Don't be afraid to trim those flowering shrubs and trees that
need it. Failure to prune is probably the biggest gardening mistake
a person can make. I spent 20 years landscaping homes and
businesses, and I watched people make the investment in my
services, then they failed to prune when the plants needed it, and
before you know it their landscape looks terrible.
If you make a mistake pruning, don't worry about it. It's like a
bad haircut, it will grow out. Of course use common sense and read
the previous articles that I've written on pruning.
Summer gardening tips . . .
Along with summer time comes high humidity. High humidity can
cause a lot of problems with the plants in your garden and around
your house. One of the simple things you can do is don't water just
before dark. Make sure your plants are nice and dry when you tuck
them in for the night and you can cut down of the chance fungus
being a problem.
One of the more common fungi that I get asked about a lot is
powdery mildew. This appears as a white film on the leaves of
ornamental plants. Dogwoods and Purple Sandcherry are often the
victim of powdery mildew. Powdery mildew isn't extremely harmful to
the plants, it's just that the foliage is damaged, and little
growing takes place once it sets in. Your local garden center will
have a general fungicide you can spray if you'd like to try and
control it. Usually once the plant defoliates in the fall the plant
is back to normal.
Summer gardening tips . . .
If you have Perennial Rye Grass in your lawn, and you probably
do if you're in the north, you must be careful not to leave your
grass wet at night. There is a fungus known as Pythium Blight that
appears in very humid conditions. This fungus attacks and kills
perennial rye grasses. Here in the north most of our lawns are a
blend of fescues, perennial ryes, and Kentucky Blue Grass.
If you have problems with pythium blight you will lose the
perennial rye grass in large areas of your lawn, and even though
the other grasses will still be there and fill in, your lawn will
have areas that are much darker green than the rest of the lawn
because you will then have concentrations of Kentucky Blue grass.
You can see this fungus in the early morning. It looks like
white cotton candy laying on top of your lawn. It usually appears
along walks and driveways where the soil is the wet if you have
been watering. To prevent pythium blight water as early in the day
as possible.
Summer gardening tips . . .
Another nasty little blight that likes summer time is Fire
Blight. Fire Blight attacks ornamentals, especially Apple trees,
Crabapple trees, Cotoneasters, and Pyracantha. You know you have
Fire Blight when a branch on one of your plants dies and turns
almost red. The leaves usually hang on but turn reddish brown. The
damage usually starts out near the end of the branch and works it's
way toward the main stem of the plant. There is little you can do
except prune out the affected branch, cutting it as far back as
possible.
Fire Blight is very contagious to plants so you should burn the
branches you prune out. You should also dip or wash your pruning
shears in rubbing alcohol after each cut to keep from spreading
this deadly fungus.
Summer gardening tips . . .
Unfortunately, I've got one more summer time culprit to warn you
about. It's a handy little fungus that grows in mulch. Actually
there are all kinds of fungi that tend to grow in mulches, and most
of them are really disgusting looking. But this little gem is
unique in the fact that as it grows it tends to swell. Then somehow
it manages to explode, and it will spatter your house with tiny
brown specs. The experts have appropriately named this one “Shotgun
Fungus”. Isn't that a cute name?
These tiny little brown specs will fly as high as eight feet
into the air, and once they stick to your house or windows, they
stick like glue. I know that right now there are people hollering
across the house at their spouse, “Hey, remember those brown specs
all over the house? I know what they are. It's from the mulch!”
Tell me I'm wrong, but I know I'm not.
A lot of people are victims of this nasty little fungus, but
they don't know it. All they know is that there are tiny brown
specs on the house that look like paint. So far they have blamed
everything from spiders to aliens.
There's not a lot you can do to prevent this fungus. I have
found that if you keep the mulch loose so air can circulate it is
less likely to grow fungi. Don't just keep adding layer after layer
to the mulch around your house. You should skip at least every
other year and just loosen the mulch you already have down. If you
loosen it and then rake it flat it will look like you've just
mulched. Mulch is great, just don't let it get packed down hard.
Loosen it up at least once a year.
