You are here
|
5
THE OCTOBER GARDENER
Leaves are falling, asters and mums are blooming. Pick a crisp, sunny autumn afternoon and spend some time tending your garden and planting bulbs. The plentiful rains that we received in late August and early September (even though it was a bit more than we wanted or needed) have certainly turned our lawns and gardens green again and have provided our trees with the moisture they will need to enter winter.
Leaves: The leaves that fall from your trees may be pretty, but you’ll soon need to deal with them. Even when piled only a few leaves deep, they can eventually smother the grass underneath, leaving you with a bare spot in the yard next spring. Here are a few tips to take the aches and blisters out of dealing with leaves. Mowing: A mower chews up leaves, and the pieces break down and feed the lawn. You even can mow thick layers of dry leaves, though you may need two passes with the mower. Collect leaves with a bagging attachment if you plan to mulch garden beds with the chopped leaves. Rake, Vacuum or Blow: Look for rakes with wide sweeps and padded handles. Stretch and change your raking motion frequently to help prevent aching muscles. You can also use a leaf vacuum which will shred leaves and debris into a fine mulch. Leaf blowers work well, also, especially for large areas. Brown Gold: Decayed leaves are great (and valuable) for improving soil, so rake them up, shred them (with a shredder or by running over them with a lawn mower), and then use to mulch gardens, sprinkle back on lawns, add to compost piles or cover bare soils. Do not put heavy layers (more than 6”) of shredded leaves into your flower beds as this may keep the garden too wet during the winter and early spring and help contribute to root rot and fungal diseases.
Lawns: Cool season grasses (blue grass and fescue) should be fertilized in October and November with 1 pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet each month. To prevent nutrient pollution of groundwater and the Chesapeake Bay, keep fertilizers off hard surfaces like driveways and sidewalks. Once you have the results of the soil test that I recommended in last month’s newsletter, you will know if it is necessary to apply lime at this time. The amount of lime to apply will be indicated by the soil test numbers. If it is necessary to apply lime, spread it after all fertilizer has been applied and before the ground freezes.
Woody Ornamental Landscape Plants: Existing trees and shrubs should only be pruned at this time if they are dead or damaged. Wait until after all of the leaves have dropped for all other corrective and cosmetic pruning. Also, be aware of large dead branches or entire dead trees that may pose a hazard to people and property. When in doubt, consider hiring a certified arborist to evaluate your tree.
Houseplants: If you put your houseplants out on the porch or patio for the summer, now is the time to bring them back in so they can become acclimated to indoor conditions. Be sure to check the plants for insects before bringing them in. You can wash them off or you can apply a labeled houseplant insecticide to control the pests. Some houseplants will drop leaves and slow their growth as they become accustomed to the low light conditions indoors. Pat Cieslak Master Gardener, Baltimore County University of Maryland Extension Questions? Visit the Home and Garden Information Center at www.hgic.umd.edu or call 1-800-342-2507, Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
0
Yes
|
|
5
THE SEPTEMBER GARDENER
Even though the weather will be cooling and the daylight dwindling, it’s way too early to put the gardening tools away. Summer is almost over and children are back in school. It’s time to return to the garden. It’s been a very hot (record breaking, again) and dry summer. Many lawns have turned brown and some plants have wilted or died. With the return of cooler weather (and hopefully some rain), lawns and gardens should start to turn green again.
Tree Time: Cool fall weather provides ideal growing conditions for new trees. Buying nursery stock now is good for your pocketbook, too. Garden centers often slash prices this time of year to reduce inventories. Check to see if the tree still comes with a one-year, money-back or replacement guarantee. If it doesn’t, the discount may not be such a good deal. Plant a tree at the same depth it grew in the nursery pot and water regularly until the ground freezes. Mulch around the tree with 3-4 inches of shredded pine bark mulch.
