Filed under: Disease, Fruits/Vegetables, Garden, Lawn, Perennials, shrubs | Tags: fungus prevention, Zoysia
Zoysia summer care: Zoysia loves hot weather — the hotter the better — and you want to feed it now that the days are hot. High nitrogen fertilizers work best, but stay away from Ammonium nitrate and other nitrate fertilizers because they can burn very easily. Mow your Zoysia around 2 inches and mow regularly. Zoysia can take it dry, but for the best lawn water about an inch every other week. You need a sharp blade to get a good clean cut.
Fungus amoungus: with the recent rain and the warm night temperatures, we are seeing all sorts of fungus diseases popping-up. There are some cultural things to do before you reach for the fungicides. First, don’t water anything at night (lawns, flowers, vegetables, or shrubs). Water early in the morning before the sun is too high in the sky. Water the ground and not the plants, as moisture on the leaves can lead to fungus problems. Water thoroughly when watering, a deep soaking rather than a lot of little waterings daily. Remove damaged leaves from the plants and beds to reduce the spread of the disease. When you do use a fungicide, make sure it’s for the disease you’re trying to stop, follow the directions, spray in the cool part of the day, and make sure that you spray the ground around the plants so that spores cannot be splashed up on the leaves.
Good luck and try to stay cool!
Filed under: Disease, Fruits/Vegetables, Garden, Lawn, Pests | Tags: cabbage worm, canker worm, early blight, lawn fungi, sawfly, slugs, snails, thrips, tomato hornworm
Here’s what we’re seeing around our area right now:
Tomato hornworm
Caterpillars are all over. Cabbage worms, canker worms, and even tomato hornworms have been rearing their ugly heads in the last week. There are lots of organic controls for these garden-wreckers. You won’t find most caterpillars unless you are out at night (as, if they are out in the day, the caterpillars become bird food).
Slugs and snails are making their presence known. Again, unless you look for them at night, you probably won’t find them. Putting out trays of beer is good way to find out if slugs are your problem.
The thrips have moved on, but their place is being taken by sawfly larve that do pretty much the same thing (make the leaf look like swiss cheese).
Early blight has shown up on tomatoes and other vegetables.
Lawn fungi of all types have become a big problem in the last couple of weeks. With all the late afternoon and evening thundershowers and high night temperatures, the grass is a breeding ground for diseases.
We haven’t seen any Japanese beetles yet.
Over the next month or so, there are a few problems that may emerge in your lawn and garden. If the problems are locally severe, we’ll post more specific information at that time. Meanwhile, here’s what to watch for:
Japanese Beetles — see our earlier post
Bag worms on evergreen trees — see our earlier post for general bag worm information
Cancer worms (inch worms) – The storms blow them out of trees and they start eating whatever they land on. Signs of damage: leaves are eaten from the outside-in. Since they are nocturnal, look for these trouble-makers on the underside of leaves and stems during the day.
Slugs and snails — You’ll find these in wet areas. They love to eat hostas and flowers. Signs of damage: holes in the middle of leaves. Again, they are nocturnal, but you’ll probably be able to see their silvery trails during the day.
Early blight on tomatoes — Signs of infection: spots on lower leaves, yellowing, and wilting.
Botrytis (gray mold) — Botrytis can infect many different plants, frequently fruits and flowers. Signs of infection: leaf spots, flower buds not opening.
Powdery mildew — Signs of infection: gray and white residue on leaves.
Lawn fungus — warm, humid nights and nighttime rain can cause a number of diseases of the lawn. If you have had problems with lawn fungi before, now is the time to treat… don’t wait until you see spots.
Filed under: Disease, Garden, Perennials, Pests, shrubs, trees, Uncategorized | Tags: mulch
Perhaps volcanoes are on the brain, but have you noticed the mulch volcanoes popping up around town? What is a mulch volcano, you ask? It occurs when mulch is piled around and against the trunk of a tree (or the stem of a shrub, perennial, etc.).
So, beyond looking a bit odd, what is wrong with this mountain of mulch? When mulch touches a tree trunk or plant stem, moisture gets trapped against the trunk and creates an environment ideal for disease and insect pests. Ultimately, this could lead to plant death. Trunks and stems need air circulation around them, so when mulching, take care to leave a few inches free around the trunk.
When properly applied, mulch improves the health of your trees and plants. Mulch helps to regulate moisture and keep weeds away. Additionally, as the mulch breaks down, its nutrients become incorporated into the soil.
A final note: it is a little too early to put out mulch. Wait for the soil to warm up a bit more. If you apply mulch while the soil is still cool, the mulch acts as an insulating layer and keeps the soil temperature cool for a longer time. It isn’t the end of the world if you apply early, but it may delay the growth of many annuals and perennials.
Filed under: Disease, Garden, Perennials, Pests, Uncategorized | Tags: black spot, botrytis, Disease, fungus, Perennials, roses, sulphur
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Hmmmm… looks like we have a theme going with our spring posts! This is the time of year to prevent problems with your roses and herbaceous perennials. Two key fungal diseases, botrytis and black spot, become active again in spring. The disease spores overwinter on the surface of the soil. While emerging through the soil, the plants pick up spores. The wet spring weather encourages the spores to germinate and the fungus to grow. Once established on plant tissue, the fungus can be spread to other leaves or plants by wind or rain (from the splashing). If we do have a cloudy, wet spring, these diseases can spread alarmingly fast!
Fortunately, you don’t have to do much to stop this cycle. Sprinkle dusting sulphur over the soil surface now to help prevent problems later. Bonus: Dusting sulphur will also help reduce some populations of aphids and spider mites. To further help keep black spot from your roses, remove the old mulch from around your roses. Remove infected leaves (you will know from the black (or very dark brown) spots — no surprise there!) as you see them and do not add them to your compost pile. A cleaner garden is a healthier garden.
