resistant gloves (not your kitchen rubber gloves), and anti-splash goggles.
- Wash hands and face after use.