Leaf or needle drop on shade trees and evergreens is common now and is caused by many factors typical of summer. Many shade trees are exhibiting other stress symptoms such as leaf scorching or early fall coloration (my River Birch tree has been dropping leaves since July). You may notice older leaves dropping from rhododendrons and other evergreen shrubs. This is normal for this time of year. White pine will shed older needles at this time of year.
Annuals and Perennials: You can plant hardy mums now so they can become established prior to cool weather. Pansies, ornamental cabbage and kale can also be planted. Leave the flower heads of perennials like tickseed, purple coneflower and black-eyed susans to provide nutritious seeds for birds this winter. If you want to keep your geraniums blooming, entire plants can be brought inside and grown in a sunny window.
Lawns: Hot summer weather may have caused your lawn to turn brown and go dormant. This is a natural response that helps turfgrass survive hot and dry conditions. Grasses that go dormant should green up and grow vigorously again in the fall. However, many people have dead looking areas containing more weeds than turfgrass. The soil in these areas is usually compacted from foot and lawn mower traffic. These areas should be overseeded or completely renovated. You can overseed (or renovate, which is a much larger project) your lawn from mid-August through mid-October with a turf-type tall fescue cultivar at a rate of 4 lbs. of seed per 1,000 square feet of area. Prior to seeding, the area should be raked vigorously with a metal rake to loosen the soil and promote good seed-to-soil contact. I usually add some lawn or garden soil to the loosened soil to give the seed better seed-to-soil contact. After seeding the area, it should be watered lightly (not soaked) twice each day, even after the grass emerges. Fescue seed should germinate in about a week. Broadleaf weed killers cannot be applied just prior to or just after seeding but they can be applied after newly seeded grass has been mowed at least three times.
This is a good time to have your soil tested. Visit the Home and Garden Information Center’s website and watch their video on how to take a soil test.
Pat Cieslak Master Gardener, Baltimore County University of Maryland Extension Questions? Visit the Home and Garden Information Center at www.hgic.umd.edu or call 1-800-342-2507, Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
0
Yes
|
|
5
Lawns: If you had grub damage to your lawn last summer, the best time to control them is mid-June to mid-July, before grub damage occurs. Some control can be obtained when applied through mid-August. It will take insecticides three weeks to kill the grubs. Use insecticides only if you find more than 8 grubs per square foot and you had a large population of grubs last year. Water your lawn prior to and after application of the insecticide. Home Depot and Lowe’s offer several kinds of grub control products, the most popular being Scotts GrubEx.
June is a good time to fertilize zoysiagrass. Apply one pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet.
Due to summer’s heat and humidity, brown patch is a common fungal disease that is active now in tall fescue grass lawns. Fungicides are not generally recommended for this disease because the infected grass will recover in the fall when the weather turns cooler and less humid. You just need to be patient.
Woody Ornamental Plants: If you planted trees or shrubs this spring, be sure to keep them well watered through any hot and dry weather. Thoroughly soak the root ball every few days. A 2-3 inch layer of mulch is helpful. Do not allow the mulch to touch the trunk. Remove the spent blossoms of lilac and rhododendrons, but leave viburnum blossoms alone because they will provide berries for wildlife.
Annuals and Perennials: Attract beneficial insects to your garden by planting a wide variety of flowering annuals and perennials that will bloom over the entire growing season. Good choices are plants in the following families: daisy (marigolds, daises, asters, mums), carrot (dill, fennel, anise, yarrow, parsley) and mint (all mints and thymes). Pinch out the flower buds of asters, mums, goldenrod and other fall bloomers to keep plants bushy and to prevent early flowering. Leave spring bulb foliage alone until it dies back naturally. Don’t fold over or braid foliage. The bulb, at this time, absorbs the nutrients it requires for growth the following year.
If you planted flower boxes, pots or hanging baskets with annuals and ornamental grasses, be sure to water them regularly and fertilize monthly since these plants don’t get nutrients or water from the ground. If you used porous clay pots or wire containers lined with cocoa mat, these dry out very quickly and are easily forgotten when the weather starts to get very hot. You will need to check them regularly for dryness.
