Today I want to share with all of our new subscribers about some of the first titles I wrote about.  If there are topics that I have missed, please let me know.

• · Where do you start when you are starting a landscape design?
• · Black Fabric or No Black Fabric?
• · How Can I Stop These Dogs From Peeing On My Shrubs!?
• · The Squirrels are digging up my Garden!
• · Can a Tree Rose be Planted in a Container?
• · How do I keep my Cat out of my Flower Planters?
• · How Do I Get Grass To Grow In the Shade?
• · Is There a Secret to Keeping Weeds out of Your Garden/Flower Bed?
• · How to Rid Yourself of those Pesky Moles!
• · How to Water a Newly Planted Tree

Just click on the link to have it take you to the content.  If you don’t see what you are looking for, please let me know and I will help you with it.

How to Maintain a Knockout rose bush

Maintenance for a Knockout Rose bush is actually a really easy question and answer.  A knockout rose is a great landscape plant that does not require much maintenance.

A knockout rose bush comes in several different colors.  The colors are red, double red, pink, double pink, rainbow, blush, and yellow.  More color are being developed as we speak.  Weeks Roses was one of the first to develop the Knockout Rose.  The rose bush grows to about five foot high and can get five foot around.  Once it begins to bloom in the spring, it usually does not stop until it has had multiple frost on it in the fall.  It will loose 2/3 or more of its leaves during the winter, so plant it somewhere that you don’t mind it being naked in the winter.

Ok, so maintenance of the knockout rose.  That would consist of trimming, and trimming, and trimming some more.  The only real maintenance to a knockout rose is trimming.  Trimming can be done with power trimmers and you will not damage the plant, but you will change the look slightly.  It will look sheared instead of natural.   Hand pruning is the best way, but not always the most practical way.  Once the old blooms go away, you can decide whether you want to dead head the little pods off or not.  I have done both ways and the plant doesn’t care.  It is up to you as to where the plant is and what you want it to look like at the time.

This year, 2009, has been such a wet spring that bugs got on the knockout rose for the first time ever.  Neem oil took care of that problem very easily and quickly.

Happy Roses

Bacterial Leaf Spot

Someone told me that their garden had bacterial leaf spot because of all the spring rains we have had this year.  She is probably right on the diagnosis and right on the cause of the problem.  Excess moisture on the plant leaves is the number one reason for bacterial leaf spot.  Unfortunately there is no cure for the leaf spot, only prevention and control methods.  Let’s talk about a couple of these today.

The first method of prevention is to plan ahead.  When planting a garden or even any plant for that matter, make sure and plant it is the type of sunlight it prefers.  If it is a sun plant, put it in the sun.  This helps the plant dry out faster and prevent the bacteria from developing.  Another way to plan ahead is to pick varieties that are leaf spot resistant.  This could take some time and effort on your part, but could be very worth it in the end.

The next step in preventing the spread of the disease is to rake up any fallen leaves or fruit under the plant.  The bacteria spores germinate and spread by the wind and whenever anything bumps them to send them into the air.  Because the cause of the disease is moisture, pay closer attention to how close the plants are to each other and prune aggressively to keep good air circulation around the plants.  Prior preparation during planting helps this technique dramatically.  While pruning, use a 1 part bleach to 4 part water mixture and disinfect your cutter after every cut to prevent the spread of the disease.  Don’t handle the clippings any more than you have to because the spores bounce off very easily.  Bag up the clippings and throw them away.  Do not burn or compost them.

It can be critical that you spread a thick layer of mulch over the ground to prevent the spores from releasing from the ground.  The mulch will also help keep the ground moist and cut down on some watering.  When watering, do not water overhead.  That puts more moisture on the leaves and helps the spread of the disease.  Water on the ground only.

There are several copper based fungicides on the market that can help suppress the effects of the disease.  None of them will completely eliminate it, or completely prevent it.  There is no real good organic control, but something like neem oil will help control the spreading of disease.  Early prevention and careful protection is the best way to control Bacterial Leaf Spot

Happy Fungicides

Fertilizing with Broadcast Spreader

Many of you are wondering what is supposed to be done to a yard in August.  This year the answer is mow and mow often.  Here in Nashville, Tn we have not stopped getting good rain showers and the grass is growing faster now than it did in the spring.  Rule of thumb is don’t cut more than ½ to 1 inch off of the grass at one time.  It can really do some damage if you are cutting more than that.  Also, make sure your blades are razor sharp.  Dull blades just rip the grass and in the scorching sun, really makes the ends of the grass brown up and can cause disease.  Also when mowing, mow in different patterns each week.  Going in one pattern week after week can cause problems with tire tracks on the grass and dirt.

August is usually the last hooraw for spraying any type of herbicide weed killer.  There needs to be at least 6 weeks between the last application of herbicide and planting grass seed.  Depending on your climate zone, seed should be installed either in September or October.

If you are not needing weed control, the typical application for late July or August is a high nitrogen, or high iron fertilizer.  Any lawn food will do the job, or Milorganite is the organic version and is less likely to burn the lawn.  Make sure when fertilizing that you use the recommended rate and get an even coverage.   I have seen many times where spots are missed and it is very noticeable.  Also, don’t spill any.  If you drop a pile on the grass, it will kill that spot for a long time.  Make sure that you either get a decent amount of rain shortly after application, or water the lawn real good to help activate the chemical and protect the grass from burning.

Happy Fertilizing