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.
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.
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.
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.
But wait there's more.
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 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.
That's enough doom and gloom for one issue. Sorry, I usually
like to publish a more upbeat newsletter, but this is stuff you
really should be aware of.
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About The Author
If you have questions for Mike McGroarty visit his website,
http://www.freeplants.com and post them on the message board
where you can learn lots of gardening tips and communicate with
other gardeners. While at his website you can learn how to
start your own profitable backyard nursery. If you would like
a copy of Mike's booklet, "The Secret of Growing Landscape
Plants from Scratch", send .00 to: Garden Secrets, P.O. Box
338, Perry, Ohio 44081
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