Well, I’m off to enjoy the rest of the summer in my garden. I will see you in September. Have a safe and enjoyable July and August.
Pat Cieslak Master Gardener, Baltimore County University of Maryland ExtensionQuestions? Visit the Home and Garden Information Center at www.hgic.umd.edu or call 1-800-342-2507, Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
0
Yes
|
|
5
THE MAY GARDENER
Bay Wise Maryland Yardstick: The month of May will bring many of us out of our homes and into our yards and gardens. We will be mowing, mulching, fertilizing, spraying, watering and planting. I want to take this opportunity to talk about our most valuable resource, the Chesapeake Bay, and the affect these activities may have on it.
The Chesapeake Bay, its rivers and tributary streams play an important role in the lives of Marylanders. They provide us with food, recreation and commerce. Our waterways are declining due, in part, to air pollution and to fertilizer and other pollutants running off Maryland homes and landscapes, farms, sewage treatment plants and industry.
Many Maryland residents live within a half-mile of a storm drain, stream or river. Most of those waterways eventually drain into the Chesapeake Bay. What we do in our own yards can affect the health of our local waterways, the Bay and the environment.
We all need to do our part to take care of our waterways. By changing a few simple practices, you and your family can help keep our Maryland water healthy. To find out if your yard or landscape “measures up,” you can go to the Home & Garden Information Center’s website and Google “Bay Wise Maryland Yardstick” at the bottom of the page.
Ornamental Plants: The frost-free date for Central Maryland is usually the first week of May - think Mother’s Day! You can plant all warm season annual plants now. Gently break up the roots of root-bound potted transplants (transplants are the plants you purchase at the local garden center usually in black plastic pots). Summer annual bulbs like gladiolas, tuberous begonias, cannas, caladium and dahlias can also be planted now. Perennial plants can be safely divided and moved at this time.
Woody Ornamentals: If your azaleas, rhododendrons and other spring flowering shrubs are growing too large, you can prune them after they bloom. Maintain good boxwood health by thinning out interior branches to promote air circulation. This helps to prevent problems with boxwood diseases. For your other trees and shrubs, this is also a good time to prune out any dead or broken branches caused by this winter’s snows.
When selecting a shade tree for planting, look for one with a single, straight trunk. It is unnecessary to prune or top a newly planted tree. Damaged branches, however, should be removed. Be sure not to plant in poorly draining soil or too deep.
Happy gardening!
Pat Cieslak Master Gardener, Baltimore County University of Maryland Extension Questions? Visit the Home and Garden Information Center at www.hgic.umd.edu or call 1-800-342-2507, Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
0
Yes
|
|
5
Brown Marmorated Stink Bug: Now that the weather is getting warmer, you may start to see the brown marmorated stink bug in your home or out in the garden (I saw my first stink bug ever in my kitchen in February). The stink bug is native to parts of Asia and was first seen in the U.S. in Allentown, PA in 2001 and has steadily migrated to parts of Maryland. The stink bug was very prolific in 2010 due to the winter’s heavy snow cover and a very hot, dry summer. Damage to farm and garden crops was significant. Adults congregate in late summer/early fall and actively seek safe overwintering sites – especially inside buildings. They emerge and mate in the spring. They are not harmful to people, houses or pets. They do not bite, sting, suck blood or spread disease and they don’t eat or bore into wood. The stink bugs feed on plant leaves, buds and fruits. They emit a strong, unpleasant odor when threatened or crushed. The smell goes away quickly. If you want to know more about how to get rid of or control this homeowner nuisance and agricultural menace, go to the University of Maryland’s Home and Garden Information Center website at www.hgic.umd.edu.
Rubber Mulch. Is It Safe For Your Garden? It’s April and time to start thinking about mulch (well, I’ve been thinking about mulch since February but I’m a little crazy about gardening). There are so many mulch choices, comprised of many different materials, some more natural than others. Rubber mulches are advertised as permanent, effective and safe materials for use in landscapes, gardens and playgrounds. At first glance, it may seem that rubber mulches are an environmentally friendly way of recycling used tires but further research indicates they are neither effective in long-term weed control nor safe for the environment. While recycling waste tires is an important environmental issue, the solution is not to spread the pollution problem over our landscapes, gardens and playgrounds.
Hazards of Rubber Mulch: (1) It’s flammable. A research study comparing several different mulches found that when rubber mulch (which contains petroleum products) is ignited, it is more difficult to extinguish than any other mulch, including wood chips. (2) It’s toxic. Like any other material, tires and rubber mulches are eventually broken down by environmental factors, such as sunlight, or by bacteria and fungi. Just some of the chemicals that leach from rubber mulch include aluminum, cadmium, chromium, molybdenum, selenium and zinc. (3) It’s destructive. Many vegetables and plants mulched with rubber can accumulate high levels of zinc, sometimes to the point of death. Other metals found in decomposing rubber can also accumulate in plant roots, leaves and fruit. Decomposing rubber mulches provide a constant stream of toxic leaching into adjacent aquatic systems.
I would suggest that you use only mulches that are made of natural wood/bark/tree products. I use pine bark mulch. It smells good, it looks good and it’s safe.
Pat Cieslak Master Gardener, Baltimore County University of Maryland Extension Questions? Visit the Home and Garden Information Center at www.hgic.umd.edu or call 1-800-342-2507, Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
0
Yes
|
|
5
THE MARCH GARDENER
Here we are…it’s March…and it’s still cold (not bitter, but cold). It’s too early to think about lawn mowing, the mulch at the garden centers is probably still frozen and the soil may be a bit wet for planting. So, I thought this would be a good time to talk about a very important topic – myths and the lack of public understanding about tree topping. I’ve written on this topic before (last year’s March Gardener article) but I thought it was perhaps the time to talk about it again since warm weather is just around the corner and our attention will start to focus on the trees in our yards.
Following are four reasons to stop topping trees: 1. It won’t work. Topping won’t work to keep trees small. After a deciduous tree (a tree that loses its leaves in the fall) is topped, its growth rate increases. It grows back rapidly in an attempt to replace its missing leaf area. It needs all of its leaves so that it can manufacture food for the trunk and roots. It won’t slow down until it reaches about the same size it was before it was topped. It takes at maximum a few years before your tree returns to near its original size. An exception to the grow-back-to-size rule comes if you damage a tree’s health so it hasn’t the strength to re-establish itself. It is, in effect, dying and will continue on a downward spiral for years. You can’t “stop” trees with topping. If you succeed, you have killed them.
2. It’s expensive. A topped tree must be done and re-done every few years and eventually must be removed when it dies or the owner gives up. Each time a branch is cut, numerous long skinny young shoots (called suckers or waterspouts) grow rapidly back to replace it. They must be cut and recut, but they always regrow the next year making the job more difficult. A properly pruned tree stays pruned longer, since the work does not stimulate an upsurge of regrowth. Proper pruning actually improves the health and beauty of a tree, costing you less in the long run. .
3. It’s ugly. The sight of a topped tree is offensive to many people. The freshly sawed-off tree limbs are an eyesore and this is just the beginning of the eyesore. The worst is yet to come as the tree regrows a witch’s broom of ugly, straight suckers and spouts. Many topped trees are considered a total loss.
4. It’s dangerous. Topping is the most serious injury you can inflict upon your tree. Severe and repeat topping can set up internal columns of rotten wood, the ill effect of which may show up years later in conjunction with a drought or other stress. Topping trees does not make them safer…it creates hazardous trees. Topping opens the tree up to an invasion of rotting organisms and rotted limbs (or the entire tree) may fall as a result. New limbs from the sucker or shoot regrowth are weakly attached and break easily in wind or snow storms – even many years later when they are large and heavy. The thick regrowth of suckers or waterspouts resulting from topping make the tree top heavy and more likely to catch the wind and blow down in a storm. Properly thinned trees allow the wind to pass through the branches.
Every species of tree has different height, width and spacing needs in order to grow into a healthy mature tree. Carefully matching your tree selection with the site can prevent problems before they occur and will eliminate the need to take harmful, drastic measures such as topping. Trees are a long-term investment. Apply the practice of “plant the right tree in the right place” and only hire an experienced arborist to properly prune your trees. The Home and Garden Information Center is now on Facebook and Twitter. To learn more, visit HGIC’s website to see how you can connect with people who have similar interests
Pat Cieslak Master Gardener, Baltimore County University of Maryland Extension Questions? Visit the Home and Garden Information Center at www.hgic.umd.edu or call 1-800-342-2507, Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
0
Yes
|
|
5
Lawns: Try to avoid excessive walking on your grass when it is frozen to avoid damaging the crowns of your grass plants. Although this damage is not permanent, it will leave unsightly brown foot prints on the lawn until spring.
For the Soon-To-Arrive Birds: When birds warble their first hopeful songs of spring, it’s time to get busy in your yard. (1) Tidy up the bird house. Birds turn up their beaks at messy houses. Roll out the welcome mat by removing old nesting material, which can harbor harmful parasites. (2) Prepare for turf wars. Birds get territorial when love is in the air, even to the point of attacking their own reflection. To avoid fatal collisions, use decals or tape strips on windows; mount feeders less than 3 feet or more than 30 feet from glass. (3) Keep feeders filled. By late winter, nature’s larder of berries and seeds is low. Birds appreciate handouts of sunflower seeds, peanuts, millet and suet. (4) Provide fresh water. Birds love birdbaths, especially when other water sources are frozen. To keep water from icing over, use an electric birdbath heater.
Squirrels will come to eat the bird food you put out even when your bird feeders are advertised as “squirrel-proof.” Squirrels quickly become tolerant to the hot pepper repellent added to some bird feeds. Learn to live with squirrels or offer them alternate food like ears of feed corn. The staff at your local wild bird store can provide more detailed feeding suggestions.
Wildlife: As food becomes scarce during cold weather, skunks, raccoons, rats and other wildlife will come closer to homes. To prevent nuisance problems, remove food sources such as pet food and keep trash can lids tightly secured. This is also the mating season for foxes. Late at night, they make a loud noise that sounds like a person screaming (Oh my, that will certainly keep some of us awake).
Herbaceous Ornamental Plants: Spring bulbs are slowly emerging this month. They are first to emerge in sunny locations or south facing slopes. Gardeners often worry about them when there is still some very cold weather ahead. Exposed leaves may experience a little tip browning caused by very cold temperatures, but the spring flower display will not be diminished.
Indoor Pests: Crickets, lady bird beetles, boxelder bugs, cluster flies, elm leaf beetles and other nuisance insects may appear in your home this winter. They can merely be swept up or vacuumed. Occasionally in January and February, cluster flies (which resemble large houseflies) appear around windows or lit lamps. They live in attics or wall voids and become active on warm, sunny days. They are sluggish flyers and unlike the house fly they resemble, they do not eat garbage. Using a fly swatter is all that is needed.
Termites may start swarming in late February. A swarm seen indoors could mean that a colony is directly under the house and feeding on its lumber. See the Home and Garden Information Center’s fact sheet for more information.
The plant and seed catalogs have started to arrive in the mail. It’s time to start planning your spring garden, even if it’s only on paper. Warmer weather is just around the corner.
Pat Cieslak Master Gardener, Baltimore County University of Maryland Extension Service Questions? Visit the Home and Garden Information Center at www.hgic.umd.edu or call 1-800-342-2507, Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
0
Yes
|
|
5
It’s the beginning of a new year of gardening and caring for our properties which makes it a good time to restate the purpose of the Master Gardener program for Baltimore County, Maryland. The mission of the Maryland Master Gardener is to educate Maryland residents about safe, effective and sustainable horticultural practices that build healthy gardens, landscapes and communities. Our community is Linover and I’ve lived here for more than 42 years. I’m committed to our community and that’s why I’ve been helping to provide accurate information to residents on planting and caring for their lawns, gardens and landscapes for the past three years and hopefully will continue to do so throughout 2011 (and besides that, I just love gardening).
Winter: The days are shorter and the air may be frosty, but that’s no reason to hibernate! Winter is the perfect season for a multitude of outdoor tasks.
Cover outside statuaries, fountains and other concrete or plastic pond or yard ornaments with plastic to prevent snow and ice damage. Bring pond pumps and filters indoors.
If you did not cover your pond to prevent leaves from falling in, spend some time now to remove those leaves. The decomposing leaves will produce gases that when trapped under the ice, will kill the fish. Cover the pond with screen after it has been cleaned.
If you have a fireplace or wood burning stove, don’t store firewood inside your home. Bring in only enough to burn at one time. Insects living in the firewood will emerge and start living inside your home.
Woody Ornamentals: January and February are the two most severe winter months for winter burning of evergreens. You can protect winter-burn prone evergreens such as boxwoods and hollies from winter winds by surrounding them with burlap or cardboard. Try to prevent snow and ice from building up on gutters and eaves above shrubs and gently sweep snow loads off of shrubs to prevent breakage.
If you have trees that need shaping, thinning or corrective pruning, winter is a good time to call a tree arborist. They are usually not as busy in the winter and may do the work at a reduced rate. Also, it is easier to determine what tree work needs to be done after the leaves have fallen.
Lawns: Do not leave excessive amounts of leaves on the lawn or the grass will be damaged. Leaves that fall on turf grass can still be chopped up now with a mulching lawn mower (yes, I did say “lawn mower” in the January article) and allowed to breakdown. They will release nutrients back to the soil.
Even though it is winter, you can still do some weed control in your lawn by hand pulling winter annual weeds to keep them from going to seed this spring. Some common annual weeds include chickweed, henbit and dead nettle. Do not attempt to apply herbicides in the winter since lawn weeds are not growing and the herbicide is simply wasted.
Pat Cieslak Master Gardener, Baltimore County University of Maryland Extension Service Questions? Visit the Home and Garden Information Center at www.hgic.umd.edu or call 1-800-342-2507, Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
0
Yes
|
|
5
Your garden may be sleeping for the winter but that doesn’t mean that you have nothing to do, especially with Christmas around the corner. Here are some things to keep you busy in between shopping and baking.
Gardening Christmas Gifts: For the gardeners on your gift list, consider giving them a nice set of scissor-type hand pruners. Avoid the blade and anvil type as they are more likely to damage/crush the plant’s tissue and leave a wound that will turn brown and possibly provide an entry for insects and disease. Look for a by-pass version. Felco pruners (No. 2) are my favorite and will last for years with proper care.
Woody Ornamental Landscape Plants: If the weather starts to get dry, you will need to water your evergreen shrubs until the ground freezes. You do not want your shrubs to go into a long cold winter without some moisture in their roots, branches and foliage. This is especially important for evergreen plants like rhododendrons and azaleas that become “winter burned” from a combination of frozen soil and a lack of moisture in the root zone. Nursery stock trees and shrubs can be safely planted until the ground freezes; however, it is too late to transplant trees or shrubs.
Lawns: This is a good time to have your soil tested. It is too late to plant grass seed and spread fertilizer. Lime can still be applied according to your soil test recommendations as long as the ground is not frozen. Use the minimum amount of ice-melting products on sidewalks and driveways to lessen the chance of grass and lawn injury caused by excessive salt levels in the soil. High salt levels will kill grass roots and damage the lawn.
Winter Container Protection: Keep the drainage holes of containers that will remain outside in winter free of debris. Raise them a few inches off the ground to further help with drainage.
Indoor Plants: Be careful not to overwater houseplants. Potting soil should be allowed to dry out between watering. Unless your indoor plants are growing under high light conditions, do not fertilize them during the winter months. Keep holiday plants (like Poinsettias) away from dry, drafty locations. Do not place plants near heat vents, doorways or drafty windows. Increase humidity around plants by placing them on a tray lined with pebbles, shallowly filled with water. Make sure water does not enter the drainage holes.
Compost: If the weather continues to stay somewhat on the warm side during the daylight hours, it’s not too late to start a compost pile by mixing together spent plants, kitchen scraps (no meat), fallen leaves, old mulch and grass clippings. Keep twigs, branches and other woody materials out of the pile. An even mixture of green (high nitrogen) and brown (high carbon) materials is necessary for rapid composting. Grass clippings and spent plants from the flower and vegetable garden provide a good source of high nitrogen green materials for the compost pile. Fallen leaves and old straw are good sources of high carbon, brown materials.
Have a Very Merry Christmas!
Pat Cieslak Master Gardener, Baltimore County University of Maryland Extension Service Questions? Visit the Home and Garden Information Center at www.hgic.umd.edu or call 1-800-342-2507, Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
0
Yes
|
|
5
By now, you have set your clock back one hour. Daylight Saving Time has come to an end and the daylight gardening hours will become shorter and shorter. There is a 90% chance that we will have our first frost by the first week of November, if not before. It’s time to put the garden to sleep for the winter.
Lawnmowers: Few of us mourn the last mowing of the year. But before you put away the mower, give it some attention. If you have your mower professionally serviced, do it now. Waiting until spring usually means waiting in line. If you care for your mower yourself, follow the owner’s manual instructions for end-of-season maintenance tips. Your mower will return the favor with a quick startup next spring. Electric mowers usually do not need any regular maintenance, other than annual blade sharpening or replacement. You may want to take a moment to check your mower’s extension cord for frays, cuts or twists and plan on replacing it in the spring if it is showing wear.
Lawns: November is still a good month to fertilize your lawn. This should be your last application for the season. If you had a crabgrass problem this year, consider treating your lawn next spring with a pre-emergent herbicide. However, improving the thickness of the lawn in fall with overseeding and proper fertilization will greatly reduce crabgrass invading your lawn next spring. And, finish raking those leaves. If left on the lawn, they will cut off sunlight to the grass and trap moisture, encouraging fungus diseases.
Woody Ornamental Landscape Plants: The heat and dryness of the summer has had an effect on many trees in our area. The prolonged heat and drought has caused many leaves to turn brown and drop with no fall coloration. It is generally not necessary to fertilize established trees and shrubs. Fall fertilization can produce a flush of late, weak growth that will not harden off properly, which will cause winter injury/burning. Be sure to keep shrubs watered during the fall months, especially those that are newly planted or transplanted. Don’t be tempted to prune spring-flowering shrubs now (such as azaleas and camellias) since flower buds have already formed. The best time to prune spring-flowering shrubs is just after the bloom period. You may notice older leaves dropping from rhododendrons and other evergreen shrubs. This is normal for this time of year.
Annuals and Perennials: If you planted mums in October, they should be treated as an annual. They will not have enough time to become established before winter sets in. Fall-planted asters, however, will become established. Pansies are a good choice for fall and winter color in the garden and will start to re-bloom heavily as soon as weather starts to warm in the spring. Ornamental kale and cabbage produce a nice show of foliage but usually decline by February. Perennials can be divided and replanted at this time.
Fertilizer: Keep leftover bags of fertilizer wrapped up securely in heavy plastic or solid containers. Rodents will feed on exposed fertilizer stored in sheds and garages.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Pat Cieslak Master Gardener, Baltimore County University of Maryland Extension Service Questions? Visit the Home and Garden Information Center at www.hgic.umd.edu or call 1-800-342-2507, Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
0
Yes
|